Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Happy new year all

I am refurbishing the glove box lights on my 56 Executive. the bulbs are wired in series. I have one light that is bright, the other is dim. I replace the wires as the came originally, am I doing something wrong? I tried switching the feed & ground to no avail. wiring is not one of my strong suits. would anyone have a diagram I can follow?

I do believe those are something a previous owner has installed. The original light is a single bulb/switch combination that is a push in mounted assy that goes in the small hole located at the upper left corner of the lid. When the lid opens the small plunger extends and bulb lights.

Power comes from a single black wire with a connector on the end which inserts in the switch assy. That wire comes from a splice in the loom but ultimately from the body feed fuse. Would expect the aftermarket bulbs be in parallel. One reason for different brightness would be if one is a different bulb type or different voltage.

Those are definitely not stock! As Howard said, there was one only and it was little more than an open bulb in a snap-in holder at the upper left corner.

that would be unfortunate, they looked liked they belong. would someone have a photo of the original?. shame, already 2 holes in the glove box

Thanks for the photos HH56, I will begin the search for one.

There is one to see on eBay although the wire has been cut but should be easy to find intact. Unfortunately those you have look more '70s to me but fortunately reproduction glove liners are (or at least recently were) available so good time to replace it. I'm not sure if they all had the same finish but one I have appears to be flocked and is grey inside.

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Believe the inner box finish was all the same gray flocking but on factory AC equipped cars the box depth is about 1 1/2 inches less so the evaporator can fit behind it. Lower end models did not have the elastic stretch pocket on the door that 56 seniors had and I think the plastic inside door finish cover with the sort of rudimentary cup holder depressions was an option on the lower models.

If you wanted to keep your dual light setup and the switch now installed is a normally closed push button, here is the way the lights should be wired to be in parallel and work off the original power feed wire. Each bulb would be the same -- 12v and whatever base fits the socket.

It should be noted that the 55 and 56 lights did not connect to the wiring harness the same way. I don't have a photo, but the 55's used a little whip with a bullet connector, whereas the 56 had a spade connector on the harness plug directly into the light socket.

They can easily be identified by the fact that the 55 is white, and the 56 is black.

If you can't find one LMK... I know a guy.

The power, I believe, should be where Howard shows ground with the other side connected to ground through the switch. I'm not sure if that applies to both years but overall is done that way for courtesy lights on Packard and other makes which generally work through a grounding switch rather than one that supplies power.

Good point, Don. The switch could well be a grounding type as used on regular doors.

If two terminals, then the way I drew it would work or you could reverse power as Don suggests and then ground one of the switch terminals. If there is only one terminal on the switch then it most likely will be a grounding type and power and ground would need to be reversed at the bulbs. The bulbs being in parallel and not in series and both of the same type is the important point to ensure equal brightness.

thanks for the feedback gents! If I can find a replacement glovebox, I will look for the light & change it back to original. If not it may have to stay as it is. 1 supplier quoted $50 just for the light switch. With the current US-CSDN conversion that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Happy New Year to you all!