I've had my 1962 olds dynamic 88 for about 30 years now, figured it's finally time to make the courtesy lights work. Turns out a couple of the sockets even have electricity already.

So I wanted to go get the bulbs, I found 3 sockets. 1 under the driver's dash, 2 in the arm rests in the back. Any one know if these are all considered courtesy lights, i.e. 90s. Or are those rear arm rest courtesy lights the Arm Rest Lights, 68?

And am I mistaken, or are these same bulbs with different brightness levels so I could just go with my preference?

 

If all the sockets you’re talking about are switched on (i.e. get power) when the door is opened, I believe those are courtesy lights.

I can’t remember which bulbs have the 2 pin base, but with the socket you’re holding, that’s what you’re looking for. If there are multiple 2 pin bulbs available, start with the lower wattage then bump up if it’s not bright enough when you get in the car in the dark.

No knock on your writing, but I can’t tell from your photo whether you’re holding a dash socket, or a rear arm rest socket. If you can let us know which one you’re holding, we might be able to offer better advice.

I’ve found Olds courtesy light systems pretty robust over the years, the only weeks spots I’ve found in my ‘66’s is that the door switches can occasionally ground out and pop the fuse. This may not be a problem in your ‘62 since the door jamb switches are probably the older (larger diameter) type.

The courtesy light system is a very welcoming feature in these cars. You’ll like having it working, especially if you use your car at night.

Cheers
Chris

 

That's the socket from the rear arm rest area, facing forward.

There's no switch on the door, there's a manual switch on the dash and then left rear arm rest also has a switch. I don't know if there used to be one attached to the door that a previous owner disconnected, I'll have to dig through the wiring diagram closer.

My socket that's up front isn't even plugged in, so I have to figure out where that wire goes too.

I'll get some better pictures to show the context when I can.

 

If your looking for a brighter light then you should look for some LED bulbs.

Rich

 

Well I was wrong,does have the door plungers.

Turns out the two sockets are interchangeable, all about the wattage, so I put the 68s in the rear arm rests and 90s under the dash and everything looks good to my eye!