Hi,

local vanagon owner had same problem so I put some images on my blog.
In effect the plastic ring has to be removed from metal body first,
that allows the metal body to come forward out of dash then the
plastic ring can be wiggled out forwards too.

please disconnect battery , or fuse #3 before working on lighter.
Also you have to, of course, remove electrical plug from back of
lighter, and it may be tight...

images and text here:

http://shufti.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/vanagon-lighter-socket/

alistair
'86 syncro 7  passenger
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94
http://www.members.shaw.ca/albell/
http://shufti.wordpress.com

On 1-Apr-10, at 8:25 AM, Wes Neuenschwander wrote:

I would like to remove the factory cigarrette lighter from the dash
of my
'91 Westy.  I've been able to release the lighter/light assembly from
the
dash proper, but I can't remove the lighter completely because it's
restrained from behind, apparently from the various electrical
components
and/or the wiring harness connector(s).

Any advice on how to get this thing out??  I plan on replacing it
with an
OEM heavy duty '12 VDC outlet' (basically an all-weather socket
designed for
pickup truck bed installations), but if I run into complications
installing
the new device I'd like to be able to reinstall the factory original
lighter, if necessary.

Wes Neuenschwander
Seattle, WA