1953 ford customline. Right front turn signal wont work. I have 12 volts to the socket and the bulb is good. But the socket is rusty and hard to get the bulb in and out. How can I fix this?
I am and I dont think so. If you are referring to the first click on the light switch where the headlights dont come on then no they dont...
Okay... I cant even hardly get the bulb to go in and turn... also arnt the prongs supposed to be spring? Theyre solid
If you have one of those hand held sand blasters, give the inside of the socket a blast. It will solve a lot of problems.
There is usually at least all I have seen A spring for twist in bulbs below insulator. Some newer bub's are size wrong , If to tight , m***age size with a brush on drill or take a bolt / rod cut a slot & use emery cloth/ sandpaper like making flap wheel Single Element bulbs pins are straight across on dual filament are staggered
Just cut it off and wire a new socket. Seems faster than trying to get the old one clean enough to function?
53 Fords are wired where the parking lights come on with the first position of the light switch and go out when the second position headlights come on. If both sides are not on in the first position and you have voltage at the bulb pin, it is a ground problem.
If you wanted a factory replacement I would look at Mac’s website - though they ship faster via buying through their eBay account if you don’t mind if it’s factory exact a common socket pigtail from any Napa would work. Standard Dorman help stuff.
Just the first example I found https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/ECH...MI7ZDOy9XzkwMVrXF_AB03_x3-EAQYAyABEgIL1vD_BwE
I may have to do this. I can push the bulb to one side of the socket and itll work im gonna try to get some emry cloth after it tomorrow and see if I can get it working now I know its not getting connection like other suggested
Is the center of the socket intended to move in and out? If so, spray some lube in there and work it back and forth. I’ve had luck that way.
I have seen replacement bulb sockets with the pig tails like the one shown that also have a tab you can connect a ground wire to. When ever I have replaced a bulb socket, I use the ones with the tab, and I will run a ground wire from it to someplace I can get a good ground. The sockets with the little crimp edges only grounds through the crimped edge, and then still ground through the screws that hold the light housing to the fender. Poor grounds are the reason many lights on older stuff don't work anymore.
If you were to pull the inards out of the socket they would look somewhat similar to this Pico pigtail. They used to be available through NAPA but it has been years since I bought one. They have to have the right ***s on the sides of the top washer to orient them right in the socket. Anyhow when you put the bulb you are puishing on the contacts and then pushing against the spring. You might get by with spraying the socket with a good rust buster and hoping that the washer will slide and the spring still has some tension in it.
I use a 1/2" copper tube fitting brush to clean the socket internally....don't know what I would do without it. a 3/4" works wonders for battery cable terminals...batter in outcome than the cheezy battery brushes that the auto stores sell... also....a 12V bulb in a 6V socket may have the bulb oriented so the terminals on the bulb may not be aligning with the 6V socket ..... instead of changing the socket I've addressed this by adding some solder to the bulb terminals in an offset direction...and do a couple of spares this way to keep in the glovebox if this is the case... good luck
All the other bulbs and sockets work... its just this one and if I push in or to the side or something itll work but wiggles around and loses connection
I also converted my 53 to 12V negative ground as I am running a SBF motor (right now). Replace the socket.
What you'll find if you dis***emble the socket is the spring or springs that keep tension on the contacts are rusted/broken. Clean everything up and replace the springs.
I actually got them free but the socket itself is loose enough the bulb just wiggles lose... its for a different guy. I actually pushed a spade crisp connector in between the bulb and socket and its been working good. He said we wont worry about it til it stops working . If that happens i told him to order a socket and id come replace it for him
A Dab of solder or shim , few strains of wire to tighten up, & I was one many times when Young rap foil on fuse, pennies in screw in fuse
Squeeze the socket together a bit where the pins locate until the lamp just fits. The pins are where the ground connections actually are, get those areas clean and tight and that should permanently fix it.
You mentioned going to use emery cloth to clean the socket. An easy way to clean the inside is to cut the head off a long 1/4" bolt, sawing a lengthwise slot, put it in a drill with a strip of emery cloth in the slot, and use your new "sandpaper on stick" to clean the inside of the socket. Another question. Is the socket made for the offset pins of an 1157 bulb? Many 6 volt dual filament bulbs had straight across pins with "top" printed on the bulb. Used to be a 12 volt bulb made with straight pins to fit the old 6 volt style sockets.
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