Why Your Torch Lighter Won't Light (and How to Fix It)

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, The Next Cigar earns from qualifying purchases. We earn a small commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you.

A torch lighter that clicks and does nothing is one of the most common small frustrations in cigar smoking, and it is usually not broken. Lighter makers see the same handful of causes again and again. Vector, a torch-lighter maker, says that over 90% of the lighters returned to it are fixed by blowing out dirt and dust.

This guide goes through the causes in the order to check them, with the fix for each. The instructions come from the makers’ own manuals and support pages: Xikar, Colibri, Vector, Zippo and Lotus. Where they disagree, we say so.

Before anything else: never refill, bleed or clean a lighter near a flame, a lit cigar or a stove, and never try to light it while you are refilling it. Do it outdoors or in a well-ventilated room, holding the lighter away from your face.

Quick diagnosis

What happens	Most likely cause	Fix
Clicks, sparks, no flame, worse after refills	Air in the tank	Bleed it, then refill
Clicks, sparks, no flame, tank has fuel	Flame set too low, or dirty jet	Turn the adjuster up; clean the burner
Lights, then flame jumps or sputters	Air in the tank, or flame set too high	Bleed it; turn the flame down a little
Fails right after a refill	Lit too soon, or overfilled	Wait several minutes; release a little gas
Fine indoors, dead outside in winter	Cold butane	Warm it to room temperature
Click, gas hissing, spark visible, no flame	Spark wire pointing the wrong way	Bend it back over the jet
No click or no spark at all	Worn flint or failed igniter	Replace the flint; send electronic igniters for service
Hissing when you’re not pressing	Leaking valve	Stop using it and send it for service

1. Air in the tank

The sign: the lighter sparks but won’t catch, or it lights and the flame jumps and sputters. It often gets worse with each refill.

Why: every time you refill, a little air goes in with the butane. Over several refills it builds up, and the lighter pushes out air instead of gas. Vector’s troubleshooting table lists “air clogged” and a jumping flame as the classic symptoms.

The fix: bleed (purge) the tank before you refill.

1. Turn the flame adjuster to its lowest setting.
2. Hold the lighter with the refill valve pointing away from you. Colibri says to hold it upside down; Xikar says valve down and away from your face.
3. Press the refill valve with a small screwdriver or pen tip until the hissing stops and no more gas comes out.
4. Refill (next section).

Xikar’s advice is to bleed the lighter before every refill. Many owners only do it when the lighter starts misbehaving, but doing it each time prevents the problem.

2. You lit it too soon after refilling, or overfilled it

The sign: the lighter worked yesterday, you refilled it, and now it won’t light or flares.

Why: liquid butane straight from the can is cold, and the tank needs a few minutes for the pressure to settle. Light it too soon and the lighter can sputter or flood.

The fix: refill properly, then wait. Hold the lighter upside down, push the can’s nozzle straight onto the valve, and fill in short presses. The makers give different times, so follow yours:

Maker	Fill for	Wait before lighting
Colibri	4–5 seconds	2 minutes
Xikar	about 5 seconds	3–4 minutes, flame on low
Zippo butane inserts	about 6 seconds	2 minutes
Vector	15–20 seconds	5–10 minutes

If liquid sprays back out while you fill, stop: the tank is full. Colibri notes that a tank should only ever be about 85% liquid, so there is room for the gas to expand. If a nozzle doesn’t seal on your lighter’s valve, use the adapter tip that fits; a set of butane adapter tips costs $12.99 on Amazon.com (4.6 stars, 527 ratings, checked 21 October 2026).

3. The flame is set too low, or too high

The sign: sparks but no catch (too low), or a flame that lights and blows itself out (too high).

The fix: find the flame adjuster, usually a small wheel or a slot on the bottom, and turn it towards the plus sign a little at a time until it catches. Vector’s first fix for a lighter that won’t ignite is simply to set the flame higher. If the flame lights but roars and goes out, turn it down a notch.

Vector warns that fiddling with the adjuster over and over on a weak flame can damage the lighter. If one or two turns don’t help, the problem is elsewhere: usually fuel or air.

Xikar’s troubleshooting page has a further fix for a flame that stays too high or too low however you set it: under the adjustment wheel is a regulator that can be turned a quarter-turn with small pliers. Do this only if you’re comfortable; on some lighters, taking anything apart voids the warranty.

4. The jet is dirty or clogged

The sign: a weak, uneven or yellow flame, or a lighter that only lights sometimes. One jet of a triple goes out while the others burn.

Why: pocket lint, ash and dust collect in the burner, and low-grade butane leaves residue that blocks the jet. Xikar says cheap butane will damage your lighter, and Lotus’s warranty excludes damage from low-quality gas.

The fix, from Xikar’s own instructions:

1. Wipe the burner with a soft cloth or paper towel and a little alcohol.
2. Let it dry for two to three minutes. Never light it while it is still wet with alcohol.
3. Blow out the burner with short bursts of low-pressure air, such as a can of electronics duster, one to two seconds at a time. Colibri adds: keep the nozzle at least an inch away.

Then switch butane. Refined butane costs a little more and keeps the jet clean. Colibri says its butane has less than 6 parts per million of impurities and Xikar says less than 15; those are the only measured figures we found. Xikar Purofine is rated 4.8 stars by more than 2,200 owners on Amazon. Ignore claims about the number of times butane has been “filtered”: no lighter maker says how many is enough.

5. It’s cold, or you’re high up

The sign: the lighter works indoors and won’t light on a winter terrace, a ski trip or a cold boat.

Why: this is physics. A torch lighter needs the butane to boil into gas inside the tank to push it out of the jet. Ordinary butane boils at about −0.5 °C, according to NIST’s reference data. Near freezing it barely produces any pressure, so almost nothing comes out of the jet. Isobutane, used in some fuel blends, boils at about −11.7 °C and keeps working in colder weather.

At altitude the air has less oxygen, which also makes ignition harder. SOTO’s manual for its pocket torch warns that it may not light in cold temperatures or above about 1,500 metres, and Xikar re-blended its butane in 2017 partly so it would light above 6,000 feet.

The fix: warm the lighter. Colibri says to let it reach room temperature before lighting. Carry it in an inside pocket rather than a coat pocket or a cold car, and if it won’t light, hold it in your hand for a minute or two. Xikar’s FAQ advises against keeping a lighter or butane in very hot or cold places at all.

6. The spark is missing the jet

The sign: you can hear gas, see a spark, and still no flame.

Why: on many torches a thin spark wire sits over the jet. If it is knocked sideways, the spark jumps somewhere the gas isn’t.

The fix: Xikar’s troubleshooting page shows how to bend the spark wire gently back so it points across the jet. Colibri warns against touching the spark wire on its lighters, so check your maker’s instructions first. Also try clicking more slowly: Vector says pressing the ignition too fast usually causes misfires.

7. No spark at all, or it’s leaking

No spark: on a lighter with a flint, the flint has worn down; replace it, and Colibri suggests doing so before it is completely used up. Most torch lighters use an electronic (piezo) igniter instead. If that has stopped clicking or sparking, Vector’s advice is to return it for service; it is not something to fix at home.

Hissing when you’re not using it: the valve is leaking. Colibri and Vector both say the same thing: don’t try to light it, and send it for service.

When to send it back, and when to replace it

Most cigar-lighter makers offer a warranty, but the terms differ:

• Xikar: limited lifetime warranty on defects, not on wear and tear. Taking the lighter apart voids it. Buyers in Europe claim through Xikar’s distributor in their country.
• Colibri: two years, with the receipt and a $9.50 fee, for the continental US. Drain the fuel before shipping it.
• Vector: a “no proof” warranty that also covers faults from cheap butane or drops, with $12 return shipping in the US.
• Lotus / Vertigo: lifetime, with a $10–15 service fee after the first 60 days, US and Canada only.

Shipping a lighter for repair from Europe often costs more than a cheap new one. If yours is out of warranty or the claim isn’t worth it, a refillable triple jet such as the PROMISE costs $15.99 on Amazon.com (4.4 stars from more than 2,100 ratings). For a lighter to keep for years, see the best cigar lighters of 2026.

Questions

Why does my torch lighter click but not light? Usually air in the tank or a flame set too low. Bleed the tank, refill with clean butane, wait a few minutes, and turn the adjuster up a little.

How long should I wait after refilling a torch lighter? Follow your maker: two minutes for Colibri and Zippo inserts, three to four for Xikar, five to ten for Vector.

Why won’t my lighter work in the cold? Butane barely turns to gas near 0 °C, so there’s not enough pressure to push it out. Warm the lighter in your hand or an inside pocket.

Does cheap butane really damage lighters? Xikar says it will, and Lotus’s warranty doesn’t cover damage from low-quality gas. Residue clogs the jet.

Can I take my torch lighter on a plane? Not in the United States: the TSA bans torch lighters from carry-on and checked bags. Most airlines elsewhere don’t allow them either. See our travel kit guide.

Sources: Xikar troubleshooting page, FAQ and warranty; Colibri lighter instructions and warranty; Vector KGM support, refill and warranty pages; Zippo product guide; Lotus warranty and repair pages; SOTO Pocket Torch manual; NIST Chemistry WebBook fluid data for butane and isobutane; Halfwheel on Xikar’s 2017 butane blend. Amazon prices and ratings checked 21 October 2026.