47-59 Taillight bulb numbers

[72Mountaineer]

Finishing things up, opened my new taillights (bought 3 years ago) and the bulbs are not working. No real numbers on the bulbs, just "12V". I tested them and they are dead, filaments are broken. Can someone tell me what are the correct number bulbs go in these lights? They are aftermarket 12 volt lights.

[mr48chev]

1157 is the standard two element tail light/stop/turn bulb.
2357 is the brighter replacement for those.

Note: if the insides of the housings are painted black do yourself a favor and paint the inside of the housing bright white from the start. That alone will make your tail lights a lot brighter.

Remember that you have to have a real good ground for the lights. A lot of time they don't ground to the bed or body because the paint insulates them too well.

[72Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

1157 is the standard two element tail light/stop/turn bulb.
2357 is the brighter replacement for those.

Note: if the insides of the housings are painted black do yourself a favor and paint the inside of the housing bright white from the start. That alone will make your tail lights a lot brighter.

Remember that you have to have a real good ground for the lights. A lot of time they don't ground to the bed or body because the paint insulates them too well.

1157 is much too big for the housing. Anybody actually know the answer to my question?

[G&R's57GMC]

Let’s clear things up , what tail lights do you have , what year , stock or custom.

Post a picture of them .

The 1157 fits the ‘55 up Task Force tail lights .

[72Mountaineer]

Sorry. The truck is a 1953 3100, aftermarket replica taillights.

[mr48chev]

An 1157 bulb or a direct but maybe brighter replacement is going to have two contacts, two elements and staggered pins to hold it in.

Still how are you testing the light?

If it has two wires and you are putting one to pos and one to neg that will not work. You have to put one to pos and ground the housing to neg.

Most guys run a ground wire from the housing to a good clean bare ground on the truck to get a good ground. Some lights come with a third ground wire built in.

[1project2many]

1157 is much too big for the housing. Anybody actually know the answer to my question?

You know, we stock over 70 different lights in our garage for our fleet. Vehicle years range from 2003 to 2020 but the fleet only has about 5 different makes. I can't even begin to guess how many different types of lights and bulbs have been made since the '50s. And today with Chinese made lights that have LED's, European bulbs, and non-standard lighting, what's put into a light is Anyone's guess. How is Anyone supposed to correctly guess what bulb you have without knowing more than "aftermarket light?" I've got over 30 years in as a mechanic and based on what you told me I would have given you the same answer.

Post a picture of the bulb and / or the light for better help. Maybe you have a receipt with the light number and the vendor name? Maybe the lights came in a box and there's a number on the box? Heck, I'm not even sure if there's a picture of your truck available if someone wanted to do the work for you.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by 72Mountaineer

1157 is much too big for the housing. Anybody actually know the answer to my question?

I really don't know how to answer without sounding rude but the simple fact is
That means you bought some off the wall tail lights that have who knows what for bulbs. We have told you what normally fits all regular oem or repro AD truck taillights.

First I would go back to the add I bought the lights from and see if they tell what bulb it uses.

1157 base is 15mm in diameter, you might want to take your calipers out and measure the diameter of the bulb you have. Most every double element bayonet mount bulb I can find is a 15 MM BA15D mount.


This chart shows about every small bulb currently available for 12 Volt automotive lights. https://hlgroup.fi/wp-content/upload...Wall-Chart.pdf

[dsraven]

a pic says a thousand words and only takes a sec to take and post. it would really help us help you. if you don't know how to add a pic to the thread just ask, or check the "pics and how to post" thread

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=818026

is the bulb socket round with 2 grooves down each side to accept the bumps on the outside barrel of the bulb? does the wiring contact at the bottom of the bulb socket have 2 contacts? or, is the bulb holder made to accept a flat style "push in" bulb contact possibly?

https://www.bulbs.com/product/1157B2

https://www.bulbs.com/product/3157LL...U-20-BX-200-CS

you could easily enough update the bulb socket to fit an 1157 bulb if you want or need to. I don't remember seeing anything that mounts with screws for the 3157 bulbs

https://www.memotronics.com/bayonet-...-orthagonal-1/

anyway, keep us posted if you still need help or have it figured out now. close the loop sorta thing out of respect for those who give advice, spend their own time researching for you and would like to know if it helped or not and whether you have it figured out.

[mr48chev]

3157 Has a rectangular base Those bases are usually plastic and could be installed in a different housing with an adhesive if needed. I put a pair in some travel trailer tail lights a few years ago.

I'd agree we need some photos of the actual bulb and a clear photo of the socket.

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I really don't know how to answer without sounding rude but the simple fact is
That means you bought some off the wall tail lights that have who knows what for bulbs. We have told you what normally fits all regular oem or repro AD truck taillights.

First I would go back to the add I bought the lights from and see if they tell what bulb it uses.

1157 base is 15mm in diameter, you might want to take your calipers out and measure the diameter of the bulb you have. Most every double element bayonet mount bulb I can find is a 15 MM BA15D mount.


This chart shows about every small bulb currently available for 12 Volt automotive lights. https://hlgroup.fi/wp-content/upload...Wall-Chart.pdf

You demonstrate incredible restraint, persistence and willingness to help Mr48chev

[mr48chev]

I spent over two hours looking for a bulb that might fit. I'm beginning to think he has some sort of motorcycle taillight rather than an an oem style truck tail light.,

[72Mountaineer]

This is it. I've for some lamps that will work. Thanks to all who helped.
https://www.classicparts.com/1941-53...tinfo/49-120R/

[mr48chev]

You didn't break the bulb off in the socket? Leaving the metal part?

When you look in the socket you should see the two contacts

[Driver_WT]

I bought these LED tail lights for a 1956 https://www.classicparts.com/1956-59...info/49-130LR/

They had a 1157 style bulb base put into a 1157 style socket then output to a pigtail coming out of the tail light housing. They did not work right out of the box. Ground was not good going through those 1157 style adapters. So we cut all that junk out and rewired straight through. More foreign junk, but it works now. And the stainless steel housing is nice (unless it starts to rust LOL)

[dsraven]

hey driver_wt, do you happen to have a pic of the inside of the lights you used before the mod was done so mountaineer can have a look and say yes or no to a match of what he has? still no pic of the problem light so we are all just guessing and spitballing fixes. the link to classic parts only shows the outside of the light, awesome marketing job there.

[1project2many]

This appears to be the same light:
https://www.americanclassic.com/mobi...nfo/49%2D120R/

They sell this bulb as a 6V replacement:
https://www.americanclassic.com/mobi...info/54%2D105/

This is a single filament tail only bulb. A 12V version of this bulb could be 1155 or 67. Both are similar intensity. A 1003 uses the same base and is brighter but is also hotter and has slightly larger glass.

You can look at #67 bulb in this Amazon ad: https://www.amazon.com/67-Automotive...omotive&sr=1-2


Edit: This appears to be a Dynacorn LP19 based on the wire color and cloth insulation. Most other lights do not include the cloth. But the inside of a different reproduction light can be seen here:

https://www.classychevusa.com/index....od/prd1082.htm

[mr48chev]

Two single element bulbs with different wattage. I'm thinking that is going to end up taking a trip to the parts house with tail light and sample bulb in hand.

It's going to take some with around 8 watts for the tail light and 27 for the stop/turn bulb.

https://www.bulbamerica.com/collecti...t_by=relevency

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by dsraven

hey driver_wt, do you happen to have a pic of the inside of the lights you used before the mod was done so mountaineer can have a look and say yes or no to a match of what he has? still no pic of the problem light so we are all just guessing and spitballing fixes. the link to classic parts only shows the outside of the light, awesome marketing job there.

No, sorry, we threw all that crap in the garbage. The lights are fine but the wiring was a mess with multiple potential points of failure.