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Out of an abundance of caution tail light removal

  • wcoye
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10 Mar 2020 21:19 #39693 by wcoye
Hi Bill, I'm gonna have to check my email in the directory. It's no secret :[email protected]. Thanks for the offer. I Amazoned some thin plastic material that's laminated to paper or really thin card stock . I'll give it a try tonight. My only concern is getting the stuff over and in back of the socket without ruining the shiny surface. If it dosen't work I'll take you up on your offer.
Bill

Bill Coye
Westchester 2240A
Brag line: Winner of the
2014 Hillsborough Concurs Strother MacMinn award

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  • mikespeed35
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10 Mar 2020 04:56 #39691 by mikespeed35
Replied by mikespeed35 on topic Out of an abundance of caution tail light removal
Reflective PLASTIC OK LED. Maybe too much heat from bulb, will melt? For sure with Halogen.
CORDiallyMike

Mike Huffman

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  • Rileypu29
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10 Mar 2020 03:44 #39690 by Rileypu29
Hi Bill,
I sent you a private message but I don't know if you received it. When I bought the reflective plastic film I bought a whole roll and have more than enough for all of the Cords in the world. I would be happy to mail some to you (or anyone else that would like some) if you send me a private mail with your address.
Best regards,
Bill

Bill Kastanis

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  • JIM.OBRIEN
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08 Mar 2020 00:47 #39669 by JIM.OBRIEN
Replied by JIM.OBRIEN on topic Out of an abundance of caution tail light removal
Bill,
The LED will function as both brake light and turn signal if it is wired up correctly. However if you are running LED bulbs for the turn signals you need an electronic flasher.
Jim
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  • pete kelly
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07 Mar 2020 21:24 #39668 by pete kelly
Replied by pete kelly on topic Out of an abundance of caution tail light removal
Just a suggestion:
Do 1 side with an original bulb and the other with an LED bulb and then make up your mind. Check both at night and a sunny day.
Pete
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  • wcoye
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07 Mar 2020 21:22 #39667 by wcoye
Bill, Will the led lamp function as both brake lamp and turn signal lamp?

Bill Coye
Westchester 2240A
Brag line: Winner of the
2014 Hillsborough Concurs Strother MacMinn award

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  • wcoye
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07 Mar 2020 21:17 #39666 by wcoye
Well, the operation was a success. It took a lot of pressure on the lens to get the retaining ring loose enough to remove the lens. It looks like a previous owner masked the lens and retaining ring then painted. He did a good job of masking but there is paint where it shouldn't be. I probably won't go high tech with an LED bulb but I will paint the inside white and hunt down some reflective plastic to cover the frosted glass. That's a great idea! Thanks Bill and Gary!

Bill Coye
Westchester 2240A
Brag line: Winner of the
2014 Hillsborough Concurs Strother MacMinn award

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  • 1748 S
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06 Mar 2020 14:45 #39658 by 1748 S
those are great pictures of what I explained early on in this posting. Another idea about increasing brightness we can paint the inside of the bucket white. I believe Terry Cockrell used small mirrors in his buckets to reflect more light. Then Jim O' Brian published a type of bulb change that really brightens the tail lights. It was in a news letter magazine few months ago. Very well written.


Gary Parsons

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  • Rileypu29
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06 Mar 2020 03:22 #39654 by Rileypu29
Hi Gary and Bill,
I happened to have removed the lens from my tail lights so that I could replace the bulbs with LEDs to make them brighter. I took some pictures and maybe they will be helpful and/or interesting to you. Attached is a picture of the tail light body with the lens removed which shows the mounting of the frosted window for the trunk light and also the springs that apply pressure the the tail light lens. It is these springs that Gary refers to when he says that you need to press inward on the lens so that you can remove the stainless retaining trim ring. I have also included pictures of how I tried to maximize the brightness of my brake and tail lights. While the idea of using the tail light as the trunk light is economical I considered it a great waste of light that I would prefer to use for the safety of brighter brake and tail lights. To that end I added some reflective plastic material inside the tail light body so that light from the bulb would be reflected back out the tail light lens. In the pictures you can see that I added one piece of reflective plastic that covers the frosted trunk light window and another piece that circles the inside of the body around the bulb. Also shown is the 6 volt LED bulb that I was able to (barely) get inside the housing. All I can say is that now my brake and tail lights are very bright. If you are interested in more information about my LED installation or the parts that I used please give me a call or send me an e-mail.
Best regards,
Bill Kastanis (707) 494-0715 [email protected]

Bill Kastanis
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  • 1748 S
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05 Mar 2020 23:25 #39651 by 1748 S
Its easy now. As posted above.. Feel up following the armored cable to the junction. Pull it apart. Then take bucket to work bench. Inside this bucket is 6 flat springs in twos. You need to push in the lens enough to take some spring pressure off the lens retainer. Then it easily comes off. Then let off the pressure on the lens easily till you can lift out or flip over the bucket and let the lens drop out of something soft. Those threads coming out the back are the clip retainers for the frosted lens. Its supposed to light up the trunk when the tail lights are on. Am not sure it really does much if any trunk lighting. Later tonight I can share pictures of everything I have posted here


Gary Parsons
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05 Mar 2020 23:04 #39650 by uconn_1965
Replied by uconn_1965 on topic Out of an abundance of caution tail light removal
If you follow the armored cable up the trunk lid, you will find connectors up by the inside trunk hinge that you can disconnect from the rear wire harness and then remove the entire assembly.
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  • wcoye
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05 Mar 2020 20:58 #39648 by wcoye
Okay, I have removed ( at least unbolted) the tail light bucket. I'm not seeing an obvious way to disassemble this thing. The fact that there is quite a bit of undercoating on it does not help. So out of an abundance of caution what's my next move? There are two small nutless screws poking out either side of the frosted lens which seem light like they can only be accessed from inside the fixture. Gary, please note you may be able to see a small patch of Harbor Freight moving blanket in the lower right corner of the photo. Thanx for the suggestion.

Bill Coye
Westchester 2240A
Brag line: Winner of the
2014 Hillsborough Concurs Strother MacMinn award

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