Renewing tun lamp sockets.

[RivNut]

I watched this video the other day and got inspired to try this on the front turn signal housings on my '64, It was so simple that i didn't take any pictures.

Luckily, I was able to reuse the existing wiring that was original to my housings so I didn't need to use the new Dorman products as suggested in this video.

After watching the video perhaps, if need be, you can do what I did or go with what's suggested in the video.

1) The first thing I needed to do was get the corroded lamps out of the housings. A pair of needle nose pliers worked well after the bulb had broken off its base. Just grab part of the old base and twist, it well start coming out and wrap itself around the end of your pliers.

2) Spray the housing with some PB Blaster or other similar product to loosen anything inside the housing where the spring sets.

3) Unlike in the video, I had to cut the part of the rubber housingaway from the wire; just the very small part that "hugs" the wire, other wise, my wires were stuck tight.

4) Using "the wife's" hair dryer on high heat low air, I warmed up the housings and took out the 50 years of heat and gravity that had made the housings have a bend in them. Once they're fairly warm, you can remold the rubber so the wire come straight out of it. (after 50 years, everything is drooping at right angles.)

5) I took hold of the wire with a pair of pliers and held the rubber with my fingers and started rotating the wire until if turned freely inside the rubber housing.

6) Now I'm able to slide the wire through the rubber and push it out of the brass housing. From here, I can thoroughly clean the wire, lube it a little so it will move back and forth against the spring, and check to make sure that the spring is still "springy." If not, it's time to go for new springs from the Dorman product mentioned in the video. I was lucky, all mine were okay.

7) Use some emery cloth and shine the contact point on the end of the wire. Most of the brass housings looked good even after sitting for years with bulbs corroded into them. Whew!

8) Now make sure that as you pull everything back into the housing, the spring and all other pieces play nice together nicely.

About a half an hour for both, but my housings were already off the car.

Now a bulb can be inserted by pushing and twisting like it was meant to be.

I something isn't clear or you need more info, the 'reply to thread' button is down and to your left.

Ed

Edited May 11, 2014 by RivNut (see edit history)