VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Parking light housing removal

I have a short somewhere in my front parking lights that keeps blowing fuses. It's all new wiring so I'm thinking it is in the housing...but for the life of me I haven't figured out an easy way to remove them to check.

Anyone have a link to a tutorial on how to disassemble the front end?

Not sure why you have to take the parking lights off to check them. If you have a VOM just take out the bulbs and check the circuit for a ground. Check the bulbs for a short. Check the sockets with light switch off. With a systematic approach you should find the problem.

I've traced the wires from the light switch in the dash to the parking lights and can't find a problem so I'm trying to get to the wiring at the back of the fixture. It's all closed up and removing the grill was the easiest way I could find to get there. I did not install the wiring harness so I'm wondering if there is a problem when they were wired up.

tO REMOVE THE PARKING LIGHT REMOVE TWO SCREWS THAT HOLD THE LENS AND BEZEL TO THE HOUSING. tHEN REMOVE THE TWO SCREWS THAT HOLD THE HOUSING TO THE FENDER AND THEN THE HOUSING WILL PULL FORWARD.

There aren't any screws in the front when you remove the lens, it is bolted from the rear. I'll take some pictures when I get home...

There's no need to remove the grill. One of the nuts holding it on is accessible from the back side of the fender the other one can be reached from the front if your fingers are small enough and using a 1/4" drive ratchet or ratcheting wrench or remove the round inspection panel from the hood lock/radiator baffle and reach down. You can also remover the entire baffle to make it even easier.

IF, all is still stock, after removing the lens, their should be two small screws that holds the bulb socket to the housing. Remove those screws and the socket will pull out from the front.If when it was re-wired, it would have a new lead from the junction blocks down behind the grill and into the bulb holder/socket. It required the new wire to insert into the socket from the rear and a new contact to be soldered on. If not careful in doing this the contact/wire could touch the housing causing a short. As mentioned above, removing the baffle in front of the radiator to feed the wires in and out to the junction is the easiest.

This is what I am talking about. It should have a rubber boot over the backside to keek out water.

One other note, this is what must be replaced if you install turn signals.
boot