Decided to get the '55 electrically better today... got the driver's side light half fast mounted, and went to put the bulb in... can't do it! the socket is expecting a bulb with the pins not indexed, so 1157,
1034, 2057 etc. will not work.1) did I somehow get a light assembly from a car without turn signals? If so why are there two wires from the socket?
2) Is there a 12V bulb that will work? I'd rather not replace the socket if I don't have to...thanks
nate
How mant contact "nubs" in the bottom of the socket? You didn't say.
Where did yoiu get the socket? It might be for something mounted on a non-comducting part, like fiberglass or plastic. Karl
two nubs, and it came installed in the NOS housing (and looks factory crimped in place)
still scratching my head,
nate
Remember, Nate,
1955s used 1154 6-volt lamps in that position, not 1157s or 2057s or 1034s, all of which are 12-volt. I don't have an 1154 here to look at the pin positions. Also, in 1955, Turn Signals were still considered a separate option, so they had their own wiring harness to the front of the car; NOT several wires within the main engine compartment harness. I installed new such harnesses in a 1955 President hardtop for a restoration shop this past summer, but cannot remember the color codes for turn versus parking lamp circuits. Look carefully at a #1154 lamp. It may be that both filaments are the same, but I don't know that for sure. BP
In my '55 Prez sedan, the sockets were corroded so knocked them out and installed new sockets being sure to fasten them with a drilled hole and a screw to insure a good ground.
JT
I don't know offhand if 1154s have indexed bayonet pins or not, but I do know I have seen dual-filament bulbs ( 6 volt) with non-indexed pins. And I mean stop/tail bulbs, not the dome lamp bulbs which commonly have non-indexed pins, but an un-grounded shell.
I remember having to file one pin off a more common lamp to get it to fit in the non-indexed socket.
Gord Richmond
I put NOS tail light housings on the '55 and 1157s fit without problems and IIRC, the sockets in the front housings were the same except that they were tired, so I replaced 'em with new sockets.
Finally, a human has been found to find more problems than even I would under my grumpiest moments of pedantic episodes. Poor Nate...
JT
Gord>
Just looked it up now that I'm at home with all my reference stuff (was posting from JP's - he's got more reference stuff than I, but I know where my stuff is ) the stock bulb is listed as an 1158 not an 1154, and sure enough when I looked *that* up it is not an indexed base. It looks like it can be replaced by an 1176.
Now the rear *is* an 1154 (can be replaced by 1157 for 12V.) weird.
I guess I will have to hope that I find another NOS socket for the passenger side, or else carry two different spare bulbs in the glovebox. Hoodathunkit? I'm not sure why this was done, either, as it requires that one test the bulb after install to make sure that it's inserted correctly (can be installed two ways.)
nate
Just to add to the discussion for anyone who's still following this, if I had bought a light for a car without turn signals, it would have used a 63 bulb, which would have had only one contact on the base. So it's clear that I've got the right socket. Actually could probably use the same socket, just with a 2-wire pigtail.
nate
I don't know if this will help, but some one posted this page a while back regarding replacement bulbs and cross references
T>
Duly bookmarked! that would have helped had I know about that site yesterday...
nate
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