The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Jim Carter Tail Light Upgrade Puzzle

I bought a kit from Jim Carter Truck Parts for replacing the 3-candlepower bulbs in reproduction 47-53 AD pickup tail lights with 21-candlepower bulbs.
The bigger bulbs fit, but there's a problem with the kit. After removing the sockets from the old brackets, I slid the sockets into the replacement bracket while still wired, but they are too loose and there's no way to attach them to the new bracket. The tail lights are already installed and I'd rather not remove and rewire them if I can.
Before trying a spot weld and maybe melting the wiring insulation or socket base, I thought I'd check to see if any of you bolters had ideas about that. Right now the sockets are temporarily shimmed with brass strips. One possibility is welding a short bent metal strip with a set-screw to hold the sockets in place. Epoxy would probably be as bad as brass shims. I don't know, maybe a quick spot weld would do the trick.

I'm not familiar with this specific problem but modern epoxies are as good as a weld in many situations. They are used to mount brackets and such on military aircraft in place of bolts. If they'll handle multi G-forces in a fighter I think they'd hold a light socket in your truck. Try J-B Weld.

Cletis. That's a great idea for a troublesome hitch, and a load off my mind. Thanks.

Rusty Rod took a set of cheap trailer tail lights apart and installed the innards into a set of repopped tail lights.. works like a champ.

Rusty Rod, thanks. In case I don't epoxy, do the trailer lights have a name and number?

Does that new socket have to be grounded?

Right, the new socket does have to be grounded. The socket in the original bracket was sweated in tight for good ground. I planned on contact with the new bracket to make the same ground. Now, for the replacement, I'll leave the brass shims in for contact, in case epoxy gets between the socket and bracket. (It would be a sure thing if I didn't.) The sockets are just loose enough in the new bracket so that the shims are probably the only good ground, anyway, with or without an adhesive.

Retread, I got the cheapest set from autozone, pepboys ?? i forget where.. but they have the brake lights and turn signals built in... the main thing is to get a set that unscrew from the doner housings... I had to tweak mine to fit into the small housings i have, but they work fine.