Fuse box issues

[bfloyd]

So I'm out in the garage tonight working on my new stereo install, and I'm tracing wires from the Craig radio harness. I identify the green/white wire as the "switched" 12v source and the purple wire as the "constant hot" 12 volt source. Used my tester to verify both. I got a good signal on the green /white wire but nothing on the purple.
I checked its inline fuse, and its good.

Looking over the overall wiring diagram of the car, that same purple "constant hot" wire also feeds the clock and the cigar lighter and runs back to fuse number 17. My clock and lighter have never worked so I naturally assume that fuse 17 is blown. I get to the fuse panel, pull number 17 and see that it only has one electrical contact down inside the fuse panel. It's just not there. I wrestle the fuse panel off of its mount, flip it over and there is only one wire connected to the number 17 slot.

The wire that is connected is brown, which is what the wiring diagram shows. I can only assume that the previous owner either did some creative wiring of his own or its simply fallen out into the nest of wiring down in the relay compartment.

I'll get back to it in the morning but Im trying to figure out the best way to repair the problem. Should I tap splice a new fuse holder back there to the existing brown wire and dig into the nest of wires and try to find this elusive purple wire?

Any ideas or tips would be appreciated .

[Bitsyncmaster]

I would guess the PO may have had a broken wire and cut the pin off the fuse socket. I would verify your lighter has the purple wire on it (maybe has two if that's where it continues onto the clock). Your wire is probably in that thick harness somewhere. To follow the wire from the lighter would require you pull the center console.

I looked at my old fuse block and there was only one purple wire on fuse #17 terminal.

[bfloyd]

Luckily my center console is out of the car since I'm replacing the radio face plate with the new DIN face plate from DMCH . I guess I'll get back out there with my wife's hair dryer and try to soften up the wiring harness and start digging for the elusive purple wire.