- Home
- About Us
- Join/Renew
- Member Benefits
- Member Pages
- Log In
- Help
- Museum Store
I need light bulbs for interior lights, 1934 840 sedan. Two rear quarter lights, and then the dome light has two bulbs.
I know they’re 6 volt single pole.
Anyone know what candlepower/wattage they are, and a good source to obtain? Various suppliers have 6 volt bulbs, just don’t know which ones to get nor where is best place to get.
Thanks David C.
The owner’s manual for the 1934 840A has the following listed for bulbs –
Headlamps 32cp
Auxiliary 6cp
Instrument Panel 3cp
Dome Lamps 15cp
Tonneau Lamps 6cp
Backing Light 21cp
Stop Lights 21cp
Tail Lights 6cp
Lock Light 3cp
Perfect, thanks! I used to own an 840, my first of my dozen or so Pierce’s, but don’t have any info left on them and I’m working on one….
The 15cp bulbs needed for the dome lamps are Mazda #87 or just #87 as the Mazda designation was not used on most bulbs after 1945.The bulbs for instrument panel are #63.Tonneau lamps are #81 and the backup light would be #1129.Restoration Supply would have all these bulbs.The headlight bulb would be #1000.It looks like the taillights use #81 and #1129
Personally, the taillight bulb should be as bright as the stoplight/backing light for peace of mind, so I’d put 1129’s in both spots.
Or, if you can find them, the 1131 bulb is brighter, I used to have two dozen boxes of 1131 bulbs, I first sold them at PAS swap meets for $10/box of 10..
Now, I often see them at Hershey or on Ebay for $40-$50 per box.
These bright bulbs work for headlights, and all lights in the rear, tailight, reverse and stop..
I’m wit Bob Jacobsen, the brighter the better, even modern cars, with lots of LED lighting on the rear, get rear-ended by inattentive drivers/texters etc..
Greg Long
The problem with using higher candlepower bulbs is the size of the envelope being a problem in some taillights.An #1133 is the 32cp equivalent of the #1129 which is a 21cp bulb.A #1129 has a bigger envelope than say a #81 or #63.#1133 is usually specified as a headlight bulb or a spotlight bulb and has a large envelope.One does not want to overload the electrical system especially in a car with original wiring.
William, I agree with you on wanting to be cautious with original wiring.
My car is very original stem to stern and I only use the candle power rated bulb as called for in the owner’s manual.
If I absolutely must run at night I use a battery operated LED light or two on the rear of the car to provide extra visibility to other drivers.
Craig,
My two Pierce Arrows have the resistance dimming system which use that coil so I stay with the 21cp Bulbs called for in the car’s handbooks so as to not damage these coils.As you said using clamp on LED lights is a very good idea.
I have magnetic bicycle flashers that mount on my spare carrier.
They keep people behind me aware that they are following an old car with small brake lights.
Photo of lights
Gentlemen: check the gauge of your wires, they can handle a slightly brighter bulb with no problem..
The headlight bulbs stay on, as does a tailight. But the reverse light and Brake light are intermittent use.
Our cars were not made like today’s cars, with every penny pinched until Abe says: OUCH.
The wiring is plenty capable of handling almost any bulb available.
My only concern is with the 55w Halogen 6v headlamp bulbs available. 55w/6v=almost 10amps. That is about the limit for the standard 14gauge headlight wires. As well as the 10amp fuse.
And Halogen bulbs burn at a higher temperature than Tungsten filament bulbs, so in just the right conditions, the heat of the bulb might become an issue.
There is plenty of room for the glass globe of an 1131 bulb over the size of an 1129 in any of the 3 rear lights on a S80, S81, late series 33 and series 36, 1929 through 1933. I do not know for sure regarding the ‘batwing’ taillights on the 1934 and later cars.
Safety is everything. A wire will rarely get hot, but a poor connection, connector has a lot of resistance and gets very hot. So just make sure your wire connections are good, and secure.
Greg Long