[T3] Dash Light Bulb

[Jim Adney]

On 15 Jul 2011 at 22:03, Know One wrote:

> It took me more than hour to get the seven bulbs out and I have a
> blister to show for it. Severe oxidation filled the spaces between the
> bulb and the holder. 

Wow, I've never seen anything like that. Do you have a water problem 
in your interior? (Check the airbox water drain tubes!) Do you live 
near the ocean? Sometimes I've found a bit of small rubber hose that 
would press over the end of the bulb and grab it more easily than my 
fingers could.

> The oxidation is so severe that the phosphoric acid didn't affect it
> at all. I was able to clean some of them up using the old-school trick
> of a pencil eraser and while some of them cleaned up nicely, others
> are just laughing at the eraser. 

Try water and a dental pick. It's probably not iron oxide, so the 
phosphoric acid may not be the right combination. I could just sell 
you a clean socket assembly. I've never seen one that was bad like 
that.

I often put some grease on the bases of front turn signal bulbs, just 
because those tend to get welded in by corrosion. The grease avoids 
that, but you have to keep it off the glass or it will darken and 
reduce light output. I've never bothered with grease on any of the 
other bulbs, simply because I've never run into that problem 
elsewhere.  

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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