Anybody know how to change the rear view map lamp in a 70 Cutlass? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Are wanting to change the bulb or something else? For a bulb change, the lens on the bottom drops out and then the bulb holder can be removed. Remove the lens and then there are tabs on each narrow side (well, front and back as it sits in the car) that need to be pushed in slightly so the assembly can drop out the bottom of the mirror. Be careful as the thin sides of the housing can be brittle and crack if they are pushed too far. Do one side at a time, and it should release and drop out.
The bulb is then simply hooked over two spring terminals. Pop it off, put new one on, and insert the assembly back into the mirror.

If you’re meaning something else, be specific so we can give you the correct information.

Here's what the bulb and switch assembly look like. As you can see, the thin sides on this one have deteriorated:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...mirror-105844/

 

Thank you both,the information that you provide can cut short $$$ costing mistakes.Fun71 that looks exactly like what I have. I am slowly changing bulbs. The former owner of the car killed the battery once or twice by accidentally turning the switch on and not realizing it. I def don't need that. By the way do either of you know how led bulbs work on these cars or if I should just stick with the tried and true?

 

I have some leds in the lights that go on when you open the car doors. They are stark white VS the warm yellow of the tungsten bulbs. They might have some in a better color temperature maybe 3-4000 that would look ‘warmer’. On the plus they have a lower current draw and are cooler to the touch. If you ever look at the original overhead light fixture many are warped brittle or have a burn mark from the original bulb.

because of the whiteness i dont like them as much as i wanted too, i still have them in tho.

i think the leds would be fine in the under dash or rearview map lights.

some put them in their guage lights, but i found w new correct incadescents and a good cleaning the guage lights are fine.

do know that most leds are polarity sensitive, if they dont work the first time turn them around and they should light. Also most leds arent dimmable.

 

An LED in the mirror map light is a good idea.

Back in the 90s I inadvertently turned the light on when cleaning the mirror several times and ran the battery down. The final time the light was on overnight and the mirror glass was cracked when I got in the next morning to drive to work. I touched the mirror and burned my finger- that’s how hot it got!

 

I bought these LED bulbs for the mirror map light, the glove box light, and the lower map light. They are polarity sensitive so if they don’t work just reverse them. They are the bright cool white. I can’t say how well they last because I just recently installed them, but the price was good and there is enough for spares.

 

Thank you all for the info,I will let you know how I make out...

 

Got the assembly out complete with out breaking anything. Installed the led and it works perfectly. Thank you all for the info as always!!!!

 

Hi guys, just looked up this thread as I am restoring a map light mirror. OPGI has a good price on original bulb, but $20 + to ship? I think not. Is the LED bulb from Amazon the same length and will it fit the same way as original, or are there modifications involved?

 

You can get the original style #562 incandescent bulb from the local auto parts store, and it should be around $5 for a 2-pack.

 

Thanks, will save a lot of time and hassle

 

Greetings all, got the last pack of 562's at Autozone, although the old burned out one had 563 on it. Seems close enough. Anyway, since I flunked electricity 101, what would be the easiest way to hook up the mirror to a battery to test it? I'm assuming the circuit gets closed when the switch is moved and touches the mirror housing which causes bulb to light.

 

Do you have the mirror out of the vehicle, or is it installed? There is a +12 Volt (constant) wire inserted into the top of the mirror, and my recollection is it is difficult to get it out of the plastic insulator. If the mirror is out of the vehicle, connect the wire to +12 Volts, ground the mirror housing, and slide the switch to the right.

Correct. Looking at the picture from a post above, the power wire has a stud that contacts the metal "spring" on the left side, and moving the switch / assembly to the right grounds the lamp via the metal tab on the right side. The upper part of the left side (spring contact) may need to be adjusted so it makes contact with the power stud inside the top of the mirror.

 

Thanks Kenneth, yes the mirror is out of vehicle. Can I ground the housing to neg. battery terminal, or to some metal part on vehicle?

 

Thanks Norm, you must be retired too. Any particular gauge wiring to use for this? Thanks

 

Norm, you are correct the map light mirror wire is grey.

 

Yes, the whole assembly is removed from the car, intact with the grey wire. I'm just bench testing it. I sold the car a couple of summers ago and replaced the map/mirror with one that had decent mirrored glass. Just fixing this one up to sell. Thanks all you guys for your help, Chumley