Caddy Truck license tag lights

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Yeh, i know some of you are cringing already. 
These things SUKK !

Question is - does anyone recall that when theirs died - did they both go out together - or maybe one shortly out after the other one ?

Or did one go out and one stay good for a while longer ?

Looking for examples.

Mine went out together, or one right after the other.
They were good 2 weeks ago.
Happened to glance last night and both were dead.

Spent 2 hours getting them apart after bench testing.
One was really really tuff.
Fingertips are all sore, and left thumb took a jab from tiny srewdriver right on the tip. Didn't bleed too long. Soreness will stay a while i'm sure.

The fact they are designed non-servicable is insane.
The actual design and way the bulb is contacted is utterly Ridiculous !!! Feel free to rant as needed - lol.

I bought new bulbs (damm $5 !!! for 2 tiny bulbs ?) - but have decided to put some used ones in for a test run first - and see what happens next.

Not ever going to glue them back together and go through that hassle again. Gonna clear silicone them and then wrap tape around unexposed section.

Thinking of putting in a low amp inline fuse just before driver side assembly since they are wired parallel. If a surge took them out - i'd rather replace a fuse next time instead of the bulbs.

Now if it would just stop raining today.

[mystery3]

I grabbed a pair of lamps off an audi 4000 in the yard, I haven't swapped them out yet because mine still work but they appear to be off better design and will look good I think. The oem design is terrible.

[GEE-BEE]

I did the South Africian caddy ones

[Baron VonZeppelin]

I did the South Africian caddy ones

I had a feeling you probly did that.
Are they just the bulb capsule ? or whole assembly ?
How much they going for ?

It rained all day.
Maybe install and test the lights tomorrow.

[745 turbogreasel]

After my last one went out I sold the truck

[GEE-BEE]

Complete assy's 15.00 a pair

Send me your email and I will shoot you a pic
[email protected]

I picked up a perfect rear complete stock bumper over the weekend, I will install it when I need to pull my Hobie cat or jet-ski trailer around

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Complete assy's 15.00 a pair

Send me your email and I will shoot you a pic
[email protected]

I picked up a perfect rear complete stock bumper over the weekend, I will install it when I need to pull my Hobie cat or jet-ski trailer around

I have a pic of the back of your Truck showing Oregon plate and some small bumperettes. The tag lights shown are much larger than conventional - rectangular shaped and black. Are those the ones ?

If they will work with a stock profile rear bumper - and have servicable bulbs - i'm all for it !

Good score on a perfect rear bumper !
I just swapped rear bumpers between my 81 and 82.

The 82 had an HD 1 piece welded step bumper (guessing it was a factory option ? - looks to be factory). No bolts, except for the mounting bolts. Solid steel mount brackets - not folded sheetmetal like chromies. Probably 5-10 times sturdier than stock chromie.

I'll send you a few pics of it. Should have taken some pics while it was off - oh well.
It has for the most part the same basic profile as the chromie. At least the area in the center is the same amount of opening and it seems to be same distance from body.

The 81 has HD everything else in back. But had a chromie.
The 82 had nothing else HD about it except the bumper. lol
So it was a deserving swap for both parties involved.

[tSoG-84bit]

I need some new ones too only thing keeping the creme dream from passing inspection.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Got mine put back in.
Used an inline waterproof ATC fuse holder with 3 amp fuse installed right before driver side unit - grey/lime supply wire thats in the rearward wire loom.

Went for 80 mile roundtrip with lights on to get a deal on almost new bedliner (Rugged Liner brand) for $25 - with tailgate piece. Manufacture date Jan 2010, yeh baby !

Tag lights doing fine.
So i'm a professional Caddy tag light repairman now.
Just don't ask me to repair any unless i owe you a huge favor. lol

I do have a "hot tip" for anyone going to fix theirs, that i resorted to when light #2 was so stubborn. Razor held with vise grips - heated with torch - super slicer. Blade cools fast you gotta be quick each time. I think it was Harbor Freight who offer/used to offer an electric heated razor scraper. That would be ideal.

But i gotta tell ya - getting them open is only half the battle.
Gotta use a magnifying glass/microscope to wire the new bulb - if you didn't ruin the lead wire off the old bulb. You have to snip it as close to the old bulb as possible.

I'm hearing maybe a Group Buy on S.Afro tag lights ...
Who else wants in ?

Fatmobile has mentioned he makes/or can make some LED versions - waiting for further info on that also.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

After my last one went out I sold the truck

Whether that is completely true or not, i can totally appreciate the humor i find in it. 
They are about that much of a hassle.
Especially when 99.9% of other cars can be done in about 1-5 minutes at the most.

You can't drive more than 2-3 days/nights at most around here without getting pulled for just one tag light out. Both out would be a ticket instead of a warning. I had to jump on them and get it done pronto.

[VWCaddy]

Pretty easy to repair them:
- http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/CheapTricks/index.shtml#LicensePlateBulbs

Have heard of folks putting some small LEDs inside those housings.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Yeps, i read that before starting.
And a few other threads i found on a google search.
None of the writes go into much detail.
But it was enough to get me started.

I'ma have to say - going by the reads i found - some of these units are glued together way better than others. I wasn't one of the lucky ones that just popped them open in 10-20 minutes.
My kinda fate. lol

I started with a plain razor and small wood chisel like i had read, then progressed into other things and other methods.

It was do or die - if i screwed one up - i was in bad bad trouble.

Would have done a pictorial, but it turned into a miserable task that took way longer than anticipated. My hands were sore, my head hurt, was in no mood to be a photographer. Maybe next time.

About 4 hours in all.

Have to say - the proper statement would be -

"it can be pretty easy to repair, depending how much difficulty is encountered getting the capsules glue apart, and how magnificent your up-close eyesight is to do the wiring".

tSoG is working on his now.
His came apart fairly easy/quick, only had to use the hot blade in one or two confined areas.

[tSoG-84bit]

tSoG is working on his now.
His came apart fairly easy/quick, only had to use the hot blade in one or two confined areas.

   I wouldn't say it was fairly easy, and they certainly don't look pretty.

I got the straight edges out with only a few minor cuts to the fingers  w/ the classic swiss army knife blade. then around the front of the bulb, after about 1/2 an hour and some more serious bleeding, I decided to try to add heat. since I, like my father before me, tend to over do things, I waited until nearly glowing red, plunged the knife "squarely" into the front. well, plastic + heat = melty, and the first attempted wound up making a lil mess of the edge, fortunately was able to salvage it, but I'm not worried about having them look nice, only concerned that they work.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Okay, didn't quite get that many details in the PM tSoG. lol
Add sewing thimbles and band aids as possible needed tools for this repair. I only used 1 band-aid.

The good thing about the hot razor (orange glowing) is it cools back off before it can make much of a mess.

So are yours finished and back on the rig ?