1939 Chevy 1.5 Ton , Original Headlamp Rewiring...

[philipj]

Hello There,
I was just able to obtain a pair of correct headlamps for my 1939 1.5 ton pick up truck and would like to bring them back to original configuration... At first glance it seems that it will be very difficult to rewire the original round (3 pole) connectors inside... The female side with the springs seems almost impossible to take apart... Has anyone tried this, or does anyone know of a place where you can send your reflector and sockets for a rewire? Thank you.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by philipj (see edit history)

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, philipj said:

 

 

 

 

 

What follows is generic for sockets that look about like that one:

 

On the left connector, it appears that the phenolic has little tabs sticking out slots in the sides, much like a bulb socket. What needs to happen here, it that the whole mess needs to be pushed down against the spring tension, and tilted. Once tilted enough that the uppermost tilted tab clears the slot, the whole thing will slide up and out, while still tilted. Be careful.

 

Once out, the wires solder to the contacts. Sometimes the contacts will lift out of the phenolic. It might theoretically be possible to slide the contacts up and out without taking the socket apart, but this is dubious, and not likely to work due to the insulation on the wires being too big around.

 

The contacts will be hollow, You will need to unsolder them and clean out the holes. If they crimped or spot welded them instead of soldering (unlikely) you will need to locate new contacts. The new wires strip (maybe 1/8") and poke in the hole in the bottom of the contact and solder in. Once all the new wires are on, you'll have to do the tilt trick again to get the phenolic back in. It is fiddly, but not impossible. Fix your bulb sockets the same way!

 

The connector on the right I am not familiar with, but it looks to have the same contacts. If so, they will need to push/pry and come out the top, unsolder & clean, poke new wires through the holes, solder the contacts on, and then pull on the wire or push on the contact to get it back down flush.

 

If they molded the plastic around the contacts and the wires, you have a much bigger job on your hands. Good luck.

 

EDIT: That connector on the right MIGHT be made to stay in one piece, and the holes in the contacts MIGHT go clear through. and you clean them out in place, stick wires in from the bottom, and solder from the top. If it is bakelite it can probably take the heat of soldering. If it is rubber or some other plastic maybe not.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Bloo (see edit history)

[philipj]

Hello Bloo,

Thank you very much for the help here... I have actually been able to slide out the female parts of the connector out... The base, which I would have expected to be some type of fiber board feels more like chemically treated cardboard... One is a little iffy and might have to re-coat with something (epoxy?) to help maintain its integrity so that I can  reuse it... Yet to see if the contacts are crimped or soldered... I have never seen replacement bulb contacts of that size. It should be interesting to locate if I cannot reuse.. The male contacts are corroded into the male portion (Bakelite?) I will try and see how I can push from behind... Or wonder if I could soak the connector (don't know what would work here) to loosen up what appears to be corrosion... Has anybody else ever dealt with these?

[Bloo]

On that (bakelite?) one I don't know.. I'm not sure what I am looking at. Try one contact with a soldering iron from the top (carefully). If it melts, maybe the holes go clear through and the connector stays one piece.

 

As for the contacts, they are the same thing as a taillight for 60 years or so. Someone must have them. I don't know who though. I have salvaged them out of other sockets in the past. I have also just formed the copper wire into the right shape and soldered it. Works fine, but hopefully you don't have to resort to that in a restoration.

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Bloo (see edit history)