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Question About Dash Bulb Twist Lock Sockets (update)

1-ton

1-ton

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What size twist lock sockets would fit my old 1991 V3500 crew cab. I think they are supposed to be T-10 5/8" sockets from what I can find on the internet? How many twist locks does my old Chevy take? Also, what are the opinions on those cheap $10 sets of LED bulb/twist lock socket sets on Amazon?

full
 
After doing some research I went and ordered some from NAPA. The cheap ones on Ebay and Amazon have steel electrical contacts that can corrode. The slightly more expensive NAPA ones are brass plated like the OE ones, in order to inhibit corrosion.
 
If i could hi-jack for a sec, concerning bulbs in general.

Is there a special tool to remove marker lights, turn signals etc? i got cut really bad one time when a bulb shattered. i always have difficulty with these.

thanks.
 
vandelay industries said:
If i could hi-jack for a sec, concerning bulbs in general.

Is there a special tool to remove marker lights, turn signals etc? i got cut really bad one time when a bulb shattered. i always have difficulty with these.

thanks.
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Never heard of or seen one. Not to be a smartass, gloves? I can imagine that one shattering while you were pushing on it could lead to some nasty wounding.
 
My '90 uses a smaller socket than the previous years. It actually has the bulb soldered into it. I found bare sockets at NAPA, so hopefully they ordered the correct ones for you.
I bought some of the Ebay LEDs and they didn't seem to last very long. I have had better luck with ones from super bright LEDs.
 
Most of the old bulbs I remove,the glass ends up twisting off,leaving only the brass base stuck in the socket...rarely does the glass break..

You probably could use a piece of rubber hose as a tool to twist a bulb out,or just bust the glass and use needle nosed pliers to extract the brass base..that is what I do if a bulb has popped due to water dripping on it,if it has a hole or crack in the glass,I just break the glass off with something..
 
6872xtc said:
My '90 uses a smaller socket than the previous years. It actually has the bulb soldered into it. I found bare sockets at NAPA, so hopefully they ordered the correct ones for you.
I bought some of the Ebay LEDs and they didn't seem to last very long. I have had better luck with ones from super bright LEDs.
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My main question is about the twist lock size. There are three sizes of twist lock.

1. T-5 1/4"
2. T-10 1/2"
3. T-10 5/8"
t10-socket-base-1.jpg


It is hard to figure out what size twist locks the GM square bodies take. From what little I could find the GM square body takes the larger T-10 5/8" twist lock socket. I just got the T-10 5/8" ones I ordered from NAPA, and will try them out in a few days to see if they work. The original GM twist locks have the bulbs glued into them so there is no way to just replace the light bulbs in the original twist locks, thus you have to buy all new twist locks and bulbs if you still have the original twist locks and bulbs in your dash.
 
All the square bodies I've owned and a few first generation (67-72) trucks all had replaceable bulbs in those twist out sockets..must be something "new" they started doing in '88 up trucks,gluing the bulbs into the sockets ?....:screwy:
 
diesel4me said:
All the square bodies I've owned and a few first generation (67-72) trucks all had replaceable bulbs in those twist out sockets..must be something "new" they started doing in '88 up trucks,gluing the bulbs into the sockets ?....:screwy:
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yes, I do not remember having that problem with some of my older 70's and early 80's GM square bodies in the past. GM probably starting gluing them in so they would not vibrate loose, and go out.
 
1-ton said:
yes, I do not remember having that problem with some of my older 70's and early 80's GM square bodies in the past. GM probably starting gluing them in so they would not vibrate loose, and go out.
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What I found in the square trucks is that the '89 still had mechanical speedometer and the larger, old style sockets. The '90 got the electric speedometer and the newer, smaller sockets.
 
6872xtc said:
What I found in the square trucks is that the '89 still had mechanical speedometer and the larger, old style sockets. The '90 got the electric speedometer and the newer, smaller sockets.
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I will be finding out if those 5/8" twist locks are the right ones or not. I am going to keep the invoice in case I need to return them for the 1/2" twist locks. It sucks that there is no documentation anywhere on what size twist locks any of the GM trucks use.
 
I finally got around to finishing this project of getting all new twist locks and bulbs for my dash. I found that my 1991 GM square body takes the T-10 1/2" twist locks. It takes 14 twist locks (NAPA PN# LS6500) and bulbs (PN# 194) to replace all of them on the printed circuit board.
 
One thing that is amazing is that my 1991 V3500 crew cab dash bulbs where all factory original locks and bulbs that came with it off the assembly line close to 30-years ago, and all of them worked except two of them.
 
Were they all 194s, or did they do some of the 168s in spots like they did with the older clusters?
 
I've only had to replace maybe 4 or 5 of the #194 dash bulbs on all the GM trucks I've owned over the years...of course I had to pull every one out until I found the ones that were black inside instead of clear!..
I never removed the dash to replace them either--it is tough,but my long skinny arms were able to just reach them all--putting them back in sucked !..
 
diesel4me said:
I've only had to replace maybe 4 or 5 of the #194 dash bulbs on all the GM trucks I've owned over the years...of course I had to pull every one out until I found the ones that were black inside instead of clear!..
I never removed the dash to replace them either--it is tough,but my long skinny arms were able to just reach them all--putting them back in sucked !..
Click to expand...

I decided to fully commit to this project so I removed the gauge dash, dash pad, steering wheel, pulled the shift lever into manual 1st, and then removed the gauge cluster. I unplugged the gauge cluster to completely remove it so I had total access to the back side of the gauge cluster.

After I got all the new twist locks and bulbs in I reinstalled the gauge cluster, and turned my lights on to the running lights only position, in order to make sure all my new dash lights where working. Then reassembled every thing back together.
 
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