Tail Light Sockets

[JR_Charger]

I picked up some Dorman 85860's from O'Reilly's -

Had to order them, when they came in it was apparent the head is about twice as big as the hole in the 72 Charger's tail light bezels. O'Reilly's had these listed as fitting the 72 Charger. I need that tab on the side to run a ground wire, and the clippy tabs look better than the typical little ones you have to fold over with a hammer and a nail punch. If there is a secret to making these fit, I'd love to hear it. If there is a socket that does fit and has the ground tab, I'll take that too! What I really don't want is try to solder my ground wires to the existing sockets. It's way too hard to get up in there, even with the lower valence panel and gas tank removed.

 

[twecomm]

Save that O'Reilliy's receipt.. Might want to try finding them here..
Automotive Light Bulb Sockets

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

I picked up some Dorman 85860's from O'Reilly's -

View attachment 1576744

Had to order them, when they came in it was apparent the head is about twice as big as the hole in the 72 Charger's tail light bezels. O'Reilly's had these listed as fitting the 72 Charger. I need that tab on the side to run a ground wire, and the clippy tabs look better than the typical little ones you have to fold over with a hammer and a nail punch. If there is a secret to making these fit, I'd love to hear it. If there is a socket that does fit and has the ground tab, I'll take that too! What I really don't want is try to solder my ground wires to the existing sockets. It's way too hard to get up in there, even with the lower valence panel and gas tank removed.

Why not run a wire off the tail light housing to a ground? I’ve done that before. Like on one of the mounting studs

 

[Sixpactogo]

I have good used ones from a 68 Charger. PM me if interested. Don't have the complete harness. just the sockets with a short pigtail.

 

[JR_Charger]

Why not run a wire off the tail light housing to a ground? I’ve done that before. Like on one of the mounting studs

I might, but I think running from the socket would be better. Possibly not much better, I don't know. I want zero ground issues and zero possibility of ground issues, but that might be what I end up doing.

I have good used ones from a 68 Charger. PM me if interested. Don't have the complete harness. just the sockets with a short pigtail.

How did you get those out without destroying them?

 

[Sixpactogo]

I might, but I think running from the socket would be better. Possibly not much better, I don't know. I want zero ground issues and zero possibility of ground issues, but that might be what I end up doing.



How did you get those out without destroying them?

How did you get those out without destroying them?

You do realize they just unplug from the housing to replace the bulbs don't you? Here are a couple pics of the used ones I have. I suppose they could be different in a 72

 

[Sinitro]

Can't comment much...
But those lower sockets look just like the tail light ones from my 70 Roadrunner..
Takes a (2) contact 1157 bulb and snaps into the cast metal housing for grounding..

Just my $0.02...

 

[Rennkafer]

I just went through this on my '71 Coronet. If your Charger uses the same crimped sockets that fit a 3/4" hole, you want a SMP HP4040 for the 1157 sockets (Tail/Stop/Park lights). I found those at Rockauto for $1.87ea, just search HP4040. For the 1156 reverse lights, NAPA has those, part number 787112, about $6ea.

To remove the old sockets I used a cutting wheel on my Dremel, cut a small slot through the lip on the socket, then rotated the socket to only mark one spot on the housing. Then I bent in the pieces of the crimp until the socket came out. Not too difficult. I plan to put the new sockets in which hold in place with the tabs, then silicone around the outside to weatherproof them. I'd thought about epoxy, but decided against it in case I need to replace them again in the future.

These don't have the ground tab, they ground through the housing like OEM do, then through the bumper to the body. I may add a ground from the housings to the side marker grounds just because, but it really shouldn't be necessary IF your housings are metal like mine.

 

[JR_Charger]

You do realize they just unplug from the housing to replace the bulbs don't you? Here are a couple pics of the used ones I have. I suppose they could be different in a 72

View attachment 1577016

View attachment 1577017

You just about put me through the roof there - but the 72 sockets are different. Mine are like the ones Rennkafer posted. They don't pull out. It looks like they're crimped down at the top with a special tool.

I sure wish I could have used the nicer sockets with the ground built in! I already ran the ground wires for them

I just went through this on my '71 Coronet. If your Charger uses the same crimped sockets that fit a 3/4" hole, you want a SMP HP4040 for the 1157 sockets (Tail/Stop/Park lights). I found those at Rockauto for $1.87ea, just search HP4040. For the 1156 reverse lights, NAPA has those, part number 787112, about $6ea.

To remove the old sockets I used a cutting wheel on my Dremel, cut a small slot through the lip on the socket, then rotated the socket to only mark one spot on the housing. Then I bent in the pieces of the crimp until the socket came out. Not too difficult. I plan to put the new sockets in which hold in place with the tabs, then silicone around the outside to weatherproof them. I'd thought about epoxy, but decided against it in case I need to replace them again in the future.

These don't have the ground tab, they ground through the housing like OEM do, then through the bumper to the body. I may add a ground from the housings to the side marker grounds just because, but it really shouldn't be necessary IF your housings are metal like mine.

View attachment 1577219View attachment 1577218View attachment 1577217

Looks like I'm going to have to get those with a ground, or ground the housing, as MWbirdLOVER70 suggested. I painted everything and inadvertently insulated the ground path.

 

[Rennkafer]

Looks like I'm going to have to get those with a ground, or ground the housing, as MWbirdLOVER70 suggested. I painted everything and inadvertently insulated the ground path.

Are your housings metal like mine or plastic?

 

[JR_Charger]

Metal.

 

[Rennkafer]

Metal.

So one thing you could do, is put a ring terminal on the housing end of your new ground wire and put it under that screw that attaches the housing to the bumper. Should get a good ground that way as there's not likely paint inside the screw hole. That's where I plan to attach mine to.

 

[JR_Charger]

I just went through this on my '71 Coronet. If your Charger uses the same crimped sockets that fit a 3/4" hole, you want a SMP HP4040 for the 1157 sockets (Tail/Stop/Park lights). I found those at Rockauto for $1.87ea, just search HP4040. For the 1156 reverse lights, NAPA has those, part number 787112, about $6ea.

To remove the old sockets I used a cutting wheel on my Dremel, cut a small slot through the lip on the socket, then rotated the socket to only mark one spot on the housing. Then I bent in the pieces of the crimp until the socket came out. Not too difficult. I plan to put the new sockets in which hold in place with the tabs, then silicone around the outside to weatherproof them. I'd thought about epoxy, but decided against it in case I need to replace them again in the future.

These don't have the ground tab, they ground through the housing like OEM do, then through the bumper to the body. I may add a ground from the housings to the side marker grounds just because, but it really shouldn't be necessary IF your housings are metal like mine.

View attachment 1577219View attachment 1577218View attachment 1577217

Having problems with those 4040's. The dinky little tabs are smaller than the ones on the replacements I bought from NAPA 20 years ago. They aren't strong enough to hold the sockets in. I thought the tabs were supposed to be folded over, so I tried that and broke the tab off. Guess I'll be replacing that one and maybe the other brand new socket too. But with what?

 

[Rennkafer]

Having problems with those 4040's. The dinky little tabs are smaller than the ones on the replacements I bought from NAPA 20 years ago. They aren't strong enough to hold the sockets in. I thought the tabs were supposed to be folded over, so I tried that and broke the tab off. Guess I'll be replacing that one and maybe the other brand new socket too. But with what?

I super glued them in place with the gel type super glue, they fit ok in my housings, but I didn't want them coming out on a bulb replacement.