Introduction: Put a Cigarette Lighter on Your Ruckus. No Seriously, Do It.
As far as I see it, if you own it, why not improve it? And who wouldn't want a smooth looking car style cigg lighter right in the middle of that empty plastic battery box cover? This seems to me, about the easiest way to install one, so lets get started.
Step 1: First Think First.
Going forward, let's make sure we have all our supplies from the get go, there's nothing more frustrating than finding out midway through we forgot our reverse flux inducer at the hardware store, so..
1: (IMPORTANT) In line glass fuse holder.
2:30A glass fuse. "tip..the fuse holder usually comes with one."
3: A generic cigarette lighter, go down to autozone and spend the money on a nice one, you'll thank yourself later. (IMPORTANT)"You can get one with a illuminated ring around it, but this instructable will not cover the extra wiring involved."
4:Get yourself a good vernier caliper and learn how to use it. If you're serious about machining or modifying anything, this can be a lifesaver.
5:electrical tape, mine is electric blue.
6:Heat shrink tubing. and a lighter.
7:Zip ties, for that professional look.
8:Phillips head screwdriver. Or get a good leatherman, glue it to your pocket, and you'll never be without one."had mine since 97'"
9:Dremel tool, small drill bit, and drum sanding bit.
10:Three female quick connects.( make sure they are the appropriate diameter to accept your wire)
11:Crimps/wire strippers , for the quick connects.
12:TWO lengths 1.5 ft of 13 gauge copper strand wire.(You can probably use a smaller wire but use discretion .)
13:A four legged helper to chew on things you aren't using.
And that's it, don't forget your patience, when you rush you're likely to forget something or color outside the lines.
1: (IMPORTANT) In line glass fuse holder.
2:30A glass fuse. "tip..the fuse holder usually comes with one."
3: A generic cigarette lighter, go down to autozone and spend the money on a nice one, you'll thank yourself later. (IMPORTANT)"You can get one with a illuminated ring around it, but this instructable will not cover the extra wiring involved."
4:Get yourself a good vernier caliper and learn how to use it. If you're serious about machining or modifying anything, this can be a lifesaver.
5:electrical tape, mine is electric blue.
6:Heat shrink tubing. and a lighter.
7:Zip ties, for that professional look.
8:Phillips head screwdriver. Or get a good leatherman, glue it to your pocket, and you'll never be without one."had mine since 97'"
9:Dremel tool, small drill bit, and drum sanding bit.
10:Three female quick connects.( make sure they are the appropriate diameter to accept your wire)
11:Crimps/wire strippers , for the quick connects.
12:TWO lengths 1.5 ft of 13 gauge copper strand wire.(You can probably use a smaller wire but use discretion .)
13:A four legged helper to chew on things you aren't using.
And that's it, don't forget your patience, when you rush you're likely to forget something or color outside the lines.
Step 2: Uno.
To start we'll build our wiring harness first, and then we'll make sure it works before we ever drill a hole in that virgin plastic.
Parts needed:
Wires, in line fuse holder, zip ties, elec tape, heat shrink tubing,strippers, quick connects.
1: Pick one to be the positive lead and clip off a section as long as your fuse holder(wires included),
splice together the positive lead and fuse holder. Tape and heat shrink. Leave one end stripped and bare, and on the other end crimp on a quick connect. (Why leave one end bare you ask?? Because, your ruckus fuse box covers the positive battery terminal pretty well so we'll be creative when we connect to it.)
2: On the negative lead now. Strip both ends, and , once again, crimp on some quick connects.
3: Use two or so zip ties and make that wire job look clean.
Next we'll make sure it works....you can read along in your book.
Parts needed:
Wires, in line fuse holder, zip ties, elec tape, heat shrink tubing,strippers, quick connects.
1: Pick one to be the positive lead and clip off a section as long as your fuse holder(wires included),
splice together the positive lead and fuse holder. Tape and heat shrink. Leave one end stripped and bare, and on the other end crimp on a quick connect. (Why leave one end bare you ask?? Because, your ruckus fuse box covers the positive battery terminal pretty well so we'll be creative when we connect to it.)
2: On the negative lead now. Strip both ends, and , once again, crimp on some quick connects.
3: Use two or so zip ties and make that wire job look clean.
Next we'll make sure it works....you can read along in your book.
Step 3: Dos.
Now lets make sure we did a good job by testing our wiring job. Get out your ruckus.
Parts needed,
Wiring harness from step two,electrical tape, phillips head screwdriver, and that cig lighter we bought at autozone.
1: Remove the four screws that hold the battery box on and secure them somewhere, like a piece of duct tape..Remove the cover and set aside for later.
2:Remove the screw on the positive terminal of your battery, and carefully lift up the fuse box. It doesn't have a lot of play, and you only need to be able to get the bare end of of your positive lead around the terminal screw, so don't force it, just lift. Also there is a small piece of metal underneath the fuse box that will be loose after the screw is removed, try not to move it, if you do though, just slide it back in and make sure it will line up with the hole in the terminal.
(BEFORE MAKING ANY CONNECTIONS) Safety first, tape off the ends opposite the bare wire, this will prevent a short when we connect to the battery. Also make sure your fuse is inside the fuse holder.
3:Make a Y out of the bare end of your positive lead( the one with your fuse holder spliced onto it), place the terminal screw into the Y and twist the ends together so as to make a small O in the center of the bare end. Remove the screw, place the bare end now with a small hole in it, under the terminal, be sure to align the "O" with the terminal screw hole. Replace the fuse box, and replace the terminal screw, make sure the lead is making good contact with the positive terminal.
4:Now the negative terminal, this one will be a lot easier. Simply make a 90' bend in the female quick connect of your negative lead, and slide it onto the pre-made bracket on the negative terminal
and presto!
5: Now let's test it out, connect the positive and negative leads to the terminals on the cigarette lighter, push the lighter in, wait a few seconds, pull it out and if you see red, congratulations!
Go take a break.
Parts needed,
Wiring harness from step two,electrical tape, phillips head screwdriver, and that cig lighter we bought at autozone.
1: Remove the four screws that hold the battery box on and secure them somewhere, like a piece of duct tape..Remove the cover and set aside for later.
2:Remove the screw on the positive terminal of your battery, and carefully lift up the fuse box. It doesn't have a lot of play, and you only need to be able to get the bare end of of your positive lead around the terminal screw, so don't force it, just lift. Also there is a small piece of metal underneath the fuse box that will be loose after the screw is removed, try not to move it, if you do though, just slide it back in and make sure it will line up with the hole in the terminal.
(BEFORE MAKING ANY CONNECTIONS) Safety first, tape off the ends opposite the bare wire, this will prevent a short when we connect to the battery. Also make sure your fuse is inside the fuse holder.
3:Make a Y out of the bare end of your positive lead( the one with your fuse holder spliced onto it), place the terminal screw into the Y and twist the ends together so as to make a small O in the center of the bare end. Remove the screw, place the bare end now with a small hole in it, under the terminal, be sure to align the "O" with the terminal screw hole. Replace the fuse box, and replace the terminal screw, make sure the lead is making good contact with the positive terminal.
4:Now the negative terminal, this one will be a lot easier. Simply make a 90' bend in the female quick connect of your negative lead, and slide it onto the pre-made bracket on the negative terminal
and presto!
5: Now let's test it out, connect the positive and negative leads to the terminals on the cigarette lighter, push the lighter in, wait a few seconds, pull it out and if you see red, congratulations!
Go take a break.
Step 4: Trés.
!This is the point of no return! If you don't think you can complete this step, find someone who can, or quit and give your wiring harness to someone who can find a use for it. We are going to make a big hole in that virginal battery box plastic. Hope you're ready, here we go.
Parts needed:
That battery box cover we set aside earlier, your caliper, cig lighter, dremel and necessary bits, a exacto knife also might help here.
1: If you haven't disconnected the cig lighter from the wiring harness do so now, also tape off the ends again so we don't short ourselves out.
2:Without too much explanation, The cigg lighter is composed of two parts, a external "negative" shell with threads inside, and a smaller diameter "positive" shell with matching threads outside as well as a opening to accommodate the heating element. Now with that out of the way, lets take our caliper and measure the diameter of the "positive" shell. Make note of the dimension and make a equivalent sized circle on a piece of cardboard or heavy cardstock, cut this circle out, this will be our "stencil".
3:VERY IMPORTANT! Examine the plastic battery box cover and decide where you want to mount your lighter,. The most practical spot is just a few inches underneath the hole cut for the ignition.
There is not much behind this spot so...how ideal.
4:With our stencil and a sharp object(Like a exacto knife) score a circle onto the plastic, accuracy is key.
5: With the dremel and a small drill bit drill several holes just inside the perimeter of your circle.TAKE YOUR TIME. Try and make the inside of the circle fall out because your holes are spaced so close together, this will make the next step easier. Take care not to color outside the lines here.
6:With the dremel and the drum sander bit, carefully enlarge and eventually completely smooth out the inside of the hole until you are certain it is exactly the same size as our "STENCIL".
7:If all goes well you should now have a hole exactly the same size as the "positive" shell. Fitting should not be forced or loose, rather, a gentle pressure is all it should take to seat the "shell" inside the hole.
8:Turn over the plastic battery box cover and thread the "negative" shell onto the "positive" shell.
9:Reconnect your positive and negative leads, carefully tuck the wiring harness out of the way of all your insidey parts, remount the battery box cover, and wango bango were done!!!
A WORD OF WARNING:
This Is wired directly to your battery now, meaning, unless you get handy and install a switch or some sort of cut off mechanism, you better be sure to never leave the heating element pushed all the way in unless in use, otherwise it will result in one of three things
1: a burnt fuse.
2: a dead battery.
3: a pile of charred metal and plastic formerly known as your ruckus.
Also, this instructalbe should work for just about anything with a battery and space to mount something....use your imagination.
Parts needed:
That battery box cover we set aside earlier, your caliper, cig lighter, dremel and necessary bits, a exacto knife also might help here.
1: If you haven't disconnected the cig lighter from the wiring harness do so now, also tape off the ends again so we don't short ourselves out.
2:Without too much explanation, The cigg lighter is composed of two parts, a external "negative" shell with threads inside, and a smaller diameter "positive" shell with matching threads outside as well as a opening to accommodate the heating element. Now with that out of the way, lets take our caliper and measure the diameter of the "positive" shell. Make note of the dimension and make a equivalent sized circle on a piece of cardboard or heavy cardstock, cut this circle out, this will be our "stencil".
3:VERY IMPORTANT! Examine the plastic battery box cover and decide where you want to mount your lighter,. The most practical spot is just a few inches underneath the hole cut for the ignition.
There is not much behind this spot so...how ideal.
4:With our stencil and a sharp object(Like a exacto knife) score a circle onto the plastic, accuracy is key.
5: With the dremel and a small drill bit drill several holes just inside the perimeter of your circle.TAKE YOUR TIME. Try and make the inside of the circle fall out because your holes are spaced so close together, this will make the next step easier. Take care not to color outside the lines here.
6:With the dremel and the drum sander bit, carefully enlarge and eventually completely smooth out the inside of the hole until you are certain it is exactly the same size as our "STENCIL".
7:If all goes well you should now have a hole exactly the same size as the "positive" shell. Fitting should not be forced or loose, rather, a gentle pressure is all it should take to seat the "shell" inside the hole.
8:Turn over the plastic battery box cover and thread the "negative" shell onto the "positive" shell.
9:Reconnect your positive and negative leads, carefully tuck the wiring harness out of the way of all your insidey parts, remount the battery box cover, and wango bango were done!!!
A WORD OF WARNING:
This Is wired directly to your battery now, meaning, unless you get handy and install a switch or some sort of cut off mechanism, you better be sure to never leave the heating element pushed all the way in unless in use, otherwise it will result in one of three things
1: a burnt fuse.
2: a dead battery.
3: a pile of charred metal and plastic formerly known as your ruckus.
Also, this instructalbe should work for just about anything with a battery and space to mount something....use your imagination.