Ok, this doesnt seem to come up much. I have the over head console in my TA with the little flashlight in it. I know it doesnt do much in the way of providing light, but I would still like it to work. The bulb that was in it was really messed up. It was corroded in the socket. I finally got it out, got a new bulb from Radio Shack. The contacts inside were pretty cruddy too, so I cleaned them up as best as I could. Put it all together, the bulb lit up and it seemed to work. The bulb kept going out though. So I tried to clean the socket up more. Now the bulb is blown... How can the bulb blow? Its a 3V bulb. If the contacts are still dirty, I would think it wouldnt get enough juice, not too much to make it blow. Let me know what you think. Again not a real serious problem, just something Ide like to fix.

Justin

 

..... That's all it's for is a flashlight? Damn.. that's the most useless thing ever..

the over-head console is pretty much completely useless, now that i think about it..

does look cool, though:/

 

Sounda like it could have grounded out.
If you can see if you can get the socket out, or at least see
behind it.
Maybe one of the wires is corroded and grounding somewhere.

 

Haha yeah it is pretty much useless. The little pocket is sagging and when I get on it stuff that is in there goes flying into the rear. Mine is alittle different tho. I pulled out the stupid trip computer things and put in a digital compass and thermometer out of a jeep. So thats kinda neat. I just want that damn flashlight to work.
I dont think anything is shorting. Its a really really simple design. All copper "tracks". Oh well, I just thought Ide see if anyone had any experience fixing them. Anymore ideas shoot them my way. Thanks.

Justin

 

In some ways getting the flash light to function (and you certainly can with a thorough cleaning of all parts) is a waste of effort, because within a short time, it will have corroded all over again. By the way, to repair the sagging pouch business, I used automotive glue to secure small patches of Velco to both the inside of the pouch and the plastic above. Can't see it. Works great.

JamesC

 

Had the same problem in my berlinetta. The thing kept blowing bulbs so I put in a 3.7/3.8 V bulb and never blew again. I replaced all the copper in mine though, and zinc plated it to help stop the corrosion.

 

Hi dude. I understand what you mean by wanting everything to work. I had the same problem with the one in my '84 berlinetta. The metal strips inside the flashlight are brass and not copper. You really need to use battery terminal cleaner to get all the corrosion off the surface. A small brass bristle brush or an old toothbrush is very helpful in doing this. At the time of the design, alkaline batteries were not as plentiful as they are now. When using modern batteries the juice is a little too much for a regular 3 volt bulb. However I found that if you use the 3 Volt "kryptonite" bulbs they will last. If you use a higher voltage bulb you will not have as much brightness. Go to a K-mart or a Walmart and look in the sporting goods section for the flashlight bulbs. Also Lowes and Home Depot have them. When you are satisfied with the performance of the flashlight use a thin film of Dielectric bulb grease to coat the strips and connections. You can usually find little packets of this stuff at the checkout of the Advance Auto or Auto Zone parts stores. This will prevent corrosion from reforming. Don't forget to replace the batteries every year whether you need to or not. They will age with the heat and cold and possibly rupture. This is my Berlinetta.
http://hometown.aol.com/georgeandromeo/myhomepage/auto.html

 

Ok I got it to work. I think maybe radio shack had a bad batch of bulbs or something. I cleaned it up even more and popped in a new bulb. Works like a charm. Let me tell you, that little bugger is bright! I had my doubts, but it definetly works great as a flashlight. Anyone who says otherwise...Ill bet you you cant stare right at it for more than 15 seconds without gettin a huge dot in your vision. Thanks for the help. Hopefully this is the last little thing I have to fix for awhile.

Justin

 

its already got a dot, a red one in fact.