My second 1965 Dodge Dart.
The inner tail lights (on the trunk lid) that had no lights was easy to fix. They only needed new light bulbs, and then they were good as new.
The back up lights I have not been able to bring back to life, but I have not done a whole lot to make them work either. One bulb was missing, the other was blown, and I put new ones in, but still no light.
The left front parking light and blinkers, I opened the glass, and managed to get the bulb out. But it was hard to get the new bulb in. And when I finaly got it back in, there was still no light. I took the bulb out again, and measured in the bottom of the socket, and there was no 12 volts in sight. The cord on the back side of the lamp was neatly tucked behind the bumper, and not at all connected. So, when that was done, at least I had power in the bottom of the socket. Still no light though. I had to use sandpaper in the socket where the bulb is grounded or get it's minus. I had to work quite a bit that until the bulb got a good contact and the parking light came on. And then the blinkers came on too. On the right side the parking light worked, but not the blinkers, and I replaced the bulb, but no more light because of that.
So, I measured in every connection all the way back to the switch, and that is where the issue was. In the switch itself.
I ordered a brand new NOW switch, and when I got it, I opened the old one, and flipped off the cancellation cam and saw how easy it was. So, I ended up buying a new cam, and kept the switch, just used the abrassive plumber cloth to clean up oxydation, and sprayed it with electronic cleaner from CRC, and lubricated it with CRC 2-26, and put it back together, and the light worked like brand new again. So, the NOS switch is not continuing being NOS in case I need it at some point.
But, I ran into a problem doing this. The new cam is a little different from the original one. I would say it might be better, it has more material where the rod goes thru it to move it. The result is that the screw that goes through all this come a little higher. Not a lot, just a little.
The non original much smaller steering wheel has a much wider copper ring on the underside of the steering wheel. This is the copper ring that transfer power from the column to the steering wheel for the horn. The ring has so large diameter that when I rotate the steering wheel it comes in contact with the screw I mentioned a little while ago that is a little higher up now. And the horns went off like crazy. In one position of the steering wheel the horn was on all the time. So, I had to pull off the wires from the horns. Now I can hear the horn relay go on and off all the time when steering. But that is not a public issue, non are disturbed by that.
I so look forward to have an original steering wheel on so this problem can be solved. Well, it is a steering wheel from a 1964 station wagon.
When you look at the new cancellation cam, you can see the the part in the middle where the screw goes is thicker than on the old cam. The new one is a part from Standard Motor Products.
I also ran into another problem with the new cam. If I tightened the screw, the blinker arm becomes very hard to move. And when I had it loose enough the screw would loosen over time. So, I put Loctite blue light screw lock on the arm, so the screw sits well now, and everything works fine.
Bill
The inner tail lights (on the trunk lid) that had no lights was easy to fix. They only needed new light bulbs, and then they were good as new.
The back up lights I have not been able to bring back to life, but I have not done a whole lot to make them work either. One bulb was missing, the other was blown, and I put new ones in, but still no light.
The left front parking light and blinkers, I opened the glass, and managed to get the bulb out. But it was hard to get the new bulb in. And when I finaly got it back in, there was still no light. I took the bulb out again, and measured in the bottom of the socket, and there was no 12 volts in sight. The cord on the back side of the lamp was neatly tucked behind the bumper, and not at all connected. So, when that was done, at least I had power in the bottom of the socket. Still no light though. I had to use sandpaper in the socket where the bulb is grounded or get it's minus. I had to work quite a bit that until the bulb got a good contact and the parking light came on. And then the blinkers came on too. On the right side the parking light worked, but not the blinkers, and I replaced the bulb, but no more light because of that.
So, I measured in every connection all the way back to the switch, and that is where the issue was. In the switch itself.
I ordered a brand new NOW switch, and when I got it, I opened the old one, and flipped off the cancellation cam and saw how easy it was. So, I ended up buying a new cam, and kept the switch, just used the abrassive plumber cloth to clean up oxydation, and sprayed it with electronic cleaner from CRC, and lubricated it with CRC 2-26, and put it back together, and the light worked like brand new again. So, the NOS switch is not continuing being NOS in case I need it at some point.
But, I ran into a problem doing this. The new cam is a little different from the original one. I would say it might be better, it has more material where the rod goes thru it to move it. The result is that the screw that goes through all this come a little higher. Not a lot, just a little.
The non original much smaller steering wheel has a much wider copper ring on the underside of the steering wheel. This is the copper ring that transfer power from the column to the steering wheel for the horn. The ring has so large diameter that when I rotate the steering wheel it comes in contact with the screw I mentioned a little while ago that is a little higher up now. And the horns went off like crazy. In one position of the steering wheel the horn was on all the time. So, I had to pull off the wires from the horns. Now I can hear the horn relay go on and off all the time when steering. But that is not a public issue, non are disturbed by that.
I so look forward to have an original steering wheel on so this problem can be solved. Well, it is a steering wheel from a 1964 station wagon.
When you look at the new cancellation cam, you can see the the part in the middle where the screw goes is thicker than on the old cam. The new one is a part from Standard Motor Products.
I also ran into another problem with the new cam. If I tightened the screw, the blinker arm becomes very hard to move. And when I had it loose enough the screw would loosen over time. So, I put Loctite blue light screw lock on the arm, so the screw sits well now, and everything works fine.
Bill
