BA9s LED's don't fit

[Joe B.]

I bought two different BA9s LED bulbs in hopes of brightening up my '50 gauge cluster. Seems the retaining pins are too short and the bulbs will not anchor in the sockets. What am I doing wrong? Might try wrapping the bases in thin copper sheet.

[Gene1949]

I had to "collapse" my sockets with a pair of pliers before inserting the bulbs.
VERY gently of course

[Joe B.]

"Collapse" to spread them out a bit at the the pin intersect, i assume. Might give that a shot.
Edit: reading comprehension lapse, sorry. Squeeze my '50 gauge cluster sockets. don't think that's going to happen, but thanks for the tip.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Joe B.

"Collapse" to spread them out a bit at the the pin intersect, i assume. Might give that a shot.

Collapse would mean to squeeze the socket with pliers to make it a little smaller in diameter.

[farmertom]

joe b, i used aero-lites co. for led dash bulbs on my '37 ford. i believe they are ba-15 base fit perfect in the sockets. not sure if sockets are same in your car. tom.

[Joe B.]

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Originally Posted by farmertom

joe b, i used aero-lites co. for led dash bulbs on my '37 ford. i believe they are ba-15 base fit perfect in the sockets. not sure if sockets are same in your car. tom.

Thanks, I will check that out. I'm a little hazy on the old bulb socket sizes. I think the originals are G.E. #55's, were probably used on years of Fords

and I "assumed" these new Chinese made BA9s would have the same base i.e. "small bayonet". They sure are within a couple thousands of an inch.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Joe B.

Thanks, I will check that out. I'm a little hazy on the old bulb socket sizes. I think the originals are G.E. #55's, were probably used on years of Fords

and I "assumed" these new Chinese made BA9s would have the same base i.e. "small bayonet". They sure are within a couple thousands of an inch.

They were probably made on the metric system.

[Joe B.]

Originally Posted by farmertom

joe b, i used aero-lites co. for led dash bulbs on my '37 ford. i believe they are ba-15 base fit perfect in the sockets. not sure if sockets are same in your car. tom.

I ordered 4 "direct" #55 LED replacements from them. Just noticed that the retaining nubs appear rounded as opposed to the squared off ends on the comparison photo, so hoping for the best. The cost is starting to add up. The nickel colored base has me wondering if these all come from the same place.

[Lawson Cox]

I gave up trying to replace my tail lights and dash light bulbs with LEDs. I found what fit didn't really put out that much more light. $$$ down the drain.

[Merc Cruzer]

A few weeks back I replaced all of the lights in my dash. They are not dimable but are great at night. You might want to try here:

https://www.ledlight.com/searchresult.aspx?KeyWords=BA9

[Ken/Alabama]

I put them in my 40 dash. I had no problem with them. Direct fit.

[fordor41]

plus with LEDs you get a white light instead of the yellow from the stock bulbs.

[Pat/Ohio]

Joe, If you have not removed the opaque glass filters from your cluster, the LED bulbs will still not penetrate past the filters. These filters become opaque over time not allowing light through. Some folks take a small punch (after removing the socket) and smack the glass filter. The glass will settle to the bottom of the cluster. Of course if you have the cluster out of the dash, it is much easier to remove the filters. I don't bend like I used to and it is very difficult for me to work under the dash. I was able to obtain sockets for the LED bulbs from NAPA. NAPA/Echlin part #LS6429. Good luck.

Pat

[Nick Bernier]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

I put them in my 40 dash. I had no problem with them. Direct fit.

Ken, That looks awesome. Would like to do the same to my '40. I only see two bulbs on the instrument panel. Is that correct? There are a bunch of BA9's listed on their web site. What specific ones did you use? Looks to be 6000K?

Not to hijack the thread, but the other bulb I see behind the dash is the high beam indicator (which doesn't work). Is there a trick to getting it out?

Thanks,
Nick

[Joe B.]

Originally Posted by Pat/Ohio

Joe, If you have not removed the opaque glass filters from your cluster, the LED bulbs will still not penetrate past the filters. These filters become opaque over time not allowing light through. Some folks take a small punch (after removing the socket) and smack the glass filter. The glass will settle to the bottom of the cluster. Of course if you have the cluster out of the dash, it is much easier to remove the filters. I don't bend like I used to and it is very difficult for me to work under the dash. I was able to obtain sockets for the LED bulbs from NAPA. NAPA/Echlin part #LS6429. Good luck.

Pat

Thanks for all the replies. I'm aware of the filters and the diminished luminosity. There is some illumination at night, but very little. I thought the LEDs might be an easy fix. Someday I hope to remove the cluster and replace the filters with Mustang ones, but that's another subject. Still waiting for my latest aero-lite delivery.

[Ken/Alabama]

Originally Posted by Nick Bernier

Ken, That looks awesome. Would like to do the same to my '40. I only see two bulbs on the instrument panel. Is that correct? There are a bunch of BA9's listed on their web site. What specific ones did you use? Looks to be 6000K?

Not to hijack the thread, but the other bulb I see behind the dash is the high beam indicator (which doesn't work). Is there a trick to getting it out?

Thanks,
Nick

Yes only two behind the cluster. Then there is one in the clock and two for the parking lights. This is what I used. Got them from Amazon.

[Nick Bernier]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

Yes only two behind the cluster. Then there is one in the clock and two for the parking lights. This is what I used. Got them from Amazon.

Thanks. On order,
Nick