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Male Spade Connector on back of Ashtray/Cigar lighter ??

72 Satellite

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The back of my Ashtray/Cigar lighter has a Male Spade Connector on the top of the Cigar "Cylinder". I don't have a pic of mine at the moment, but will include a pic of one that doesn't have the connector for reference. You can see the opening on the top of the cylinder where mine has a Spade Connector. I can only imagine it's a ground for the light, but the Ash Tray should be grounded to the dash shouldn't it?

Ashtray.jpg
 
The Casco aftermarket lighter cylinder has the spade you mention on it. This is what you likely have. Just ignore it...as you suggest it is grounded through the ash tray frame.

aaaaaa.jpg
 
Thanks a million, thought I was losing my mind...
 
They are to be grounded, not for the light but for the lighter itself. Remember some later car housings/dashes are plastic, and lighter needs both sources to heat the element which is a resistor getting a short to get heated.
 
They are to be grounded, not for the light but for the lighter itself. Remember some later car housings/dashes are plastic, and lighter needs both sources to heat the element which is a resistor getting a short to get heated.

I guess that makes sense for an aftermarket setup where you would have Plastic components that wouldn't be grounded to the dash. Aside from my aftermarket Gauge Bezel, which is not metal, everything else is stock metal. I was just surprised that of the Dozens of these I've seen, none of them had this spade connector. I guess another ground connection can never hurt.
 
Well some assemblies got also a surrounded light ring so still being mounted on a metal frame, the clear or grenish plastic ring around to light up around the lighter hole could isolate it from the dash too.

I don't think get an extra ground for that prong is really necesary on our cars. So be confident and keep it without use.
 
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