LED headlight bulb recommendation

Seth Swoboda

Seth Swoboda

Well-known member
I am looking for LED headlight bulbs for my 1937 Ford, in 6 volt. I have tried two different brands and they will not fit my original Ford headling socket. The two contacts on the back of the bulb do not line up with the Ford headlight wire harness.

Are there any recommendations on bulbs that will fit properly?
 
I sent an email to classicbulbs.com.

My issue seems to be that the LED bulbs I have tried will not contact the wires in the Ford harness. The OEM light bulbs fit and work fine but the LED's I have tried are not made correctly for 1937.
 
ndnchf said:
Can you post a photo showing the base of your bulb that works alongside the LEDs that don't work? It would be nice to see what the difference is. In your other discussion you said the LEDs from ledlight.com did not work. I'm wondering if you got the same or different LEDs than I got. These are the ones I ordered and they fit my '35 just fine. But maybe '37 uses a different base?

https://www.ledlight.com/p15d-30-led-headlight-5-to-30-volt-dual-filament-non-polarized-ncnrnw.aspx
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I think the base should be the same. Yes, I will post a photo this afternoon. Classicbulbs wants me to email them the same photo.

Thanks for all the help so far fellas.
 
1935 through 1939 used the same bulb. They have that hilt looking projection on the base. I would recommend that the OP make certain that the contactor springs are still functional and that there is still a capability for those contacts to slide in and out a little bit. As things get older, they can start to have problems even with good storage & maintenance.
 
rotorwrench said:
1935 through 1939 used the same bulb. They have that hilt looking projection on the base. I would recommend that the OP make certain that the contactor springs are still functional and that there is still a capability for those contacts to slide in and out a little bit. As things get older, they can start to have problems even with good storage & maintenance.
Click to expand...

rotor, the sockets are in excellent condition. The OEM style bulbs I have in there now work perfectly, they are just not as bright as LED. I'll post some photos this afternoon that illistrate the problem.
 
Here is the photo of a NOS bulb on the left and a LED on the right. You will see how the LED contacts are not in the correct position.
 

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This shows the first LED bulb I got off ebay. The contacts werent positioned right and the flange was too deep. I sent them back. Then ordered a different pair from ledlight.com (link in your other discussion) and they fit just fine.
Steve
 

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ndnchf said:
This shows the first LED bulb I got off ebay. The contacts werent positioned right and the flange was too deep. I sent them back. Then ordered a different pair from ledlight.com (link in your other discussion) and they fit just fine.
Steve
Click to expand...
532481


532482
 
ndnchf said:
This shows the first LED bulb I got off ebay. The contacts werent positioned right and the flange was too deep. I sent them back. Then ordered a different pair from ledlight.com (link in your other discussion) and they fit just fine.
Steve
Click to expand...

Your LED on the right is the exact same LED bulb that I have. How do they sell a product like that?
 
They dont care, they are dirtbags. I explained the problem to the seller and suggested he discuss it with the supplier. But no, they are still on ebay ��
 
I sent the photos to classicbulbs. They are telling me the NOS bulb that I am running is a Chrysler bulb and they differ from a Ford. I'm confused as to how then that blub works in my Ford socket. Maybe someone installed a Chrysler headlight wire harness? Seems a bit odd, not entirely impossile but odd.
 
What is the number on your stock bulb? There are a couple different ones, but I don't recall what they are at the moment. How does your NOS bulb base compare to my original bulb in my photo?
 
A quick search tells me the original 32/32 CP Ford bulb is trade #2330. That would be on the glass. There is also a #2331, 32/32CP for a different application.
 
ndnchf said:
What is the number on your stock bulb? There are a couple different ones, but I don't recall what they are at the moment. How does your NOS bulb base compare to my original bulb in my photo?
Click to expand...

The base is the same as the one in your photo. It is a GE Mazda bulb that has 2331 on it.

I bought a NOS 1937 Ford headlight wire harness from 3rd Gen to replace the one in the car. My car is unrestored. The one in the car was falling apart. Having said that, maybe there is a chance that the NOS headlight harness Michael sent me was a Chrysler and no one knew? I've seen some weird stuff in the past. It seems weird though that the OEM style bulb that was in the car works with the NOS harness Michael sent me.
 
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Michael knows his business, that seems unlikely. I dug through my bulbs. The 2330 and 2331 seem to have the same base layout, so thats no help.
 

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