Shift Indicator Light Mystery

[cnkennedy]

Hi:

I have the weirdest problem with the auto shift indicator light in my '65. I have bought several new auto shift indicator light assemblies, and all of them have stopped working after several days. I even bought an original, used one, and it quit last night. Obviously, the car is playing games with me (it's periodically done this over the last 46 years), but it appears to be some sort of problem with the socket assembly (in particular the wire which goes to the assembly that connects with the bottom middle part of the bulb), but the thing is so cheaply and badly built it is impossible to fix. Has anyone had a similar problem? Next time, I think I might canabalize one of the several assemblies I now have and simply solder the wires to the bulb!

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[2+2GT]

I have to think that once, maybe even twice, you got a defective one. But more than that, and I'm suspecting the wires are routed wrong to the lever, causing the wire to be pulled when you move the shifter.

 

[cnkennedy]

That's interesting (and thank you for your reply)---there is nothing that actually secures the wires to the lever. The wires go to the bulb unit which has a bullet shaped "cap" with a clip that secures it to the side of the lever. The wires don't separately secure to the lever (and from what I have seen in various drawings/catalogs and from memory when I took the original one out after 44 years in 2009 was that there was nothing that separately secured the wires). Anyhow, as a result of a lot of work I did this morning, I think I may have had an older, failing bulb in the used unit. It flickered a few times before going out several days ago, and the new bulb I put in this morning seems to be working fine (the new units went out permanently). Incidentally, I am using a 1445 bulb, which is dimmer and maybe a bit shorter than the bulb currently recommended. I think 1445 was what was in there in 1965, but......Maybe it will "take" this time with old wire harness and old bulb, rather than the new ones. As I said, the car is playing games.

Thanks!
/s/ Chris