Hey everyone, Sharing this in case it helps someone with the same headache I had. My back left indicator light wouldn’t work even after buying new bulbs. I finally pulled the socket out and noticed the inside of the connector was coated in green corrosion. I didn’t know what the green meant at first, but it turns out it’s oxidized metal—pretty common on older trucks, especially if moisture gets in. To fix it, I used: A small metal scrubbing brush for the outside contacts A tiny file to clean the inside where the bulb sits I gently scraped and filed away all the green buildup until the metal contacts were shiny again. After that, the new bulb clicked in properly and the indicator worked instantly. If your lights still don’t work after replacing bulbs, definitely check the connectors. Sometimes it’s just corrosion stopping the current. Hope this helps someone else keep their little trucks running smooth!
Solid advice. I’d be careful cleaning out in the socket with a file, as the springiness of them is what maintains the contact and in some cases retains the bulb. Bending them in will keep better contact, but risks breaking old plastic holding it all together. I got a cheap set of various sizes of pipe-cleaner type brushes for cleaning out inside small things, usually doesn’t take much to brush off a little oxidation. It’s good to have a spray can of electrical contact cleaner, often spraying a bit of this on the contacts is enough to get it working, it’s generally safe to spray it all kinds of places and you can often spray where you can’t reach with a brush easily, helps avoid taking things apart. Deoxit, CRC qd electronic cleaner and WD-40 specialty contact cleaner work great, many brands make similar contact cleaners. Once it’s clean and working, as a preventative you can apply dielectric grease, coat the cleaned contacts and moisture won’t get to them to prevent rust, but they’ll still make the electrical connection when pressed together. Petroleum Jelly ( vaseline ) will also work for this, but it’ll dry out or gum up over the years, so you might have a tougher time cleaning it out in 5-10 years, and it might interact with some plastics like the housing or the wire insulation; just apply a bit to the contact surfaces, don’t try and fill the housing full.
