wheres a good place to find replacement light sockets

[35chevcoupe]

Does anyone know of a good source to get replacement turn signal light sockets , not the housings but just the bulb socket ?
It appears that the sockets on the 65 gran sport turn signal housings were crimpped in at the factory .
I,m sure GM had a vendor that supplied them back in the day .  I have a couple good housings but the socket is missing on one and the socket is in bad shape on the other one .
If I can find a source for the sockets I am going to have the crimping tool made .

[Mark Ascher]

John,

Don't know where to get the sockets. Doubtful they are unique to this application though.
Ames? Fusick?

Ron Francis:

https://www.ronfrancis.com/products.asp?dept=23&pagenumber=1&sort_on=price&sort_by=ASC

Restoration Supply, Page 8:

https://www.restorationstuff.com/pdf/RestorationSupplyCompany.pdf

For good measure:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=1090.msg5989#msg5989

Mark

[elagache]

Dear John, Mark, and mid-60s Buick electricians,

Does anyone know of a good source to get replacement turn signal light sockets , not the housings but just the bulb socket ?

. . . .

If I can find a source for the sockets I am going to have the crimping tool made .

My housings were okay, just the contacts were dead.  So I followed Chris's procedure to swap the electrical contacts.  Still if I remember correctly, the sockets I found at NAPA were correct, you could try getting your hands on those if there is a NAPA auto parts store handy.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NW_787109

The part is called: 787109 Double contact bulb socket.

Unfortunately the online picture isn't very clear, but it looked like a perfect match when I did this swap:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=1090.msg10941#msg10941

If it is at NAPA is it probably available at most auto parts stores.  Perhaps just bring the old one with you and see what you can find?

Hopefully this will be an easy one!

Cheers, Edouard 

[455pev]

I used ones I purchased at any of the parts stores, Autozone oriely's or advanced auto.  But I dismantled them and put the correct wireing on them.

[option B9]

  Hi John, Mark, Edouard and Buick do it yourselfers, I found those replacement white double contact sockets at most of the retail auto stores, years ago they were $2 each, now they are up to $4.99 in some locations. But just be careful the newer ones are not made to the old specs. I found this out last year, I had to replace a rear socket on my friends 65 Skylark. I installed a new (white) socket on the Buick and when I went to put it in the taillight  the socket kept popping out. After fooling with it for a while there had to be something wrong. I removed it and took a good look at it and compared it to the original worn out one. it looked the same but then I noticed that the two steel tabs that hold it in and make the electrical ground were different on the new socket !! The steel tabs did not have a second bend in them that would lock it into place. I went back to my box of new sockets dumped it out on the workbench, and the older white ones do have the correct tabs. So somewhere the design of the tabs was changed! I took the newer white defective ones threw them in the recycle can, Don't want to waste my time with them, and will use the older white ones. I also did some research over the winter on a better replacement socket. Wiring Depot 888-947-3568 in Reno NV has a great website full of automotive electrical parts/sockets. I found a replacement socket that will work great on our Buicks. It's a JT&T (2573F) $4.49 ea. 1 1/8 hole GM double contact 1157 bulb replaces AC Delco LS224. It's not a stock looking socket but it has many prongs that will make a good ground and not fall out of the light housing. 

[GS66]

Thank you, I have one now that keeps popping out because of the newer tabs.

[455pev]

I had the same problem with mine that I replaced. I use two small needle nose pliers and bent the holding/grounding tabs till they matched the originals. They seem to hold tight.

[elagache]

Dear Tony, Jim, 455pev, and mid-60s Buick electricians,

Wiring Depot 888-947-3568 in Reno NV has a great website full of automotive electrical parts/sockets.

Thanks for the tip!  I haven't had problems with the sockets for the front parking lights and the original taillight sockets are still fine because they don't get nearly as much abuse and my wagon has lived most of her life in a garage.

I had found Wiring Depot but I don't think I've ever ordered anything from them.  Thanks for the tip!

Cheers, Edouard

[Loren At 65GS]

Seems this thread took a different direction then John's original post. He was asking about the front sockets for the parking lamps behind the front bumper.  But no real problem.

For the tail lights, I have found only two brands of replacement sockets that are good quality. Most all of the ones I found in the auto parts stores have a metal portion that is more malleable, read softer here, and does not have the tension to hold the socket in the tail light housing.
A quality brand I have found is Wells.

  Loren

[35chevcoupe]

Loren , you are  correct . Its the front light sockets I am looking for . I still haven,t found anything So I took one completely apart and found that they were,nt really made to be serviced at all .
For one the socket its self is crimped in the housing which I was able to remove an old one and re crimp into another housing .  The biggest problem is the socket internals were not made to come apart , there is a very small spring coiled around a small brass sleeve that is supposed to push a contact against the bulb contact .  These springs end up getting corroded and get stuck so the wire contact looses connection with the bulb contact .   I,m probably being a little to fussy with them but I would like to keep the original color wires coming out of the sockets . I think I may have figured a way to fix them , if it works I,ll post a few more pictures later .

[Loren At 65GS]

John,

  I have found a source for the plastic piece that goes inside the metal socket. The new piece is exactly like the original.
I ground down a piece of metal that I drive into the socket, after removing the old plastic piece. That removes the dimple inside. Then I can install the new plastic contact piece, re-stake the dimple to hold the plastic contact part in place.
I had correct tracer wire made for the leads. When done, looks great and correct.

 Presently waiting for the parking light housings to come back after being re-plated.

  Loren

[35chevcoupe]

Loren ,
That plastic piece ,  does it have the small brass sleeve with the small spring around it already installed in it ? 
That would be AWESOME if it does , even it it don,t thats still good . I did find the small wire contacts that you solder onto the wire that contacts the bulb .
Are those plastic pieces readily available through Lorens parts warehouse ?
The one thing I have found is the rubber boot that slips over the socket that has the wires running thru it must shrink a little bit and doesn't let the wire slide in it .

[Loren At 65GS]

John,

 The pieces I have are exactly the same. Little sliding brass , springs and plastic.
I will have to get picture tomorrow for you. I could part with a pair, don't remember what I paid for them, I will look up the invoice.
I too got the contact buttons. A Klein 1006 crimping tool works great to put them on the wire followed with soldering.

I agree, the boot must shrink over time. Need to come up with an idea to fix the issue. I have actually run a drill bit through the holes to enlarge them so the wire can move, thus allowing the contacts to make good connection with the bulb.

A lot of fooling around,

 Loren

[35chevcoupe]

Loren , If they are still available somewhere I would be interested in 10 or so .

[option B9]

  Hi John Loren & all the do it yourselfers, Yes those front marker/signal light sockets can be repaired. I drill out the dimples remove the old corroded contacts and plastic and replace it with the inside of a double contact socket from any of the major auto parts stores. Then fill in the drilled out dimple holes with some JB Weld epoxy.  Let that dry overnight, then I use a short black boot from a ignition wire (distributor side) as a boot for the back of the marker/signal light housing. It fits right on, just use some black weather strip adhesive glue to hold it into place and you are done, So the next trip to the scrapyard pull off the boots on those old wires and save them they do have a use on our Buicks..             
                                                              Tony