1966 Valiant Signet Park/Signal lamp problem

[nowmopardave]

On the risk of sounding stupid, here goes: my friend said she has no right turn signal. I found the front bulb not to be working. The problem is, I can not get another bulb to go into the socket, turn & lock into place. I now have the parklamp housing off the car, & clamped in my vise-still nothing. I have tried several 1157 bulbs, to no avail. At this point, I feel that the socket must be bad. Judging by the connector, I believe the socket is correct for the car, not something that someone mickey moused. OK, so I'll replace the socket-not so easy. All the replacement listings I see on line are for a single lead socket, clearly not correct for this car. Where can I get the correct front park signal lamp socket, or even the entire housing & socket assembly for this car? Thanks.

 

[slantsixdan]

First things first: there are many different sockets for any given kind of bulb, and they are not all the same. Not only are there different installation/attachment styles, but also a bunch of different focal lengths. This is really critical; the bulb has to be placed exactly where the lamp was designed for it to be. "Close" isn't good enough. "Fits the hole" doesn't cut it. Move the bulb by as little as 1/16" and the filament is no longer where the reflector/lens optics are engineered to see it, so output from the lamp nosedives (reflector no longer lights up, you just get meager light directly from the filament through the lens).

Many of the sockets are no longer available, if they ever were, in the aftermarket. Some lamps, such as the ones you're working on, do not have sockets designed to be replaced. You can refurbish the original sockets. You'll need two of these (the single-filament equivalent for things like back-up lights is this). Use a small wire brush on a Dremel tool to clean the socket housing/cylinder.

Before you install the new parts, clean the reflectors with alcohol, stuff a wad of masking tape in the socket hole and shoot 'em with a good brand of "chrome" spray paint.

Use new 1157A or 1157NA bulbs with a nickel-plated (silvery-colored) base, not plain brass -- plain brass corrodes, sticks the bulbs in the sockets, and makes a mess. For extra corrosion protection, apply some silicone grease to the bulb base and contacts. Not a whole lot, just a light film.

 

[nowmopardave]

Thanks Dan!