by T. T. Cantwin in the September 1982 RootesReview:
Series IV, V and all Tigers have front turn signal/parking light (side and flasher lamp) assemblies (T/PLA) which somewhere in their lifetime haunt us to death. Of course, we have come to expect this of Lucas, haven’t we? It goes with Lucas refrigerators that keep warm beer and electrical systems that aren’t!
This month’s tech tip is a continuation of our educational process to update owners on how to repair their electrical components for trouble-free operation. After replacing all lamps in the T/PLA without success, many owners have literally thrown in the towel. You can always tell who they are. They’re the ones using hand signals to indicate their turns or those that you see stalled along the roadside in total darkness. It definitely can be very hazardous to one’s health!
Grounding
These fixes are simple. Let’s tackle the most common fault first, no ground circuit. Rather than explain how it is supposed to work, we’ll provide you with a sure-fire fix. Take stranded wire about two to three inches long and remove the insulation – wire gauge #18 through #14 will work nicely. An example of this would be household lamp cord or old Lucas wires from someone else’s Limey car, etc. Remove the long screw holding the turn signal lens on. Remove the lens. Insert the wire completely through the hole/making sure the wire protrudes through the “spire nut” into which the screw is threaded. Leave about l/2″ of wire exposed on the front face and bend over. Reinstall lens, insert screw and you have, or should have, made a functional ground. If it still doesn’t work, you might try doubling your wire to make a snug fit for the screw.
Socket Modification
Now that the ground is solved, let’s go to the parking light socket. Don’t even waste your time trying to fix it. Instead, remove the junk rubber socket. Drill, punch (Greenlee chassis punch) or file the hole to 5/8″ I. D. (Figure #1). Purchase a universal replacement side marker light socket with a rubber seal similar to the one shown in Figure #2. For this sample, we used T. P. brand pt. no. “PT 21B” contact assembly for GM/Ford/Chrysler. Almost every auto supply store has similar ones. Now, just snap replacement socket into 5/8″ hole (Figure #3). Make sure you have the area around the hole clean so the seal on your new socket can do its job. Use a #57 lamp with your new socket.
