Here is a link to a PDF file of the GE automotive lamp catalog with the specifications for the lamps.

http://www.gelighting.com/na/busines...ll_catalog.pdf

See page ten

lamps with two filements are refered to as DC which in this case means Double Contact. Lamps with two side pins at the same distance from the base are referred to as Bayonet base lamps. Lamps with the side pins at different distance from the base are referred to as Index base lamps. All the double filement type lamps used for parking/signal light applications are Index base. The reason for this is to assure that the brighter of the two filements is always connected to the Brake and/or Signal light circuit.

The 1176 is a Bayonet base. Fileing off pins is not a good idea because you will have no way of knowing which way to put the lamp in.

As I said in an earlier reply to this thread, you most likely have a grounding problem as the symptoms you describe are an indication of that. For your application, a parking and signal light, you need an Index type socket and either a clear or amber 1157 dual filement lamp. There are some other brighter lamps that will work for this application. You can look them up in the catalog I gave you the link for. It must be hooked up so the brighter filement works as the signal lamp and the other filement works as the parking lamp. The shell of the socket muts be grounded. If you are not sure use a test lamp or a meter to check it. If it si not, it will do as you described as your symptom.

Later man...

 

Julie,
Here ia a link to a PDF file of the GE lamp catalog with specs.

See page 10

http://www.gelighting.com/na/busines...ll_catalog.pdf


The 1176 is not the standard choice for this application because it is not indexed and cab be installed either way thus it is possible to get it in so that the brighter filement is hooked into the parking or tail circuit and will not allow the stop or signal to show because it would be hooked to the lesser of the two filements. However, in older vehicles it may have been used before they came out with the index type base. If he wants to go with the 1157 or subsequent brighter lamps with the index base he needs the offset index socket. It may be that they sold him the old bayonet type socket because that was stock at the time the vehicle was made. I have no way of knowing which socket he has or was stock. I expect there is aomebody on here that knowa what was original.

According to the catalog specs, the 1176 is a lower wattage lamp, thus would not be as bright so I would think it would make it a less desirable choice on that basis alone.

I have yet to find it but somewhere online there should be a complete set of design specs for these lamps that shows detailed diagrams of each lamp and how they are electrically configured.

Later...

 

If this is the case you have a bad ground connection at or inside the socket. If you can, solder your ground wire directly to the sleeve of the socket. If not, chuck it and get a new one. According to the scenario you described, it's a ground problem but not at the point you attached the wire. I would say you need a new socket. Once that corosion starts it's a loosing battle no mater what you do.

Later man...

 

1176 if you can find it. Don't know if it's available in amber...

Later...

 

This is a quick and dirty diagram of how a bad ground can cause the symptoms you have. Pardon the lousy sketch and notes but I wa is a hurry.


Ther bad ground is shown below as a break on the left side. The pink path is the current path and shows how it goes through another lite. With no ground the current seeks an alternate path.

Hope this helps...








Later...

 

Yes you are correct on all points.

And as much as I hate to give make shift advice - like grinding pins off, sometimes it's necessary because you just can't get the parts you need every time to make everything copasetic. You have to improvise a little.

I realize that the 1157 can be put in upside down with the pins grounded off which is why I told him in my reply to check it and turn it if it burns brighter with the parking lights on.

Fact of the matter Dave is that he has the wrong socket type in there or he has wired it incorrectly. He says he hooked up the wires the same as before and I believe him. Also, it worked fine before so if he hasn't changed his wiring, it should still be correct right? So, wrong socket - I think.

Also, an 1176 or 1157 IS a less bright bulb. I go this route because as I also mentioned in the previous reply, the two filiment bulbs are taller and with the brighter-hotter bulbs, they tend to burn the plastic light lenses.

And as far as there being a "Standard set-up" - lotsa luck. There are SO MANY after market lights, sockets and bulbs out there, there is tremendous variation.

I agree with you - he needs to toss the new socket that is in there, buy one that is made to support parking lights and signals, and make sure it is wired in correctly.

I think his current socket is the type that grounds through the second wire/second contact in the socket. So it doesn't matter if he puts a rogue ground wire between the bulb and the socket, he is still feeding power from either the parking light circuit or the signal light circuit through a wire that the socket thinks is it's ground. And he must have some type (albeit good bad or wrong) of gound to the socket because the running lights are working. And I believe your drawign to be correct: The power is coming in on one wire then back feeding through the second wire (which was intended to be the ground on this socket) back to the other light - to ground. All points to WRONG SOCKET!

As you mentioned it's easy to check: 1) take the socket out of the truck; 2) put the right bulb in it - a good one - whatever it is; 3) get a multimeter and set it for continuety check (0 ohms) 4) hold the red lead of the meter to one of the wires and touch the other lead to the casing of the socket. Do this with both wires. If the needle moves both times, then you have the right socket. If it doesn't: hold the red lead to one wire and the black lead to the other wire if the needle moves, you have the wrong socket.

If you have the right socket, put it in the truck and make sure you have a good ground connection with the socket. Use te meter to check it. Check the wires on the truck - there should be two of them feeding the socket. One carries power for the parking light and the other one power for the signal light.

Set the meter to 12 VDC. Turn on the running lights - first position on the headlight switch. Note that the parking light on the drivers side turns on. Touch one of the two wire ends coming from th etruck wiring that with the red lead of the meter and the other lead to a good ground. If the needle moves that's the wire for the running lights. If not, do the same thing with the other wire it should move. Hook it up. Both parking lights should now be on. Then, turn off the parking lights, turn on the ignition, and turn on the right signal light. Touch the wire still unconnected with the red lead of the meter and the black to a good ground. The needle should pulse. if it does, hook it to the socket wire that's left.

Now, turn everything off except the ignition. Then turn on the parking lights go look at it to make sure both parking lights are on. Then turn on the right signal check it to see that it is flashing and is brighter than the parking light. If not, flip flop the two wires to the socket. Test it again. It should work.

If it doesn't come back and let us know what happened.

J!

 

Do you mean ANOTHER new socket? Once I saw the rust in the original socket [which did work before the bulb replacement] -I had a new socket that I replaced it with. The problem started with the new socket that fit loosely in the parking lite base.

 

It sounds like you either have a bad one or the wrong one. If you are going with the 1157 series, which you can pick up at any Wal Mart, you need the index type base which is offset to assure that the bulb can only be put in one way. I wouldn't go wasting money on some so-called period correct stuff. Just go to a good auto parts store for a new socket or order what you need from www.delcity.net

. Maybe all you need to do is get the sleeve of the socket properly grounded. I would work on that first and then if it doesn't work go for a new sicket. Even better, go to a junkyard and find a socket you can put in it. This doesn't have to be a big money deal.

Later Man...

 

Since it worked and then quit I'm still going with the bad ground because he syas it worked and he didn't change anything. Ene if he managed to get the bulb in the wrong way it would still do the same thing with a bad ground. I would really like to see a picture of the socket. How about a link to the catalog specs from where he bought the socket?

Hey, I could be wrong, just ask my wife... But this is my story and I'm stickin' to it.

BTW, that stupid drawing I posted stretched out the page so we have to scroll sideways. Bummer man... I wonder if I went to my site and put up a smaller one it would fix it here???

Later...

 

Dave,

We are saying the same thing here.

I keep trying to loop the "bad ground" back to where it actually applies in this case, how to identify it and how to fix it - specifically.

"Bad ground" is a little too general a term. He HAS a ground - somewhere, or the light wouldn't light at all. Law of physics. What he has is an IMPROPER ground. It's grounding someplace, just not in the right place and the possibility exists that it isn't grounded where it's supposed to be.

And if it's not grounding properly through the socket base then the ONLY place it can be grounding is through one of the two wires feeding the socket - back through the other light - to ground. Those are the ONLY two possibilities here. (if he has hooked up the wires properly as he stated).

Let's review:

Before he replaced the socket, everything worked fine.

He claims to have hooked up the wires the same. If that is true as I believe it to be, the only variable here is the socket. It can be the wrong socket, it can be improperly installed (and not properly grounded) or it can be broken. No forth alternative possible.

He created a ground from the socket to the frame, it didn't change anything. So the problem isn't that the socket is not grounded. Only other alternative is that it is also grounded through another source - again one of the two wires supplying the socket.

If one of the wires supplying the socket were bare and touching, the fuse or breaker would pop, or the light would stay on all the time (depending on the wire).

The socket could be broken but then it wouldn't work at all.

Last possibility, IT"S THE WRONG TYPE OF SOCKET! Not size wise but in it's electrical configuration.

Dadgonebroke: you can't tell the difference between the two different types of sockets by looking at them...you have to either have one that is the same part number as the one you removed if you can get it, or you have to test it for how it is configured with a meter as both Dave and I have described.

It won't do you a bit of good to go buy another one if you don't know what type you need. And it won't do you a bit of good to go out to the junk yard and dig one up if you don't know what type you need. You have a 50% chance of reinstalling the wrong type again. In order to run both parking lights and signal lights in your truck, you have to have a double filiment light bulb that fits into a socket that is grounded through the base of the light fixture to the frame, and where BOTH wires supply power - one to each filiment of the bulb.

You have to test the socket you have in there. You have to make sure it is properly grounded from the base of the socket to the frame of the light. And you have to make sure that BOTH the leads to the socket are supply wires.

If that's not the case, then you need to buy a different socket. And the type you need are generally sold as aftermarkets for trailor lights or generic tail lights.

JUST FYI earlier trucks (and I don't know when Ford started to add these - I know my 55 did not have them) WERE NOT configured for signal lights. I don't know if your 56 was or not. Point being that if a person added signal lights to those truck that did not have them, YOU HAD TO CHANGE OUT THE SOCKETS AND BULB TO DOUBLE SUPPLY/BASE GROUNDED SOCKETS. I don't think the 56s had signal lights stock either (but I'm not 100% on that) So, if you call Mid fifties and asker them to send you a stock socket for your 56 front parking light, and the 56 wasn't configured for signal lights, the stock socket they send you isn't going to work right. When the power is applied to the Parking Lights, it's not going to light because it has no grounding through the socket. When you turn on the signal th epower is going to come in the other wire, pass through the bulb out through the second wire, flow over to the drivers side light through the buld an dout to ground. Sound familiar?

Best thng to do: test it as we described.

J!

 

OK, now I think we are on the same page here.

Later...

 

Always were silly!



"I say potato you say potato, I say tomato, you say tomato (hmmm that works even better in email) Let's call the whole thing off!"



Julie!!!!

 

Yeah, I'm for that, I'm gettin' really tired anyway, you buyin' ???

 

I'm like you guys-The only positive thing I could do[other than trying to find a good ground] was to order a new front turn signal/park lite assembly. Knock on wood... it should be right. It was only 20 bucks and I know I've spent more than than in time and aggravation! Now I have to wait for priority mail to get it here from Az.

 

Okay- I happened to remember there is a bayonet connection on the new socket. So I get a connector and put it on my new ground wire and attatch it. No change. Now I'm getting frustrated. So I switch the park lites from one side to the other. Now[in my mind] the side that the turn signal wasn't working should now be working. Wrong. Park lites still work but they're bright. Front turn signals dont light up while park lites are on- but again when park lites are off both sides flash together when driver side turn signal is on but passenger side doesn't flash when passenger side turn signal is turned on. Guys-I admit-I'm a parts replacer and this is driving me NUTS.