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Any aluminum wiring would not be original to the car. Might it be tinned copper which you mistook for aluminum.

All bulb numbers are given in the owner's manual. You can view it on line here in the Literature and Manuals section, and reprints are available as well. In either case its worth your time to familiarize yourself with its contents.

"Might it be tinned copper which you mistook for aluminum."

I Could have jumped to conclusions as wiring was not magnetic

Thanks, hope you are right as I am not a fan of AL wiring.

Hey Saffron,

I weigh in here as I too am 'under the dash' in my '39 Six and trying to effect some upgrades and repairs. I did remove my Speedometer and sent it out for servicing and unless you're familiar with the internal workings of speedometers, and that one in particular - would recommend you consider doing the same while you have things apart. (some follow-up posts on this forthcoming) I did find tinned wire in behind there, so I think Dave (Owen_Dyneto) is accurate surmising that is what you came across and mistook for aluminum. Not sure what you're referring to, re 'radioactive numbers'?? Maybe 'glow in the dark', like phosphorescent paint?? Radioactivity is a whole different 'kettle of crawdads' and I don't think you'll find any in your Packard. If these numbers ever were luminescent, my guess is that quality would have long since worn off. I was able to extract my dash light dimmer switch and get it cleaned up and functioning and was surprised how bright it brought up the test bulb I had it hooked it up to. It had been bypassed by a previous owner and I now must trace down the respective dash light wires and reconnect them to the dimmer switch. I suspect this will improve my dash back-lighting considerably. Not sure if yours is there, hooked up, and/or working properly, but would suggest checking that out. Good luck. Chris.

4.06155 - BULB, INSTRUMENT BOARD GAUGE LIGHT

16TH THRU 19TH SERIES

(50.960) 1-1/2 C.P. 6 VOLT MAZDA #55 327569

37 shop manual..
Front lamp = 2330L
Front parking = 55
Front fender lamp 55
Instrument board gauge 55
Clock light 51
Reading light 55
Signal Light 51
Rear stop Light 87
Rear tail Light "B" 63
Radio lamp 51
Speedometer 51


#51 bulbs are 0.8 Candlepower
#55 bulbs are 1 1/2 Candlepower

NOTE.... Try the 51 as listed in the speedo and if needed switch to the 55

If I remember right I placed 55's in my speedo and can now see it at night ( car has been off the road all year)

Wow, that is an excellent little bulb check list for the inventory of lights on our cars, Larry - thanks for posting. I already printed it and paper clipped it to the 'notes' page in my manual! Chris.

One thing to be careful of when going to a different bulb than specified is the glass size and added heat. Some bulbs will obviously not fit in the opening but for those that do, make sure of the glass length. I can think of a couple of places where the bulb rests very close to a fixed surface and a bulb with a longer length or diameter could break when the socket suddenly snapped into position. Also think of the heat of additional Cp in a brighter bulb. Some of the bulbs fit close to diffuser pieces that can be burned or distorted with additional heat.

That is an excellent point, Howard. Anyone know offhand if a #51 and a #55 are the same glass bulb size? I have found that my dash lights seem anemic and I really have to look closely to see readouts at night. I was hoping the brighter #55 bulbs coupled with my repaired dash-dimmer switch, might cure that issue, but I don't want to solve one problem just to create two more! Chris.

Comparing photos of each, the #51 appears to have a smaller globe than the #55 but I've also experienced bulbs with the same number but from different manufacturers being different sizes. The #55 also draws nearly double the amperage.

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