Good morning all,


I started replacing the mini bulbs in the back of the instrument panel on the dash and some of the lights are very dim or refuse to light up. I found that the sockets need to be just exactly in the right place to make proper contact with the panel that they lock into.


I'm going to go back and remove the sockets again and put some petroleum jelly on the bulbs and sockets to see if they will make better contact with the panel and fully illuminate.


Is that a bad idea or is there a better way?

Thanks, any suggestions are welcome.

 

I'm no expert, but I would think that petroleum jelly would act as an insulator and make things worse. People often put these kinds of lubricants on bulb bases to prevent corrosion, but I don't think they enhance electrical conductivity.

I would take a very fine grade of sandpaper and gently sand the contacts on the bulb socket (the little protrusions that contact the printed circuit that they are screwed into) as well as the printed circuit itself where the socket contacts it. You might also look inside the socket to be sure that the points where it contacts the bulb are clean.

 

The reality is that petroleum jelly, or any grease, will not really prevent contact if the terminals are all clean and in good shape. The metal terminals push the grease aside. On the other hand, simply applying the grease won't fix the problem, either, they will simply prevent oxidation once the terminals are clean.

I had exactly this problem with my 62 F-85. Some of the bulb holders were broken - one of the two plastic tabs that lock into the printed circuit was broken on several of them, preventing good contact. I replaced those, cleaned the contact points on the printed circuit, and made sure the terminals on the bulb holder were clean and making good contact (bend them out slightly). That fixed the problem on my car.

 

Thanks all,

I will give it another try without the petroleum jelly. Good tip on the bulb holders I will have a closer look at them.