So I'm so anxious to get something done on my car that I just couldn't sit around waiting. I decided investigate the lack of a COLD light, not that it's necessary for operation of the vehicle, but it's always bugged me that it doesn't work. The first step was to fix the wiring at the sending unit as the plastic housing for the connecting wires had gotten so hot that it melted one side, only the HOT light was actually connected. Once I fixed that, I thought it would work. WRONG! So I decided to check the bulb and upon further inspection found that one of the little plastic ears on the socket which holds the bulb and then attaches to the circuit board on the dash when turned had broken off. In fact I just touched the socket and it fell to the floor. No problem, I will just use the HOT bulb and socket as I knew they worked. Turned the key on, but still nothing. The COLD light should light when the key is on as the sending unit should be dead ground when the engine is cold. TIme to look elsewhere for the problem. Back out at the sending unit, I checked the resistance from the cold terminal to ground, nothing registered on the meter. Either the sending unit is bad or it's not cold enough to make it come on. Been so long since I drove a car with a COLD light I've forgotten. Anyone know? BTW, the wiring is good, I grounded the lead out at the sending unit and the COLD light does come on then with the key on.
Sounds like the sender. I don't know what year you're working on, but for '67, the cold light will illuminate at any temp below 110 F. Devon
Mine is a '61, so I'm sure it's the same. Thanks! Looks like Rock Auto has the best price at $11.02 for the unit and $5.14 for shipping. CARS wanted $13.25 for the part and over $9 shipping. Both are the required 2 terminal styles. Those are getting harder to find it seems.
Are there two senders? One for cold and one for Hot? or, is it just one? The temp gauge on mine works good. But, I would like another with numerical readings (vs. C N H) I'm thinking of putting the new sender in the opposite head.
It's just one sender, but with dual contacts, 2 terminals. If it's cold, the cold side goes to ground to light the COLD light. If it's hot, the hot side goes to ground to light the HOT light. Normal temperature range neither side goes to ground and no lights are lit. I guess the COLD light is not really needed and was eliminated no doubt due to the extra cost of the dual contact sending unit and an extra idiot light in the dash. I can remember those cold mornings in high school waiting for the COLD light to go out on my '63 Chevy so I could turn on the HEAT! ---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 PM ---------- Doing a little more research, looks like Rock Auto also has the little dash light sockets for $1.18 each. Not bad, so I will order a couple of those as well. I also need to check out some of the green LED lights to replace the ones for anything that should be green on the dash. All of mine are now white, including both turn indicator lights. All of the bulbs with red filters are still fine. Wonder why just the green ones fade? There are the ones I'm thinking about: http://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle/1961/buick/all-cars/9/242 ---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 PM ---------- I'm sure this is correct, but just to be positive I took it out and put it in my freezer until it's good and cold. If I don't get a short to ground on one of the terminals I will know it's no good.
Yeah I don't remember now exactly when GM discontinued use of the COLD light. I know I was disappointed at the time. Seems like about the same time they did away with the ventilator windows as well. That test proved it and I ordered a new one from Rock Auto. Also got a couple of the dash bulb sockets in case another one might break. I am really wanting to try those green LED bulbs for the COLD light and turn signal indicators, but there seem to be a bunch of different ones to choose from. If anyone has any experience with these, please let me know. Thanks!
All you have to do is paint the bulbs with green or red paint to achieve the same affect as the factory bulbs.
Back in the day, I experimented with this, but never could find a paint which stood up to the heat of the bulb. Unless things have improved in that area.
My neighbour's son is heavily into Volkswagen tuning, and he's using coloured "sleeves" over the little dashboard bulbs to change the colour of the lights.
I looked for those but couldn't find any for the 158 style bulbs. But I did do some more searching and came up with these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/22096234347...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_3622wt_1167 I'm not sure how good they will be, but for less than $4 for 5 of them shipped, I figured I would see. Of course the usual long wait from China, but at that price I can wait awhile.
Did you give them a massage, to get a better deal from them ? Maybe you should change your signature into: "Just a massage from Doug..."
LOL that is funny, I didn't even notice it. I buy a lot of stuff from China so I guess I'm used to the misspelled words and phrases.
Package arrived in the mail today from Rock Auto. Not bad service at all, way to go USPS! Hope to get the new sending unit installed tomorrow.
Yes it was, very nice. What's even nicer is the fact that the green LED bulbs I ordered from China via Ebay arrived today. Of course I had to put in the new parts and try it out. Happy to report my COLD light works once more and it is green as it should be! :eek2:
Thought I would take a couple of pictures to show the difference between just plain bulbs and the green LED bulb. As you can see from the images below, the LED bulb is plenty bright and shines a nice shade of green. I have also replaced the left turn indicator with the green LED bulb. The right one requires removal of the dash panel on the other side of the steering wheel in order to gain access. I will get to it eventually, it actually still shows some of the green, but it is faded. One last thing. The plastic sockets I bought from Rock Auto do not fit. They look very similar, but I believe the contacts do not line up properly so no electrical conduction can take place. You can see there are 5 different types available here: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,c...+Search+for+1961+BUICK+LESABRE+6.6L+401cid+V8 The ones I ordered were these: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=442625 I will try again and read a little more carefully the next time. I just thought they were all the same. Okay, I went back and ordered this one: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=443482 Looking at the alignment of the contacts and locking tabs, it looks just like one of the original ones. Plus I believe the ones I bought previously were a bit too small for the hole as they were 1/2". This new one is 5/8". I will let everyone know if it's the right one.
Got the new sockets I ordered from Rock Auto in the mail yesterday and these actually fit, after a fashion. There are nubs which stick up on each side that must be trimmed off. I'm guessing the exact match may be the one which doesn't have a picture, but I can't say for sure. A little trimming with a utility knife and these work fine. I also want to say that even though I only ordered 1, Rock Auto sent me 2 for the same price, which I thought was nice. They must of figured the first ones I ordered didn't work so they took it upon themselves to make it right. It could have just been a mistake, who really knows, but I like to think it was there way of saying thanks for ordering from them. I've also been trying to find out if all of my instrument cluster illumination bulbs are working, but the dimmer on the light switch needs a good cleaning as the brightness doesn't go up very far and comes and goes when you rotate the dimmer. That should be an easy fix, just remove the switch and clean all of the contacts. I also made a mistake by leaving the right side door open for over a week. It is the only one which activates the dome light, so that has been on for the entire time and now my battery it too low to turn the car over. For some odd reason, only the right side front door makes the light come on and I don't see any switch visible. Anyone know where these are located? Found it! They are located behind the cover which hides the hinges and inside the fender. The hinge hits it when you close the door to open the circuit and turn the light off. The one of my left side is just no longer working.
Thanks for sharing. The cold light on my 62 hasn't worked in a while, but I've got bigger issues at the moment.
