Dome Lights

JDutra

Good morning.  I need to change the bulbs in the dome lights of my 1952 Hornet sedan.  I looked through the body manual and it is not clear to me how to accomplish this task: do I simply pull off the entire assembly (bezel and glass), twist and pull the assembly, or remove only the glass?  Thank you in advance.

hudsonguy

Pull the bezel and glass assembly off together. They're held on with long spring wire 'fingers'.

JDutra

Thank you!

JDutra

In bumping this post because I am having real difficulty getting the front dome light off. I was able to get the two rear quarter lights off to replace the bulbs. I have tried pulling on the front dome, but it does not seem to budge. How much force can I safely use without causing damage or is it safe to try and pull on the front or rear towards the antenna knob to try and pet it off?  I thought about trying to pry it off with a screwdriver, but am concerned about ripping the interior headliner. Any recommendations?

Lance

Jeremy, About the easiest way to remove this light cover is to get two narrow width paint scrapers and put them in between the headliner and the dome light base. Put them at the 9:00 and 3:00 o clock positions gently pry them at the same time and the dome light should pop off.   Sometimes  there is rust that has collected on the dome light base and the dome light. It will catch and discolor the headliner behind the dome light cover. This also can cause difficulties in separating the parts.   Most likely you are OK on that score. Just ease the putty knives gently and the cover should pop off.

50C8DAN

Just a note.  On my '50 the dome light never worked and I figured it was blown, but one day I pulled off the cover and a little corrosion was on the bulb base. I scraped it off and bingo the original bulb from 1950 was back in action.  So you may not have a bad bulb but just aged contacts.