cigarette lighter: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
 

several years ago, I plugged in one of those air pumps that is used to inflate a raft. one that whizzes and sounds like its crankin' about 10 grand. Well, the thing got real hot and quit. Ever since, my lighter takes spells where it will work fine for a month or two, then it will start to act up. I replaced the fuse, but it still acts up. This has been going on for about 5 yrs or so.
Any ideas?

What are you using to indicate that the cigar lighter is no longer working ?

Radar detector, cell phone charger cord. It doesn't seem to matter. It's just so sporatic. Sometimes I can rotate whatever is plugged into the socket and it will sometimes work. Other times, no matter how much I fiddle with it, it will not work.