I know this has been talked about to death but...I have read an immense number of old posts on headlamps bulbs and sockets. I'd like to summarize what I've gathered, and ask my remaining questions. This is for dual filament, battery cars only. I gather that the original setup should have two horizontal filaments that are teepee shaped rather than straight. The I also gather that some (earlier?) cars have the focus adjusting screw at the 12 o'clock position and some (later?) cars have this screw at 9 o'clock. On the 12 o'clock version, the socket contacts are horizontal and the pins are vertical. Every photo I've seen of old bulbs (Mazda, Tung Sol, Ford etc) have the teepee filaments and they're designed such that the filaments are horizontal when the contacts are horizontal and the pins are vertical. Therefore, they work correctly when used in a bucket with the screw at 12 o'clock. However, I have yet to find the proper bulb for a bucket with the screw at 9 o'clock. The reproduction sockets, as well as all of the old sockets I've seen in 9 o'clock style buckets, have the contacts vertical and the pins horizontal when used in a 9 o'clock style bucket, ie, it's the same socket as used in the 12 o'clock buckets and therefore everything is rotated by 90 degrees. As an aside, Snyder's sells bulbs that are built to make the filaments horizontal in these buckets, but they are not the teepee style (which focus better). So, what's the missing link? What bulbs were originally used or offered as original replacements for the 9 o'clock style bucket? Regardless of what is or isn't reproduced today, what did they use originally in this version? I've read all about the modifications people do to sockets, buckets, and bulbs; LEDs; halogens; lenses; what is or isn't "good enough"; candle powers; alternators; generators; etc. It's all great information, and I appreciate it but can make the topic broad and argumentative very quickly. What I'd like to focus (pun intended) on here is...what was correct for the bucket with the adjusting screw at the 9 o'clock position? The only two plausible answers I can come up with are that 1) the sockets were indeed different and all the ones I've seen have been repros or the wrong original part in the wrong bucket or 2) there are original teepee style lamps that have the filaments and pins aligned with each other (both horizontal when the contacts are vertical) and I just haven't come across them yet.
Thanks for the info and spelling out the matter, I don't know! But I do see the problem with filaments not lining up, I have just "assumed" it was 'OK'.
I hope you don't mind, I have set out your original post below in sections, as it is interesting to read (well I thought so):
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I know this has been talked about to death but...I have read an immense number of old posts on headlamps bulbs and sockets. I'd like to summarize what I've gathered, and ask my remaining questions.
This is for dual filament, battery cars only.
Filament type
I gather that the original setup should have two horizontal filaments that are teepee shaped rather than straight.
Adjusting screw
I also gather that some (earlier?) cars have the focus adjusting screw at the 12 o'clock position and some (later?) cars have this screw at 9 o'clock. On the 12 o'clock version, the socket contacts are horizontal and the pins are vertical.
Pin alignment – ’12 o’clock’
Every photo I've seen of old bulbs (Mazda, Tung Sol, Ford etc) have the teepee filaments and they're designed such that the filaments are horizontal when the contacts are horizontal and the pins are vertical. Therefore, they work correctly when used in a bucket with the screw at 12 o'clock.
Pin alignment – ’9 o’clock’
However, I have yet to find the proper bulb for a bucket with the screw at 9 o'clock. The reproduction sockets, as well as all of the old sockets I've seen in 9 o'clock style buckets, have the contacts vertical and the pins horizontal when used in a 9 o'clock style bucket, ie, it's the same socket as used in the 12 o'clock buckets and therefore everything is rotated by 90 degrees.
As an aside, Snyder's sells bulbs that are built to make the filaments horizontal in these buckets, but they are not the teepee style (which focus better).
So, what's the missing link?
What bulbs were originally used or offered as original replacements for the 9 o'clock style bucket? Regardless of what is or isn't reproduced today, what did they use originally in this version?
I've read all about the modifications people do to sockets, buckets, and bulbs; LEDs; halogens; lenses; what is or isn't "good enough"; candle powers; alternators; generators; etc. It's all great information, and I appreciate it but can make the topic broad and argumentative very quickly.
Question:
What I'd like to focus (pun intended) on here is...what was correct for the bucket with the adjusting screw at the 9 o'clock position?
The only two plausible answers I can come up with are that:
1) the sockets were indeed different and all the ones I've seen have been repros or the wrong original part in the wrong bucket or
2) there are original teepee style lamps that have the filaments and pins aligned with each other (both horizontal when the contacts are vertical) and I just haven't come across them yet.
I don't have time right now to get into this a lot, but I can supply one little bit of info. The only electric headlights with the adjusting screw on top are 1915 mag lights. After that, whether mag or battery, they all have the screw on the side.
Mag Headlight bulbs are a thing to themselves. They have only one filament, the ends of which are connected to the buttons on the base, not to the base itself. The base itself serves no electrical function except to keep the bulb in contact with the connections in the socket.
Thanks, all. David, do you know if the socket itself is different between a mag light car and battery light car? They both have 2 contacts and an adjusting tab, so my guess is that the sockets are the same. The big game changer would be if they are different and orient the pins differently.
Is it possible based on a combination of Steve and David's comments that there is a third plausible option,
3) dual filament, battery lamp cars had vertical filaments?
This would be a departure from what I took to be a generally accepted understanding of the battery lamp's "Bright", "Dim" functions - namely that the filaments were horizontal and shifted the pattern up and down as well as bright and dim (based on the "bright" filament being in the center and the "dim" filament being off center). Perhaps, we've been trying to put modern "High", "Low" nomenclature on the Model T, when in actuality the original design really did generate "Bright" (on center of the reflector) and "Dim" (off center of the reflector, not as focused, and also shifted left to right rather than up and down). The next question would be, should the "dim" function shift both lights outward, inward, left, or right? The Ford books I've seen just talk to adjusting the "bright" setting and say that the "dim" will be correct if the "bright" is correct. Of course, there's no need to answer this question if "Option 3, vertical filaments" isn't correct in the first place.
I was wondering if the magneto powered headlight bulbs were connected in series. If so, that would explain why they have to have two contacts, even if they only have one filament.
Here is what I understand. Battery cars should have the adjusting screw at 9 o'clock for original bulbs. Unfortunately with the bulbs currently available the filaments are no where they need to be so you get a left right beam instead of a hi low. To compensate to use the modern bulbs, I've moved the socket and adjuster to the 12 o'clock position. Now I've got hi low and can focus the beam. The sockets can be tapped out and I put them back in with some loctite 242 to help hold the socket in position. Also I had a fixture made to drill the hole at 12 o'clock the correct distance from the socket.
Roar Sand, I'm not possitive, but I believe you're correct in that the mag lamps are in series. Don't quote me on that, but I think I read it somewhere.
John, I think that even old dual filament bulbs - even bulbs marked Ford - that I've seen here on the forum have the filaments at 90 degrees to the pins. I too have read that it's an issue with modern bulbs or reproduction sockets, but I don't think that's the case.
See photos here, for example. Either of these bulbs would have the filaments oriented vertically if used in the post-'15 9 o'clock buckets (which would include all battery cars). That is, unless there's another style of factory socket I haven't seen.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/506218/541226.html?1431737930
Yes, mag lights are connected in series. Current flows from the switch, through the right bulb, across to the left light and through that bulb, and to ground at the radiator mount. With one filament, of course, there is no high or low beam. No bulbs are currently produced for magneto lights. The ones sold for that purpose are for display only. They're totally inadequate as a light source for driving. Original bulbs are almost adequate. I will drive at night with them in town where they get help from street lights. On an unfamiliar, unlit country road, no way.
I wasn't near my computer all day, so now I see others have answered the questions about Magneto bulbs. The Bright & Dim versions using the voltage reducer used only one filament.
The problem with modern bulbs has been discussed on the forum before. I guess the market for good bulbs is too small to attract anyone in making good ones.
A couple of comments,
The whole "horizontal" alignment v. "vertical" alignment thing is often discussed, but never resolved.
First, for anyone are lucky enough to find a real magneto lamp, buy a small tube of super-glue and let it wick a bead around the glass to brass transition of the lamp bulb. The originals were not mechanically sealed as such, but rather wicked with shellac to keep the air out. This is why rare new-in-box lamps seem to burn out at idle the minute they are lit the first time with a car only at idle. The shellac is shot.
Second, I for one think the Teepee filament thing v. the arced coil filament thing is a bunch of bunk...more or less. ALL lamps have a feature called "LCL" (Light Center Length) as part of the design. The LCL is the virtual point in space that light radiates out from no matter what the filament shape is. Have the same LCL? The focus point is the same regardless of filament. (I'm old now but seem to recall the LCL on originals worked out to be 1.41". That's top of locking pin to virtual point. Do Check). The 'more or less' part comes into the concept of shadow blocking of light.
Third, Shadow blocking of light. I don't think anyone actually knows why the filament was shifted 90 degrees. I doubt it was for shadow effect of the filament, but opinions are like...never mind. The shadow effect is a line of 'less' illumination caused by two things. Since the LCL point is on the base side of the lamp the REFLECTED LIGHT gets blocked by the filament, and the DIRECT LIGHT going forward gets blocked by the filament. All lamp bulbs do this to some degree, we actually hardly even notice, as it is filtered by lampshades on our house lights...but in a 21 CP system, it just may be a bit obvious. Also, going to the 'H' lens from flat glass would diffuse the light horizontally and probably mask any shadow effect.
Fourth, again I forget 'when' but somewhere along the line there began 'guidance' on where a lamp should direct light and not just be there to be a simple beacon. This 'may' have had something to do with orienting the filament?
I'm actually curious as to Steve Jelf comment. Not a challenge at all, just curiosity for someone to confirm. If the focus screw WAS moved between 1915 and 1916 production (e.g. 9 o'clock on 15 only) then it also begs to ask why as the lamps did not change? (Were the original 15 un-handed with one screw inboard, one screw outboard ? The inboard one may have been a tough adjust?)
In the end, no amount of research may pay off. The time line between Tungsten filament lamp introduction, and original old style lamp filaments overlaps these discussion points so the original arguments may have fact...but at the same time have P.T. Barnum hokey-poke as part of convincing the sell. Further, Ford was never able to figure out the 15/16 'use' on magneto range and in '17 went to a 6V system two-in-series using special 6V lamps, with a third series device made up of fender scrap and friction tape that 'shed' all of the extra variable watts the mag put out over the optimum 18V rating of the combined lamps. Also, '17 n after, those 6V lamps for Ford magneto service had their own lamp number...1130...where the post '19 dry cell equipped took an 1129.
To keep the discussion going, here is an original magneto lamp (grin)
After reading George's remark about the location of the adjusting screw I did some checking, and I sit corrected. I was wrong about the year(s). According to the MTFCI restoration guidelines it was above the socket 1915-1918. It was moved beside the socket with the introduction of the new electrical system in 1919.
Experience tells me that George is right about the need for glue between the glass and the base on the original bulbs. Often the old shellac has lost its grip, so when you shove the bulb into the socket and try to lock it in place the glass turns but the base doesn't, so the wires twist together and the bulb is wrecked.
Ford didn't put the bulb number in his parts books, probably because he wanted you to buy the bulbs from him! I have a bunch of old stock Teepee shaped bulbs that are marked 1158. They leave a bit to be desired, but are 21-2 cp. They work just fine on a dark road, but in traffic, don't do much of anything.
Larry,
Thanks for that reminder, but you have also hit on a very valid point.
Even though Ford always apparently went with un-numbered lamps (Funny, ever notice the vendors today do the same?), the MAZDA lamp replacement number and the EVERREADY lamp replacement number for the wet cell equipped Fords with H-lenses was ALWAYS #1158, even before the car left the factory new!
The 21-2 CP rating is correct for let's say black era machines.
Your experience Larry is typical...there isn't a whole lot of illumination no matter how you focus the lamps even with OEM 'equal' lamp bulbs!
Larry, I know you have an immense amount of knowledge on Ts and are particular. What say you? It sure appears to me based on the evidence laid out that the dual filament bulbs had vertical filaments when installed at the T factory. Photos of "ford" dual filament bulbs (like the one pictured in the link I provided above) are made with the pins opposite the filaments. Therefore, unless there's another version of the socket that puts the pins vertical in a 9 o'clock style bucket, there's no other explanation. Whether the filament is vertical or horizontal in a mag bulb to me is irrelevant, because there is no physical shift in the light source like there is for the dual filament bulb. Filament orientation for the dual filament bulb matters because it either makes the light shift up and down or left and right. Whether it actually matters is another subject, but surely one is right and one is wrong to the original design.
My two cents--the dual filament bulb is not "high" and "low" beam. It is "headlight"(ON) and "parking light"(DIM). Parking lights were becoming legally required in some states by 1920. There is no need to focus the parking light, so I believe "horizontal vs. vertical" is irrelevant. The "teepee" filament is correct for headlights because the LCL won't shift when the filament gets hot, while a "straight" filament may sag and get out of focus.
As an aside, I have 1158 bulbs with large globes and "teepee" filaments for headlights; small globes and "teepee" filaments boxed for tail light use but still useable for headlights; and small globes with "straight" filaments for tail lights when there was no longer a market for headlight use. The 1158 changed over the years from a headlight bulb to a tail light bulb.
Greg, stock bulbs were two filaments of 32 CP each. 32 cp is pretty bright for a "parking" light. Modern replacement bulbs can be 50 and 32 CP giving a high and low beam. I just noticed a vendor is procuring bulbs that have the filaments horizontal so moving the socket is no longer required. https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/model-t-head-lamp-bulbs
I don't have any parts lists to check, but did the socket change when the focus screw was moved? Maybe all of the reproduction sockets are copies of magneto light sockets and not 6V sockets.
I agree with John Z, bulbs were 32 / 32 candle power. The horizontal position of the filaments, and which one was lit, determined HIGH and LOW beam by the direction of the reflected light. It WAS NOT bright and dim, both filaments were the same candle power. High beam appeared brighter because the beam of light was higher and in the eyes of oncoming drivers. Low beam dropped the light closer to the road. Ford accomplished this with two filaments positioned to reflect the light in different directions from a fixed reflector. Other manufacturers, Cadillac for one, used a single filament bulb and actually changed the position of the reflector by means of linkage and a push-pull button on the dash.
Later bulbs had higher candlepower filaments like 50 / 32, so high beam was also brighter as well as having a higher focus, so while high beam was not originally brighter, high / low eventually became bright / dim.
As for the Ford switch being marked ON and DIM, I can only speculate that Ford figured that the drivers on rural roads would drive mostly with the beams on high (ON) and dim them only when encountering another car where we now drive in traffic with our beams low or dimmed and only use high / bright on rural roads.
Jeff-
Yes.
The sockets are different depending on if the focus screw it on the top or on the side.
The repro sockets that are available are for the later type with the side focus screw.
-Keith
Here is the earlier type. The contacts are in line with the focus screw on the top.
Here is the current reproduction
Ford never used a 32/32 bulb in a Model T! What Greg mentioned above is correct. Probably Restoration Supply in Escondido has the best selection of bulbs. Could someone post a photo like Keith did of the back side of a 12 o'clock socket? I just had 8 NOS sockets in my hand, and every one of them has the appearance of the one Keith posted above. From what is posted above the pins are the same regardless of where the adjusting tab is. I have a NOS '15-'18? angle plug, and it has the pins and contacts 90 degrees from each other.
You are correct Larry, it was actually a 21/21 bulb. In the Ford service bulletin for the new "H" lens, in the section titled "New Design Bulbs" it says; "These are clear glass double filament, 21 candle power, gas filled bulbs, which are built entirely in accordance with Ford specifications."
The point remains that both filaments are the same candle power and the horizontal position of the filaments reflecting at different points on the reflector determine high and low beam depending on which one is lit. The currently available sockets paired with the currently available bulbs will position the filaments vertically resulting in a left/right shift of beam instead of a high/low shift.
Keith, you said that "The repro sockets that are available are for the later type with the side focus screw." I think you meant to say top focus screw. The last photo you posted (repro socket) does not work in a side screw headlight bucket. It would put new and old bulbs in with the filaments vertical. The only bulbs that would have the filaments horizontal would be the repro Snyder's bulbs. The first photo you posted would be what is needed in a side screw bucket. The contacts would be horizontal, the pins would be vertical, and the filaments would be horizontal. At least we know now that such a socket existed.
Jeff: Show me a 21-21 cp bulb! I have never heard of such a thing, but that doesn't mean they didn't make them.
No.
The photo below has the later type of socket on the left with the focus screw on the side. The socket on the right is the earlier type with the focus screw on the top.
The reproduction sockets are like the later type. If you put that type of socket in a '15-'16 headlight the right angle connector will angle off to the side instead of pointing down.
The filaments in a bulb are very close to the center, so I don't know what difference it would make if the filament is horizontal or vertical. The focus for the headlight is still moving the filament closer to, or farther away, from the reflector.
-Keith
I bought a pair of mint headlights at Hershey two years ago, with the adjusting screw at the top for my '17. They maybe from and '18 even, because there is a Ford script on them.
Keith, if the repros are for the later type, the dual filament cars were designed to have vertical filaments. That was my argument in the first place, but many, many people think they were originally horizontal. My personal opinion is that people are putting a "high", "low" mindset when the system was actually as labeled - "bright", "dim". Bright doesn't necessarily come from the cp of the two filaments, but rather the fact that "bright" is at the focal point of the reflector and "dim" is not. If Ford used the socket on the right in a 9 o'clock bucket, all would be blissful - dual filament bulbs would have horizontal filaments and I think we'd all feel at peace because things would make sense, but if what you say is true in that the right style of socket (or rather the style on the right) was not used in 9 o'clock buckets, then a lot of people can't wrap their minds around that because of the left-right shift in light rather than up-down. It just doesn't make sense in a modern world. I sure think original dual filament cars had vertical filaments based on what I've seen so far here, but we'll see what else gets presented.
Larry and Jeff, when you read Ford's description of the new bulb it sounds like a 21/21, but the chart in this 1922 service bulletin makes it clear that it is a 21/2 or 3 (21/2 or 21/3). It's the second line from the bottom.
This Ford service bulletin from 1920 clearly shows the pins horizontal, but it is difficult to see what is going on with the filaments.
This is from a 1924-1925 Western Auto Supply book. The electrical contacts are vertical, and it looks like the filaments are side by side. This isn't really a data point since its not Ford literature.
This is the same Western Auto book and shows side by side coils. It also supports 21/3 as the factory cp.
Mazda # 1000 is 32/32 cp, Mazda # 1110 is 21/21 cp. If I remember tomorrow when I'm in the garage I'll snap a picture.
The shape of the reflector and the position of the filament absolutely make a difference in the direction of the beam. As I said earlier, some manufacturers change the position of the reflector, tilted it high or low, while others changed the position of the light source in the reflector (changing which filament is lit) thereby altering the reflected angle of the beam.
In a couple of similar discussion a few years back, George Mills shared the following illustrations and this is part of what he had to say;
"This came up in another thread recently. I mentioned there that something called the LCL length governs 'how things work' in the parabolic reflector.
MAZDA Lamp Co. at the time claimed their 1000 lamp (32/32)and 1110 lamp (21/21) (Both dual filament type) were interchangeable with the OEM Ford lamps. Marketing puffery or true? I don't know.
Point being we don't know the Ford LCL number, but these MAZDA lamp numbers were part of the standardized system and the LCL length is known. The LCL is 1.25" for the #1000.
Match the LCL with any other lamp combination, you match the parabolic reflector in the T within the normal adjusting screw travel."
Jeff, thanks for copying that over to this post. It's good info, albeit not addressing side-by-side vs. above-below dual filaments. I agree with you on LCL. In addition to the axial shift, the dim filament also shifts radially with the reflector (either down or to the side, aka, the question at hand). The only thing that the side-by-side vs. above-below affects is whether the projected pattern shifts side to side or up and down when you switch between bright and dim.
That's the point! The pattern shifts up (high beam projection) to shine farther down the road, or down (low beam projection) to shine in front of the car. It was high beam projection and low beam projection, high beam seemed brighter because it was shining in the eyes of the oncoming vehicle. Same as now when your headlights are out of adjustment and oncoming cars flash at you because your lights are blinding them even though you are on low beam.
The Ford "H" lens makes an almost rectangular pattern of light with flat top and bottom lines. If you park with your lights shining on a wall and switch low to high, the light pattern will move up and down on the wall with horizontal filaments. That is low and high beam. If you have also used bulbs that have one filament with a higher candlepower rating, then that beam will also be brighter.
Jeff, you're falling into the trap others have. Review the above posts including yours. The dual filament bulbs would not have been above and below one another. They would have been side by side. This arrangement would not shift the light up and down; it would shift it side to side. I agree that it should be designed to shift it up and down, but the combination of the 9 o'clock screw/tab, vertical contacts, horizontal pins, and original bulbs flat out do not put the filaments above and below one another.
I'll summarize. This Socket
used with this or any other period or original bulb we've discussed and shown above
in a headlamp bucket with the screw to the side is going to have side by side dual filaments. Therefore, bright and dim is not going to shift the pattern up and down.
Maybe we're just not talking about the same thing. I'm stating how it had to have been as designed, not what I think it should have been.
More accurately, I'm stating how I think it had to have been as I think it was designed. I don't know how it was designed and am open to new information. The information on sockets and bulbs in this post as well as other information I've found on the forum that hasn't been pulled into this post (other photos of original bulbs, etc.), lead me to the conclusion above. There's a lot of reading here, but my post just previous to this one summarizes it.
I just found my Ford script bulb. It is a double filament bulb, and it looks like the two filaments oppose the pins on the sides, or are 90 degrees to the pins. The bulb I have is like the one pictured above, and is not the tee pee shape. I've had bulbs loosen at the base, and am thinking Krazy Glue would be a good fix.
The Mazda 1110 bulbs I have put the tepee shaped filaments in the correct horizontal position using the later socket with the adjuster to the 9 O-clock. And yes one filament is above the other in them. The bulb shown above looks to be later/newer by the script, Model A. The Model A also used non staggered pins. From past reading all Fords used horizontal filaments but took different bulb numbers depending on the year.
Now if you want to really mess things up, the early no cross bar 1926 head lights put the bulb filaments at a slant.
Many of the bulbs sold in the past few years were never meant to be used to drive after dark anyway. They filled the holes and were more for show then use or as marker lights. Of late, some of the bulbs supplied today have at least one tepee shaped filament. The same can be said for the Model T bulbs, the suppliers sold bulbs to fill the hole, not to driven with. So if the light was vertical not horizontal, there was light coming out of them. While the Model A reflectors were designed better, the T is more just a bowl to reflect the light out.
Correction the bulbs I have are Mazda 1114's. 21/21's, 6-8 volts. The 1110's are the ones I have used in the past.
Then to muddy your water, the early 1926 headlamps were leftover from trucks or some other vehicle.
They are mounted at an angle on the fenders and the focus adjust screw is at a bad angle on both sides.
That screw should also be straight across on these lights.
When you try adjusting with the patterns shown in the Service Manual, you cannot even come close.
The problem was corrected with the later head lights that mounted on the cross bar.
This was Ford's never announced service change.
Mark, the 1114 would indeed make the filaments horizontal. I'm not sure about 21/21 rather than 21/3 as far as originality, but that's another topic I suppose. Regardless, the 1114 would in my opinion be a good pick. Snyder's 50/32 bulb would also work well if your generator keeps up (I don't have any experience with it).
As for originality...
The gentleman who posted the box photos in the thread linked below has offered to send me some photos of the bulbs. He has two different Ford script bulbs (one mentioned at bottom of thread). It was pointed out by someone via PM that the above Ford bulb may be later, as it's not script. Larry's script bulb is the same orientation, though. Anyway, these photos to come should answer some questions. The box bares the correct part number per the chart above.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/506218/572915.html?1442852554
I don't have the photos yet, so no update there but I thought I'd add (should make Larry happy) that the early version of the 1158 would also be good (regardless of originality). 1158 bulbs changed over the years, but the early ones are advertised as headlamp bulbs, are 21-3 or 21-2 cp, and will make the "bright/dim" function as "high/low".
Here's an image of a 1930 GE catalog I plucked from this thread...http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/708324/734197.html?1489066333
Interestingly, the 1000 and 1110 I've been able to find would have side by side filaments, but it's possible that, like the 1158, they've changed over the years and that very early 1000 and 1110 bulbs would have different filaments. I look forward to seeing the honest to goodness original Ford script bulbs in the Ford boxes.
Westinghouse made Mazda bulbs too, so there could be a different numbering system then General Electric.
Mazda was a trademarked name registered by General Electric (GE) in 1909 for incandescent light bulbs. The name was used from 1909 through 1945 in the United States by GE and Westinghouse. Mazda brand light bulbs were made for decades after 1945 outside the US. The company chose the name due to its association with Ahura Mazda, the transcendental and universal God of Zoroastrianism whose name means light of wisdom in the Avestan language.
In 1909 the Mazda name was created for the tungsten filament light bulb. GE sold bulbs under this trademark starting in 1909. GE promoted the mark as identifying tungsten filament bulbs with predictable performance and life expectancy. GE also licensed the Mazda name, socket sizes, and tungsten filament technology to other manufacturers to establish a standard for lighting. Bulbs were soon sold by many manufacturers with the Mazda name licensed from GE, including British Thomson-Houston in the United Kingdom, Toshiba in Japan, and GE's chief competitor Westinghouse.
Tungsten-filament bulbs of the Mazda type were initially more costly than carbon filament bulbs, but used less electricity. Often electrical utilities would trade new lamps for consumers' burned-out bulbs. In at least one case the authority regulating energy rates required the utility to use only tungsten bulbs so as not to inflate customer's energy use.[1]
Ad for the Mazda service mark, 1917.
The company dropped the campaign in 1945. GE's patents on the tungsten filament lamp expired in the late 1930s and other forms of lighting were becoming more important than incandescent bulbs. GE stopped licensing the trademark to other manufacturers, although it continued to renew the trademark registration up to 1990. The registration on trademark no. 77,779 expired in 2000.[1] Modern association of the Mazda name is mostly associated with the Mazda automobile manufacturer of Japan (which coexisted with Toshiba's Mazda bulbs in its early years). The Mazda trademark is split between the Japanese manufacturer where it applies to automobiles (including automobile lights and batteries) and GE for non-automotive uses.