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MG MGB Technical - High beam indicator light

Is it possible to change the bulb for the indicator without removing the tach or speedo? How else can it be reached? Thanks.

Dan
DJH Hiltz

Dan - It is very easy to change the light. Just lay on your back on the driver side seat with your head and shoulders firmly planted in the foot well and a small mag light flashlight clamped between your teeth. Snake one arm up toward the speedo, threading it past all the opstructions placed there by assemblers with warped senses of humor and pull the socket out of the sleeve in the speedo. Holding tightely to the socket in the forementioned hand, bring the other hand up and remove the bulb from the socket, then feel around on the seat until you find the new bulb so you can install it into the socket. Once the bulb is installed in the socket and the socket is back in the sleeve in the speedo, yell for the wife to call 911 and get the fire department out with the jaws of life to extricate you from the car. Once you are out of physical therapy for a severly strained back, check the light to make sure you grabbed the new bulb to reinstall instead of the old, burned out one. This is for the early MGB, it is a bit more dificult on the later ones as it is harder to get the hand up through all the obstructions to grab the bloody socket. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Dan,

On behalf of all MG owners, I would like to apologize for David and his comments. You see, David has severely over simplified the process!!

I am a little over 6'-2" and just squeezing under the dash is a feat all of it own. Then David did not mention anything about the clutch and brake pedal depressing into you skull while you are laying there, and if you have the original steering wheel it is cutting off the blood supply to the lower half of your body as it squeezes you.

Now about snaking your hand up behind the gages, this is easily accomplished because you slice away parts of your hand the further you push. I suggest you wear goggles as the dripping blood tends to get in your eyes.

Then you have to put up with the fire department laughing at you and taking pictures while they pry you out.

Dan, it is really not that bad, but it can be very frustrating. If you have a child, this is the time to make them pay for their keep.

Good luck.
Robert Browning

Robert - I simplified things so that I wouldn't scare Dan off. Cheers - Dave
PS. - Great idea to utalize a child to get to the bulb.
David DuBois

Hi Dan,

David & Robert left out that you don't actually pull the socket out of the sleeve, but rather have to roll it out (at least that is how I do it). There are spring clips in the socket so you can push it in, but can not easily pull it straight out.

On mine, the sleeve is gone, so it may be slightly easier than if it were still there.

Bill

Bill Barge

Dave,

Your response definitely covers the difficulty I'm facing, but I'm confused.

Is the High Beam indicator sleeve affixed to the speedometer?

Dan
Dan Hiltz

Dan,

No, the high beam indicator is a separate socket. You just have to feel your way up and sort of guess from the front of the dash where it is located. It really is not as bad as we have indicated. If you get a light and shine it up behind the dash, you should be able to see the sockets for the high beam and the alternator light.

But to answer your question, there is a light socket in the speedometer and the tach, so do not pull them out as they are not fun to get back in. It is not the fitting of the bulb back in the socket, it is getting your hand and the socket lined up with the hole so you can push it back in.

If worse comes to worse, you can unscrew the speedometer brackets (2 thumb screws - one on each side) and slide it out to get access to the high beam light.

Good luck.

Robert
Robert Browning

Hi all.

I am not a great fan of relpacing incandescent bulbs with LED equivalents, but maybe this is an example where a led bulb would be worth fitting, particularly if you have the dash in bits for some other reason.

Don
Don

I just did this (actually multiple times) on my 67 BGT.

My bulb did not work when in the socket but was fine when hooked to a 12 V. source and grounded.

The holder of the high beam bulb appers to be plastic on the 67 and has two metal clips that I assume also ground the bulb.

After multiple attempts, to get the bulb to work, I finally gave up and soldered a ground wire on the bulb holder - putting this to ground fixed the problem.

BTW. This is a pain of a socket in that you can't take it out of the car as the wire goes back into the harness and then out to the high beam wire connector. WHY, I don't know. All the other dash lights haved a short wire going to the connector and can be removed.

Trying to solder while holding the dangling socket, holding the hot iron and the solder was a real joy.
Bruce Cunha

Hi Bruce.

I think I would have cut the wire, taken the holder away to solder on the bench and used a crimp male / female blade connector to re-connect.

Don
Don

This thread was discussed on 09/09/2005

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