LED Lights for '46 Coupe Dash

51woodie

51woodie

Well-known member
I recently purchased a pack of 10 LED dash bulbs off Amazon, and found that the locating pins in the bases were so poorly made that they won't lock into the socket. Before I get roasted for buying off Amazon, the incandescent bulbs I got from a "flathead supplier" had the same issue. The bulb in the center of the picture is what I want to replace with LED, and the pins on it will hold the bulb in the socket. The other two bulbs just have "nubs" that won't lock into the socket.
Any suggestions on where to get LED bulbs that made correctly?
 

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51woodie said:
I recently purchased a pack of 10 LED dash bulbs off Amazon, and found that the locating pins in the bases were so poorly made that they won't lock into the socket. Before I get roasted for buying off Amazon, the incandescent bulbs I got from a "flathead supplier" had the same issue. The bulb in the center of the picture is what I want to replace with LED, and the pins on it will hold the bulb in the socket. The other two bulbs just have "nubs" that won't lock into the socket.
Any suggestions on where to get LED bulbs that made correctly?
Click to expand...
572976
 
Huey. An expanded view of the base for the ledlight lamp in the link you included, and it looks like it has the same "nubs" for the locating pins as the lights I have. I'm reluctant to buy more, unless I can find ones that have more prominent locating pins.
 
I don't have any firsthand knowledge with LED's, but is it possible the problem LED units could be pried apart and carefully installed into the good bases? Just a thought...
 
Huey, I tried that, but not possible. I thought the dash socket may be the problem, so I tried one of the LEDs in a spare socket, and it was a loose fit, to the point that shaking the socket would cause the LED to fall out. Hopefully a Barn member may know a source that sells LEDs with good quality bases.
 
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at the risk of telling something to someone, on a forum, that they already know...

the sockets on my '41 are spring loaded. the bulbs need to be pushed in to compress the spring and then turned about 90 degrees to secure them. :)
 
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You can't see the problem (the pictures in post #3)?

Time for someone to get a new pair of glasses ("cheaters" are OK).
 
I'm not saying that new bulbs with longer "nubs" aren't out there. We have been getting bulbs with the smaller dimples at work from the same old suppliers. Might have to pinch the sockets at the slots to tighten the bulb. Welcome to 2025 it's just something else made cheaper.
 
kartrae. Pinching the socket where the "pins" seat is a good suggestion. I'll have to enlist one of my grandsons for the job, as I don't bend like I used to, for working under the dash.
 
51woodie said:
kartrae. Pinching the socket where the "pins" seat is a good suggestion. I'll have to enlist one of my grandsons for the job, as I don't bend like I used to, for working under the dash.
Click to expand...

right! i've spent way, way too much time recently (at 73) under the dash of my '41, and like the Tommy Lee Jones movie, "No Country For Old Men" it's a bad place to be! :)
 
For the dome light on my 40 Ford, I used the original metal bases and bonded the LED bulbs to the base using JB Weld. Might work for dash bulbs also. Some photos are below.
Much brighter then Henry's. Car has been converted to 12V except for the dash lights that are still operating on 6V by using a Constant Voltage Reducer.
More bulb info.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle-lights/car-boat-light-bulbs
 

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I have these in dash and parking lights in two of my 40s with no fitment issues at all. Been in there for four years. Got them off Amazon, they still have them.
 

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Thank you for the info Ken. Those lamps look like they have decent pins, so I think I’ll order them, hoping they will stay in the sockets.
 
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