RE: {Chrysler 300} Putting a square peg in a round hole

["Ron Waters" <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Rob -

I just read thru your missive. As soon as you said that you pulled out a
bulb from your drawer, my first thought was, 'did he verify that it's the
correct bulb ?'. Bulbs are helpful in that they have their number printed on
the side. So if the old bulb said #90, the new one should as well. I guess
the double pin bulb didn't. Now to make it interesting, in some cases there
could be multiple single-pin bulbs that would work. The difference being the
candlepower rating. If you put too bright a bulb in the socket, it may burn
the plastic lens. This is a common problem with the roof rail lenses.
Another reason to check the number on the old bulb. Or consult the owner's
manual or shop manual.

Electricals are fun. I'm about to install the power window harness into my
59 Dodge convertible. Always learning something. It's the journey, not the
destination, that makes it interesting.

Ron

-----Original Message-----
From: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rob
Kern
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2023 11:38 AM
To: 300 Club
Cc: RJ Kern; Sean Kern
Subject: {Chrysler 300} Putting a square peg in a round hole

Hello 300'ly to all!
	Wayne Graefen told me when I became the C Model Year Consultant that
I would learn all that is needed to know about the C in 5 years of filling
the role! Well that was 14 years ago and a little over 2 weeks ago I gained
another pearl of wisdom.  Trying to exude humility and knowing that self
deprecation is the best way of being humorous and being humble (or is it
humbled) is a great way to share wisdom to pass on.  So I was out driving
Mopsy (Marnie was with Grand kids in Reston, VA) and drove out to Lake
Lawtonka to check on the boat in its garage cocoon to pump up the fuel bowl
and after that 30 second iteration jumped back in the car and voila (or lack
thereof) my emergency brake warning light was not lighted!  OK simple fix,
change the bulb and my next destiny was instead of Starbucks to go straight
home and change the bulb.  Being OC I knew I just could NOT enjoy my Mocha
Latte with a dead bulb in my precious Christine like 300C! So I crawl under
the dash and manage to not cut my hand to shreds with jagged metal.  I
managed to dislodge the socket from the ferrule (for lack of a better
description) and sure enough the bulb was as black as the ebonite that my
clarinet was made of when I played it back in the day!  Now here is where it
gets interesting, scary and educational (also becomes a day without
Starbucks!). I scrounge through my little plastic drawer dedicated to lightt
bulbs and find one that looks just like the old bulb and surprise is
inscribed with Made In China on the side!  So I with a grin go and attempt
to put this bulb in the socket.  Going like trying to put a square peg in a
round hole BUT I finally get it in!  About this time my neighbor across the
street shows up to watch what I am doing.  (Great guy, has helped me through
many Mopsy projects so of course he wants to see what degree of difficulty
this one is). Oh, just changing a light bulb Steve! (Not like the 14 hours
we spent hanging newly chromed front and rear bumpers in 2008). So I turn
the ignition to ON and no light and then smoke!!  This  proved that Mopsy's
sinuses were clear in that it came out from the cowl vent!  Immediately I
turned off the ignition switch.  The light blue wires going from the socket
to the pin switch to the wiring harness were scrambled. WHAT!!!!  First
thing I remembered was Brother-In-Law and best friend (also new Club member)
GEORGE HAGERTY saying that 80% of the time that things that go wrong with
old cars are electrical!  Steve then says well it is not just a light bulb
fix now, and says he has to scram to pick stuff up for his mother who lives
down the street! He did say that he was ready to get the fire extinguisher
if I needed it (we both know where they are in both our homes as well as the
hidden key so that he can get into our storm shelter if we are away). So I
tracked the wire and found that the only part scrambled was what was
involved with the emergency break light . Upon taking out the socket the
bulb was clear!  HMMMM!  Not good!  Then when trying to remove the square
peg from the round hole found that the contacts from the socket were welded
to the bottom of the bulb!!!  Moral of story:  If the bulb doesn't fit
easily SOMETHING IS WRONG!!  (Forget your gynecological surgery background
numb skull!) So a little voice said to call Jeff Carter (save face by
confiding in him, he has not been in business in this hobby this long if not
for being discreet, imagine how many reputations of MoPAR owners he has
preserved by charging what ever to fix the problem created by numbskulls
like me!). Jeff was surprisingly present at the shop on a Saturday afternoon
and answered the phone.  Of course just hearing him say that I used a single
contact bulb and not a dual contact #90 bulb and shorted the 2 contacts
relaxed me.  " Rest assured, I can make you up a NOS socket and pin switch
with the correct length wire and connectors, just send me the old fried
stuff with the ferrule and I will do a one day turn around! " exclaimed
Jeff. THREE hours later I manage to get the wires and pin switch and socket
out!  The emergency brake handle Allen screw would not budge in order for me
to remove the under dash housing that contained the light and wiper switches
also. I managed to unscrew the housing from the underside edge of the dash
(getting cut this time) and moving the bezel out toward the brake handle so
that I could wedge my head (definitely not swollen with pride but shrunk
with humility) and with the assistance of my cell phone light get a small
Phillips head screw driver in to remove the 2 screws holding the pin switch!
Must have good eyelid reflexes to prevent screws from falling back into your
eye when removing and replacing the screws however.  Yes, I did have  chocks
behind the rear wheels should I knock the emergency brake handle and it
release!  Not enough room for eyeglasses or safety goggles to be worn!  IS
THERE EVER ANYTHING EASILY DONE WHEN WORKING ON A '57 CHRYSLER?? Anyway I
got it all out and shipped the fried part of the wiring harness with socket,
etc. to Jeff. Good to his word Jeff had it arrive to my home the day I
dropped Marnie at the airport to take care of the Minneapolis grand kids!
Jeff included the correct bulb with the #90 type on the invoice and the
correct connector for the power to come off an auxiliary terminal in the
back of the fuel gauge. HMMM!  My wire was connected to the wire coming
directly off the ignition switch done by the guy who rewired the car back in
2003 when it underwent major renovation.  Ok, so I was lucky on this deal
that the wire was not connected to the gauge cluster because if it was I may
have fried the fuel gauge and perhaps the electrical conductivity to the
fuel sending unit in guess where?  THE FUEL TANK!  Anyway I reconnected the
wiring with new connectors as it was done in 2003 with all four wires with
good insulation removal for the shrink wrapped connector and installed the
new socket, etc. back in place in 1.5 hours with no cuts to the hands! I
turned the ignition to ON and the emergency brake light was bright and then
engaged the starter button and IT STARTED!!!  Thank you 300 Angels Jeff and
Lisa Carter!  All electrical stuff checked out fine in the car and I drove
her 40 miles this weekend, and YES to Starbucks!  So remember if you have a
C (and probably the same for the D) if you need to replace an emergency
brake warning light bulb use a #90 double contact bulb.  I found two more at
O'Reilly's to keep in stock in my little plastic bulb drawer!  Rob Kern

-

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