Brake light socket housing

[lonesome george]

Removed a brake light lens today to replace a burnt bulb and found something troubling. The socket housing is deforming and getting scorched by the bulb in all of my brake lights. Checked the maintenance manual to see if the bulbs had been replaced with incorrect bulbs but that is not the case bulbs are 1156 the number Prevost calls for.
Has anyone seen this before?
The last picture is of a tail light socket housing which uses a lower wattage bulb, all is well with this one.
Maybe it's time for LED lights.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

George I replaced all of my rear light bulbs with LED'S a couple of months back. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fled_prods.htm

Of course I never see them, but I'll bet they look better? I had to replace them cause LOC said I had too !

Actually, when I replaced all of my side marker lamps with LEDs it was the best thing I ever did for the bus. Really lights the way, especially when you are turning. The cars next to me have no excuse when I run over them, now !

Gary S.

[HarborBus]

Hey Gary, What is the part numbers that you used for the rear of your bus? Thanks Elliott

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Hey Gary, What is the part numbers that you used for the rear of your bus? Thanks Elliott

Elliot:

My invoice for the lamps are on the bus, which is not here for me to check. What I did, was open the 3 types of lights I had on the back of the bus, get the type of bulbs currenlty in them, then called the salesman at SuperBright LED's. He was very helpful in getting me the correct replacement part numbers.

But, I think what I got are:

Brake Lights RED BA15 9 Bulb Lamps (2) bulbs per lense.

Back UP CLEAR BA15 9 Bulb Lamps (2) bulbs per lense

The Turn Signal Indicators I believe required a different part number all together. If I remember correctly, the turn indicators were a straight stick in type, # 3157 Amber rather than the normal twist bayonet type of bulbs. I would suggest getting the 18 LED bulbs for the turn indicators, these offer better visibility for the front turn indicators. Talk with the salesman again about these options.

Order a couple of spares of each type light bulb. I kept finding other lamps to replace after the original order, like the turn indicators up front ?????:eek:

Hope this helps. And like I said, the side marker LED's that I replaced made the biggest difference for my bus. So much easier to see the lights from all angles down the bus. I copied JDUB, then LOC on this. I hope they don't mind? :p

Gary S.

[HarborBus]

Thanks Gary, I'll give them a call and have them hook me up with all the right stuff. I have the LED clearance lights already.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

George,

I'm late responding because we were at the Maine rally and unconnected. This topic was discussed several years back. The discussion may have been on the very early POG threads. I have no searched.

What you are showing is not uncommon. If you open every one of the stack type tailights you will see the exact same condition. Having said that I am not aware of a single incident where an owner reported a fire or any damage beyond what is seen in the photos. Mine were similar when I replaced all the bulbs. That was about 5 years ago and I haven't opened them since.

FWIW when this was discussed previously I think the accompanying photos showed somewhat more discoloration from the heat of the bulbs. As to using LEDs that will eliminate the problem (if it is a problem), but keep in mind your light output may be compromised since the lenses are designed for the filament bulbs they came with originally and disperse the light best when used with those bulbs. Several POG members have replaced the entire assemblies with LED assemblies and they are bright, eliminating the issues brought about with bulbs only.

[rahangman]

Jon & George I would absolutely drool to convert my "aged" incadesent (sp) bulbs with LED's, if not for viewing safety, then for the bling. How-some-ever , finding a replacement 24v LED bulb presents a problem. I have looked at many many light bulb companies on the Internet but am stumped as to what I really need. Besides, the 24v issue is becoming problematic as in hard to find, especially if not in a heavily populated area (re: Arkansas) . I did find a replacement at Grey Lines Bus in Colorado at Colorado Springs, but they were reluctant to let their last 10 go. Any thoughts, I don't see doing a complete light assy replacement ($$$).

[Jon Wehrenberg]

For those unaware, early vintage coaches use 24 volt lighting in all but the headlights. Later models such as my 96 shell use all 12 volt lighting.

For anyone contemplating buying or changing lighting, verify what voltage your coach has.

[lonesome george]

I'm late thanking you guys for the responses, Deb and I cruised the bus to Colorado for a couple weeks to do some ATV riding, had a big time.

Just a little surprised this happened to a Bosch product, good to know it has not caused any serious problems.