MTFCA Forum

Any advice on replacement of a headlight thimble socket? One of the contacts is pushed in and not spring loaded. How do I get the thimble socket out to replace?

It’s a sliding fit in the sleeve of the headlamp bucket opening. Remove the rim and lens, then twist away and lift out the reflector. If old may be some rust so penetrating oil can help if the socket sticks in the sleeve.

Now remove the tiny cotter from the long adjusting screw and remove the screw and spring.

Find a wood dowel or a proper sized bushing driver and push the old socket from the sleeve.

Replace new socket in same manner, aligning the lug for the adjusting screw and spring as removed.

Reassemble the head lamp.

Thanks Dan.

Bob when you get that out make sure to shine up the inside hole of the headlight bucket for that is the ground for the socket I may have spares if not new ones can be ordered. A little off topic but do you still have the clunk or did we fix that last week.

I have to get at my headlight socket as well. Dan, do I understand that the reflector has to be twisted to remove? I'm afraid of damaging the reflector so haven't done anything more than remove the bezel and clear lens. Mine is a 1917 with the two-contact connector originally designed for magneto bulbs.

Tim

Yes, the reflector must come out to get to the fastener/adjusting screw of that double-ended socket.

The reflector is held by the same rim spring that holds the lens and rim secure. The reflector has off-set tangs, that clear the tabs on the rim of the headlamp bucket. Push in to release tension of the 4- prong spring. Then twist as you have released tension, and align the reflector tangs with the bucket tabs. Pull out and away from the socket.
A small hook tool helps to pull one edge of the reflector with care, to allow one to grasp it. (If reflector is nice, use clean gloves to keep prints off the silver plate.)
Aligning the tangs and tabs by rotating the reflector slightly. The tangs must clear the tabs to remove, when you replace rotate again to lock the reflector in place, under tension of the rim spring.

Very nice write-up and pictures Dan T ! Thank you.

While you are at it, solder a wire to the socket body, and when it is installed in the lamp, solder the other end to one of the rivets which hold the lamp to the post. Then you will have eliminated dodgy earth problems associated with the slide contact between the socket and lamp body.

Allan from down under.

Thanks Dan - great explanation. Allan, soldering a ground also sounds smart. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

I got the light apart and after some half hour of persuasion, freed the thimble from its time glue. It took another twenty minutes to release the crushed terminal. Shined up the silver parabola and put it back together. The lights work again! Ordered new thimbles and retaining spring for a rainy days tinkering.

Worked on the rear bed later on.

Thanks to the folks who gave the great advice and pictures. Made the job easier.

Bob, if one of the contacts has lost its 'spring', it should be replaced. The contacts and spring between them all carry the headlight current. If there has been any heat through a short circuit/resistance problem, the spring is likely to have lost its temper, and continued contact will. be compromised.

Allan from down under.

What ever you do, if you are working on the headlight sockets, DON'T lose those TINY brass set screws for the wires. As far as I know, they aren't available from any of the vendors. Maybe from another source, I don't know. Just heads up. Dave