Tail Light Replacements? 1970 Sovereign

[Gael79]

Hello All,

Got sick of seeing the temporary lights "duct taped" to the rear bumper today, so I thought I'd tear them off. and tear into the tail light assembiles. The attached pictures show what I found. 3 of the 4 steel light cans are rotted through.








Does anyone know if there is an source for these light assemblies? I can't possibly see trying to save these, as most of the metal is paper thin. I would like to try to make the fiber optics work again, but they are not mandatory. Also you can see my license plate light assembly's internal metal is more or less gone as well. Any leads on where I can pick up one of these new???

Before I called it a day today, I cut the rotted light cans off, tied up the wires, so that they wouldn't drop down into the trailer, and applied a beautiful, uniform coat of "duct tape" to the holes to prevent water from entering, in the event of a rain between now, and a time that I can order new tail lights.

Thanks again in advance for the help,

[overlander63]

The tag light is still available, as is the taillight can, with some minor mods. Taillights for a utility trailer will work, you just need the right diameter.

[azfiredog300]

Read the threads frm pizzachop, he found an alternate light and modifie it.

[Gael79]

Thank you!!! I found a picture of his mod., but could not find the thread. I sent him a private e-mail, and I'll post when I get a reply. I had read a thread, that said I would have to tear the bathroom apart to get these out. I didn't need to do that, just drill the rivets holding them in, from the tail side of the rivet. Hope the new lights are either plastic or good quality metal. I guess I shouldn't complain if I only end up changing them once every 38 years or so (Ha-Ha).

Thanks again for the reply,

[CJ of Okla]

Check out these blogs.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f447...hts-40542.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f226...-15132-11.html

Hope this helps.

[DPeakMD]

Hey Scott! Good luck on the tail-light replacement. I've been there with 'ya!

I would advise replacing all of those twist-on crimp connectors with crimp and seal butt splices. You can see that's what "Jim&Susan" did in the the "Doin' the Full Monte" link above. Any exposure and those twist-ons corrode. It may spread to the adjacent 1-3" of copper wire inside the insulation. Trim back to shiny copper.

[Gael79]

Hey CJ, saw thouse the other day. Great advice if you have just socket damage, but my housings are really shot. I'm looking for something to replace all four light enclosures with...

Thanks,

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Gael79

Hey CJ, saw thouse the other day. Great advice if you have just socket damage, but my housings are really shot. I'm looking for something to replace all four light enclosures with...

Thanks,

Since you are going to be replacing the whole light assemblies, why not try LED's?
Here's a whole page of them, IIRC yours are 4" round...LED R US - LED STOP ~ TURN ~ TAIL LIGHTS

[juel]

Got the entire license tag light from Inland RV. It took a little work to get it to fit just right, but it's basically the same fixture just the spacers were too long. I have the 76 Sovereign, so it's probably close to what you will have.

[Lumatic]

I just bought a pair of LEDs for my tailiights which are the same diameter as yours. They are locally and commonly available. About $18 each. I have not yet crossed the bridge of how to stick the suckers in, if anyone has any suggestions. I figure LEDs can be installed semi permanently as there are no bulbs to change and it should last a long time. The lights are 4" dia and 7/8" deep with a jack attachment that sticks out another 1" The jack sticks out another 1/4" to make a total depth of 2 1/4" at the point the wires plug in. Otherwise the basic depth is 7/8"

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Lumatic

I just bought a pair of LEDs for my tailiights which are the same diameter as yours. They are locally and commonly available. About $18 each. I have not yet crossed the bridge of how to stick the suckers in, if anyone has any suggestions. I figure LEDs can be installed semi permanently as there are no bulbs to change and it should last a long time. The lights are 4" dia and 7/8" deep with a jack attachment that sticks out another 1" The jack sticks out another 1/4" to make a total depth of 2 1/4" at the point the wires plug in. Otherwise the basic depth is 7/8"

If you measure those tail lights, you will proably find that the 4 inch grew to 4 1/4 or a little more.

The holes in your tail light bezel are only 4 1/8 inch.

We have to machine ours down to make them fit in that hole.

But be very careful that you don't slice open the cap.

We suggest vulken sealer to hold them in.

Andy

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

If you measure those tail lights, you will proably find that the 4 inch grew to 4 1/4 or a little more.

The holes in your tail light bezel are only 4 1/8 inch.

We have to machine ours down to make them fit in that hole.

Andy

Yeah you're right Andy they grew. How you do dat?

I just saw them on a shelf and they looked like a close fit. Good to know you can make them work though. I was actually more worried about the depth clearance but it sounds like yuv been there done that. Necessity is the mother.