Gunk in taillight sockets

[454cid]

A Dorman part that worked? Wow. I've had good luck with the stockers I find at yards. I just look for the cleanest GMT400 based vehicle and pirate those, use my multimeter to test them and then buy the best set.

I tried several stock boards, even the old design, and I even found a US producer of new boards. None would last, especially on the right. Ever since I got the board from Oreilly, I have had no more issues.

 

[df2x4]

I refuse to buy an aftermarket board.

I would too if I needed one. Part of the reason I bought these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038BBHNM

Plug right in to the factory harness and eliminate the circuit boards entirely. Just regular twist out sockets. I run these in both of my trucks and they've been great. Probably not everyone's cup of tea in the looks department but they matched the rest of my lighting really well.

 

[someotherguy]

I tried a set of those and didn't think they looked bad, but the positioning of the sockets gave them a googly-eyed effect when I put my LED bulbs in there, so I ditched em.

Richard

 

[454cid]

I would too if I needed one. Part of the reason I bought these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038BBHNM

Plug right in to the factory harness and eliminate the circuit boards entirely. Just regular twist out sockets. I run these in both of my trucks and they've been great. Probably not everyone's cup of tea in the looks department but they matched the rest of my lighting really well.

I ordered a set of LED tails from ebay, but found that when I went to install them that I would have to cut sheetmetal behind the light for clearance, and I wasn't going to do that. Now that bed bed is rusting anyway, I wouldn't have as much of a problem doing that.

 

[df2x4]

I tried a set of those and didn't think they looked bad, but the positioning of the sockets gave them a googly-eyed effect when I put my LED bulbs in there, so I ditched em.

Richard

I remember you mentioning that about them, and I believe it for sure. Wasn't an issue for me as I planned on keeping incandescent exterior lighting anyway. All the horror stories I've read about getting the LEDs to play nicely with the OEM electrical system were enough to keep me from ever going that direction. That and the fact that you'd lose the ability to tell if a bulb position was out via hyperflash. I know LEDs don't go out often anyway but it does happen. The way the factory system operates is fine by me!

I ordered a set of LED tails from ebay, but found that when I went to install them that I would have to cut sheetmetal behind the light for clearance, and I wasn't going to do that. Now that bed bed is rusting anyway, I wouldn't have as much of a problem doing that.

Yikes... Yeah there are no such clearance issues with those Anzo 211140s I linked. They bolted up just fine. The red portion of the lenses on this set are tinted black slightly but the picture shows how they fit pretty well.

EDIT - Side note, the wrap-around reverse light on these Anzo housings is really nice compared to the tiny little white window in the factory housings. Improves the visibility while backing up at night quite a bit.

You must be registered for see images

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh yah, I think I saw you recommend those to someone else.

Not my style, a bit too flashy for me and my truck. On my beaters (pretty much every vehicle I own haha), I actually prefer that sunfaded taillight look. That and I don't trust aftermarket part quality as they do not have to conform to OEM standards and/or ASTM specs and what not. I don't trust every set to fit either, yet with OEM, I've never had an issue. As far as those boards go, the pins the bulbs make contact with can be clean, yet the parts to pay attention to are the circuit traces. If you see some corrosion, there could be enough on the other side which is impeding current flow. I went through at least 4 or 6 GMT400's before I found two circuit boards I wanted to use. I'm a different kind of weird I guess. But, after my T40 & dielectric treatment, two years later and they're still dandy. Except for my driver's reverse light, but that's because the corrosion in the old circuit board was so bad it started to wick into the harness. I should replace it..

 

[98chevy2500SS]

I got a pair of those tail lights (SPPC on Amazon) to put my slotted covers on, as the covers looked goofy on the 5 row LED ones. I did not have any line up issues with them either. Put some LED bulbs in the new ones and they don't seem to have that googly-eyed effect to them. The covers look sweet on them and with the LEDs, and they are still freaking bright.

 

[Schurkey]

The Bus company I used to work for had a "company policy" where all unprotected electrical connections were to be painted with Glyptal, a paint-like coating that both protects and insulates.

Later on, they went away from Glyptal, and started using NYK "grease" as an electrical connection protectant.

The stuff is thinner-bodied than dielectric grease.

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...=0&langId=-1&top_category=15555&storeId=10001

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/LIT97940

You must be registered for see images attach

Also available in small squeeze-tubes.

 

[Z71Hobbs]

I got a pair of those tail lights (SPPC on Amazon) to put my slotted covers on, as the covers looked goofy on the 5 row LED ones. I did not have any line up issues with them either. Put some LED bulbs in the new ones and they don't seem to have that googly-eyed effect to them. The covers look sweet on them and with the LEDs, and they are still freaking bright.

Pic?

 

[DerekTheGreat]

The Bus company I used to work for had a "company policy" where all unprotected electrical connections were to be painted with Glyptal, a paint-like coating that both protects and insulates.

Later on, they went away from Glyptal, and started using NYK "grease" as an electrical connection protectant.

The stuff is thinner-bodied than dielectric grease.

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...=0&langId=-1&top_category=15555&storeId=10001

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/LIT97940

You must be registered for see images attach

Also available in small squeeze-tubes.

That looks nifty. You ever have corrosion issues after using it?