Dodge WC Pickup Cowl Lamp Dissasembly

[Tubeviper]

Not wanting to damage the cowl lamps on my '42 WC, I thought I'd first ask....

 

How does one access the bulbs in the cowl lamps? How is the lens supposed to come off? Pull on the trim ring or...

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Young Ed]

Unscrew the screw at the back. This will release the retainer and lens assembly. You should be able to see at that point how it all clips together.

[Tubeviper]

OK, I got the cowl lamps apart and I see what the problem is. The sockets have only one wire going to them and the chassis ground is the other conductor. A bad idea especially in a 73 year old vehicle. 

 

Therefore I would like to replace my cowl lamp bulb sockets with new modern 2-wire ones. Has anyone done this before and can tell me exactly which manufacturer/model of socket will snap right into the original mounting hardware? 

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Plymouthy Adams]

even so with modern two wire sockets the base is still grounded....some interior lamp socket and bulbs have dual filament where the socket is not the ground but floats...look for the bulb to have a single filament with dual contacts  on the base...

[Young Ed]

Per Tim's guidance I soldered a wire to my bases and ran a dedicated ground wire into the cab. VPW and ebay sell new guts that convert to dual filament bulbs to have signals and park lights. Its tricky otherwise to find a short enough bulb and socket combo that will fit in the small space.

[Mrbrylcreem]

Dave. Hello. I put in down lighters. The type that you would fit into your new kitchen cupboards etc. They are really bright and fit like a dream.

[Tubeviper]

Were the cowl lamps originally intended to be directional indicators, running lights or both? If just one, where was the other type located?

 

Which makes the most sense to me was that they were intended to be directional indicators and, besides the headlights, there were no running lights on the front.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Young Ed]

They were originally the running/parking lights and the turn signal was sticking your arm out the window.

[Plymouthy Adams]

They were originally the running/parking lights and the turn signal was sticking your arm out the window.

still acceptable for making turns and other gestures

[jeffsunzeri]

I have modified my cowl lights to work as turn signals. As originally fitted, they (left and right lamps) were wired in series and operated at parking lights.

I just fitted new pigtails as others have indicated and isolated each lamp to work with the 7-wire turn signal assembly. They work fine.

I had fitted an amber bulb at one time, but I've gone back to a white one thinking they are easier for the semi-blind, myopic Nissota operators to see.