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Fiero Lighting

Ok, at first this one sounds even sillier than telling people how to install the thermostat. You unplug the old light and shove in a new one. Not so fast... This page isn't written just for those with a taillight out.

This is all the stuff I can find about various lamps used in Fiero. There are a bunch of reasons you might need an alternate lamp so I threw in a few of those as well. Most alternates are a hair brighter or dimmer than OE, which isn't usually a problem.

I've also included all the electrical data I can about them. This should be handy for people doing custom interior work. Even if you are running a completely different lamp for something, knowing the characteristics of the OE lamp you replaced can keep you from doing things like overloading the dash dimmer.

Lamp Safety

Warning! If you must test a halogen lamp outside it's fixture, wear goggles! If the capsule pops it can throw pieces amazingly far. (This applies to all Halogen lamps in your car home or work.)

Warning! If you touch the glass of a Halogen lamp or think someone else might have touched it, you MUST clean it with alcohol before turning it on. Failing to do this will usually mean very short lamp life. It can even make the capsule explode. (The oil from your hands causes hot spots in the glass.)

NOTE! I've seen a Halogen version of the 1157/2057 and 1156 lamps in some stores. These lamps claim to be brighter, which likely means hotter. The extra heat could damage the lamp house or lens. It could even result in a fire. You want to be careful if you decide to try these. (If used with turn signals, you may have to replace the turn and hazard cans to handle the extra load.)

DO NOT use Halogen lamps in sockets that are prone to leak water! Many cheap Halogen capsules will shatter instantly if water hits them while hot. Even good Halogens won't take the amount of abuse that normal lamps are often subjected to.

What about regular lamps?

These can burn or cut you but won't usually explode. You should handle them carefully but generally they aren't as sensitive as Halogen can be. You don't need to worry about touching the glass but clean off any heavy dirt/grease.

Bulb Problems?

Check bulbs and sockets are good.

Turn Signal won't work, are slow, etc.

See Sneak Path.

If Turn Signal (both sides) are still slow then replace the Flasher(s) with these electronic units...

Note: The sound that the flasher makes is affected by its mount. The OE clip above steering column acts like a sounding board. Clip then more sound. No clip then little or no sound. (Same idea as Violin etc.)

Warning:

OE flasher has a Metal shell... Tridon EL12 and many with Plastic shell can/will have problems over time with the OE Clip on steering support frame.

The sharp teeth will cause the plastic case to crack etc and depending on what internal parts are hit by the clip, the flashing can fail and maybe blow the fuse. If you have used the clip then remove the flasher from the clip before the clip eats a hole and likely causing a short circuit.

Lamp Socket Repair

You'll see many threads in the forums to check lamp grounds when you have lighting problems. Most people think that just means checking the wiring and inspecting the sockets. What they don't know is a common but subtle way that the rear lamp sockets can act up as they age. The sockets may look ok but the ground contact isn't getting a good bite on the lamp base.

If you examine this picture of a socket you'll see two metal ears below the tip of the screwdriver. (More on the screwdriver in a sec...) What happens is that those ears can get bent over time. Fixing the problem is a matter of bending the ears in a little bit and this is easier when you take the contacts out of the socket.

This is where the screwdriver comes in. Use it to lift the end of the contact over the plastic and then pull the wire out of the back of the socket. (You are pushing tip of the contact toward the center of the lamp hole.) Note that the plastic between the ears does not hold the contact, don't mess with it.

Bend the ears toward each other just a tiny bit. You want the ears parallel to just a bit toward each other. If you bend them too far you could have trouble getting the lamp in. The ears need to spring open to do their job. Once you do that, slide the wire back into the socket.

The pancake sockets are also repairable but more involved. To get those contacts out you first have to carefully unsnap the back cover from the pancake socket. Preserve as much of the grease as you can. You don't want or need to remove that in most cases. It is special grease made for lamps that can be difficult to find. I use a couple pairs of needle nose pliers to work with these so I don't get grease all over. The ground terminal of the pancake socket can be a little tricky to get back into place. Just be patient and they will go back in.

Halogen Lifetime

Shatter Halogen lamps means...

Halogen lamps doesn't last for rated hours

Most bulbs last for rated hours and more IF they get the right Voltage. A bad alternator will wreck Halogen bulbs!

At its worst... Over volt system = brighter bulb = over pressure bulb envelop == Boom for bulb. Halogen has iodine and other gas (Halogen is not just a marketing speak...) instead of vacuum that regular bulbs to.

Repeat failure, and short life is still a failure, on Halogen bulbs then you should check the alternator is good. (Do Not Trust dash meter!)

Brighter is better?

Many people think that brighter is better but it's not always true. If you go too bright you get these issues:

If you don't think heat matters... you probably haven't seen the damage common to the high mount brake light fixture. The outside and lens usually look ok but the reflector is often well toasted by the 27 watt 889 lamp. On the other hand, a brighter 1156 in the backup lamp position probably won't hurt anything. The backup lamps usually aren't on very long.

Brighter brake/turn lamps can blind drivers behind you. They will see the lights but often miss seeing people etc nearby, like trying to fixing a flat tire and get hit or killed by drivers couldn't see you for over bright flashers.

But I need brighter bulb. My bulbs look dim...

First Try Cleaning light assembles and if needed, repaint reflectors. (Spray "chrome" or timgray in PFF says High gloss bright white is good too.) You'd be surprise how bad "sealed" assembly can get messed up with junk... Even a thin film of crap on reflectors can reduce lighting output by 1/3-1/2 or more. Good reflectors are a critical part of light assembly performance. Make sure you clean oil/dirt before painting but remember that Many auto chemicals can eat plastic. Use bathroom tub cleaners, 409, etc...

Next get new stock bulbs. An old bulb goes dim from envelope "soot" long before they blow.

Check wiring, and dimmer... Bad dimmer, wiring, or ground, doesn't help light output.

Because I tinted my taillights...

Congratulations, your taillights are now likely illegal for street use in the U.S.. Don't be very surprised if you find you've become a ticket magnet. Even if you are running the same speed as everyone else, your dim taillights make you stand out. But the lights passed inspection... As lame as many inspections are, that doesn't mean much. Most States laws/rules are online and many DMV have easy to read versions.

Bright or colored headlamps can cause the same problem. Even if the officer that stops you doesn't say anything about the lights, don't assume they weren't noticed. Tinting taillight is an Equipment Violation and Primary Offense in most area. Meaning Cops can stop you just for having dim/dead bulb(s). Not a good thing in many area...

Brighter lamps may partly compensate for the illegal housings but the extra heat could melt them.

Standard 1157 or 2357 shouldn't melt housing in Fiero but may not be bright enough to make up for the illegal tint. Keep in mind 1157 is only slightly brighter, 3 watts, on the tail filament. The 1157 brake/turn filament is the same as 2057. 2357 give more wattage (40 vs 32) on brake/turn filament than 2057 or 1157, park filament is 3 watts.

Halogen 1157 and 1156 are brighter and likely hotter. Example: Halogen 1157 bulbs rated at 50w/15w. The 15w taillight filament might be ok depending on fixture but the 50w brake/turn filament could get hot enough to damage/melt the fixture and socket. Can be a Fire Hazard in many cars, not just Fiero.

Review/Testing

(Both added 5/14)

Painting Reflectors

I've tried gloss white to repaint the notchback rear reflectors... Don't like it and look a dimmer that OE which used spray chrome. White makes Backup whiter w/o bulb on. (I have extra w/ crack cover to play and did side by side test.)

2357 (Rodney's and others bright taillights)

I left one side my notch back with New 2057 bulbs and both OE housings. I underline new 2057 because many compare to Old 2057 and see a big difference. Even ignoring electric problems, Old bulbs can have soot buildup etc and seeing big changes are easy doing that.

Result? Sorry using 2357 does not help Brake light much, if any, in daytime and at night a tiny bit brighter. 2357 would be a little bit bighter use with Amber lenses for GT rear turn signals or on the front of all models. You can't see 1 candela diff for tail/parking lights day or night. Before you ask... I tried taking pictures with two real (Digital) cameras but getting meaningful pictures for this is very hard. Pictures can show 2357 is brighter or not depending on camera settings.

Why? 2357 is a small amount of added white light vs. OE bulb. You might see brighter white but running thru Red Lenses, the final output is often less than most expect. To make this more confusing, because of Tolerance the bulb are built, etc. is very hard to see any results. I have several brands of 2057 2357 and 1157 bulbs, some are "long life," and each can affect results for doing same test. This means some combinations doing same test would have more obvious difference and others you can't tell without knowing bulb numbers.

If you buy/bought Rodney's bulbs, Price for a set of 4 or 6 is an ok to good price even added shipping.

LED lighting, the next wave

LED can help or hurt. Please see the LED Poisoning and LED Marker Light.

I've added Lumens data in the table below so you can compare LED and normal bulbs.

Avoid any vendor that does not publish correct light output data. Many will be too dim, others too bright.
If a lamp is available in colors then a site should list specs for Each color because the LED formula to make green is different then amber or red LEDs and will affect brightness. Superbrightleds.com is an example that shows brightness, beam angle, etc.

Some vendors publish LED Lumens, many others use millicandela and viewing angle specs. To convert those to Lumens see Millicandela to lumens calculator at RapidTables.com - Engineering Resources. Viewing/Beam angle will be the Apex angle.

Brightness is not only thing to think about. Light pattern from a LED lamp is a big issue because can affect viewing angles for a given fixture.

Lamp Replacement

WARNING! Never install anything but the 27 watt 889 lamp in the high mount brake fixture. Several other lamps will physically fit this location but could set the car on fire due to greatly increased heat. (50 watts or more for some types.)

Sockets for exterior lamps are often packed with special "bulb grease" to prevent corrosion and available at many parts stores. If you can't find bulb grease then you can use dielectric grease. It's not quite as good as the OE stuff but will do the job. Silicone brake grease will also work. Brake grease isn't quite as oily as dielectric usually is. (If you are doing this with Halogen lamps, make sure the grease can't run onto the lamp glass! Make sure the grease is nonflammable!)

A fairly common problem is for the bulb to separate from its metal base, which can make removing the lamp a pain. When that happens, twist the bulb until the wires break. (Use heavy gloves!) To remove the remaining base you can try a couple things. (Make sure the light is completely OFF!)

The tiny T-1 3/4 wedge base lamps (70, 74 etc.) can stick tightly in the socket. Try wrapping some electrical or other thick tape around the lamp to get a better grip on it. (In many cases the sockets are pretty well fused to the lamp. The lamp might never come out without wrecking the socket.)

If you are having dash lamp trouble, check the lamp sockets. The little arms that contact the circuit board have a habit of cracking or bending. If the holder is dead, you can either try to find new sockets or use Sylvainia's 194PC, which includes it's own socket. Check Auto Parts stores that carry Sylvania. I don't know if any other brand makes these.

Lamp Types

Note that MSCD or lm specs are for Total white light output. Lenses/filters over the bulbs will reduce that output.

The information below is pulled from multiple sources and is for standard lamps. Lamps designated "Long Life" and similar may vary slightly in electrical, life, and/or candela. (Where available, "Long Life" lamps are typically rated approximately 2x the life shown below.)

OE?

Trade

Form

Base Type

Filament

Life

Amps

Volts

Watts

Mean

Lumens

Used for

Number

Factor

(W=Wedge)

(Hrs)

(VA)

Spherical

(lm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candela

 

 

Y

37

T-1 3/4

W2.1x4.9d

C-2F

1500

0.09

14

1.26

0.5

7

Heater, Radio

Y

70

T-1 3/4

W2.1x4.9d

C-2F

100

0.15

14

2.1

1.5

19

Used 1

 

73

T-1 3/4

W2.1x4.9d

C-2F

15000

0.08

14

1.12

0.3

4

 

 

74

T-1 3/4

W2.1x4.9d

C-2F

500

0.1

14

1.4

0.7

9

 

 

161

T-3 1/4

W2.1x9.2d

C-2F

4000

0.19

14

2.66

1

13

 

Y

168

T-3 1/4

W2.1x9.2d

C-2F

1500

0.35

14

4.9

3

38

Foot Lights

Y

194

T-3 1/4

W2.1x9.2d

C-2F

2500

0.27

14

3.78

2

25

Used 2

 

194PC

T-3 1/4

PC mount

C-2F

2500

0.27

14

3.78

2

25

Dash only

Y

561

T-3

Ridged Loop

C-8

1000

0.97

12.8

12.42

12

151

Trunk, Dome

Y

906

T-5

W2.1x9.2d

C-2F

1000

0.69

13.5

8.97

6

75

Dome

Y

889

T-3 1/4

PGJ13 Plug

C-6

300

2.11

12.8

27

45

540

High Brake

Y

1156

S-8

S.C. Bayonet

C-6

1200

2.1

12.8

26.88

32

402

Reverse

 

1157

S-8

D.C. Index

C-6

1200

2.1

12.8

26.88

32

402

 

Bayonet

C-6

5000

0.59

14

8.26

3

38

 

Y

2057

S-8

D.C. Index

C-6

1200

2.1

12.8

26.88

32

402

Turn/Stop

Bayonet

C-6

5000

0.49

14

6.86

2

25

Park

 

2357

S-8

D.C. Index

C-6

400

2.23

12.8

28.5

40

503

 

Bayonet

C-6

5000

0.59

14

8.26

3

38

 

Y

H6054

REC68

G16t or A-3

C-6

150

5.1

12.8

65

 

 

Headlights

C-6

320

2.73

12.8

35

 

"Used for" notes
1. Ash tray, Auto Shifter
2. Dash, Warnings, Markers, Rear Tag, Lighter
"Used for" only list common examples. Check bulb before ordering. Example: Dome/map lights depend on year made

OE? means Fiero uses Bulb from Factory.

194PC is a standard 194 lamp with an integral mount for dashboard lighting.

The notchback Fiero uses 6 2057 lamps in back but only 4 are normally wired for stop/turn signals. The exception is 84 that wired with the extra relays so all 6 bulbs to be stop/turn signals.

74 is commonly available, while 70 and 34 are hard to find. 74 is between them in brightness.

2357 was added because Rodney Dickman sells them.

H6054 is specified based on common lamps for that system. FMVSS 571.108 specifies Maximum Limits for a Type B system of 70 watts high beam and 60 watts low beam at 12.8 volts. Headlamps exceeding these wattages at 12.8v are not street legal. Base Type G16t or A-3 depends on catalog viewed.

Filament life is typical for that "base model" of bulb using regulated voltage in stationary racks. Actual voltage used, Long Life bulbs and different brand/models of a light can make filament lifetime shorter or longer. See this page at Sylvania. It covers limetime and other general info.

Some circuits have the lamp's filament resistance as part of whatever system. Example: Alternator dash lamp is equal to 52Ω resistor. To find resistance use donsbulbs.com link below.

Voltage Notes:
Many dual filament lamps like 2057 really are specified with dual voltages as shown above in many catalogs. I believe this is because of FMVSS 108 requirements. Yes it does confuse things a bit but there's not much you can do about it.
Headlights and others are listed for 12.8v but often calculate Hrs Lifetime at 14v. Many documents does not tell you this. Some, like Sylvania Automotive catalog Sealed Beam Lamps says this only as note for several H6054 models. (Click Rectangular 142mm X 200mm)

What is Mean Spherical Candela/Candlepower?

Mean Spherical Candlepower rating is measured at the design voltage and is the total amount of light given off from a light source in ALL directions.

One MSCP is equivalent to all the light emitted from all directions of one standard spermaceti candle.

Mean spherical candlepower is the generally accepted method of rating the total light output of miniature lamps.

1 MSCP equals 12.57 (4 pi) lumens

Source: donsbulbs.com

Listed as MSCP or MSCD depended on what Document/site you are reading. Donsbulbs.com uses Candlepower/MSCP. Most uses Candela/MSCD

Lamp Formats

These are the industry standard formats for some of the above lamps.

S-8, Single Contact, Bayonet

S-8, Dual Contact, Indexed, Bayonet

T3, Ridged Loop

T-1 3/4, W2.1x4.9d

T-3 1/4, W2.1x9.2d (W=Wedge)

T5, W2.1x9.2d

"DOT" Light Code for Vehicles

This covers vehicles build after 1976 to meet FMVSS 571.108.

Many have seen FMVSS 108. That document shows us how the Headlights are labeled but doesn't cover labeling on most other external lights, reflectors, etc. because that data is buried in SAE standards.

So?

Have you seen DOT label on Fiero and other Taillights?

Everything in that is code for each job that lamp assembly does and the label itself is required to meet Federal and many States rules/laws for OE and replacement parts. Even "Generic" parts have SAE codes to meet DOT rules.

Fiero "notch back" taillights has DOT (2)IR(2)S(3)T 84 GUIDE 2P.

Original Equipment DOT Markings for Fiero notch back taillights

(2)IR(2)S(3)T is "SAE Lens Coding" and decoded that is easy when you know how.

It means:

(2)I, 2 Turn Signal/Hazard Warning Lamps

R, 1 Backup Lamp

(2)S, 2 Stop Lamps

(3)T, 3 Tail Lamps

[19]84, Year mold was made

GUIDE, Who made it (GUIDE was one of GM Parts Divisions)

2P = Fiero. Most GM model lines have their own code.

It doesn't stop at the cover... The red and white lenses have their own label, hidden at top of the lens.

Note that this lens in missing a Rear Reflex Reflector (Code A) because Rear Reflectors is in the Fiero bumper. Many cars have Reflectors built into the taillights. Look at the Reflectors in the bumper and you'll see DOT A etc.

Some parts have a short DOT label on outside and full version on the back, like OE Fiero Marker lights...

Example, Rounded front marker: Front, 6 GM 2P. Back, DOT AP2 86 GUIDE 2P.

A is Reflex Reflectors

P2 is the Marker Lamp

Original Equipment DOT Markings for Fiero Rounded front marker lights

NOTE: Label applies to all cars but some labels are "Backward." They have maker, date, SAE lens coding, DOT.

Why does this matter?

If you're modifying taillights etc is nice to know what codes mean and gives a better understanding and starting point.

Bogus or missing DOT markings can cause problems with DMV Inspectors and others. Example Aftermarket assembles with LED and no DOT marking could be points off or fail inspection.

If you're selling replacement or modifying parts ask a lawyer. NHTSA have many recalls that affects aftermarket lenses.
fmvss108.tripod.com is old but has a few examples. (Search NHTSA for recalls listed.)

How did you find that?

NHSTA made two charts for use in trucking and bus businesses that covers all DOT codes. SAE Lens Coding is standard on every vehicle.

Truck_Bus_MPV Poster

Trailer Poster

You can find more by search: SAE Lens Coding

Links/Sources

Here are most of the places I compiled this from. I found you've got to watch out when digging thru these sites. Typographic errors are fairly common. Example: 889 is shown as 50 watts in some places when it's really 27.

Many bulbs were updated in 5/11 with data from donsbulbs.com and Sylvania catalog. Lumens column added (10/14) from Sylvania current catalog or doing math above (rounded up to next integer) because many LED lamps show lumens.

Fieros in Deutschland Oliver's original list served as the starting point for this one.

Litebulbs.com dead link

donsbulbs.com

Osram Sylvania

Phoenix Lamps India Ltd. they change the site, doesn't have bulb catalog.

Lamp Technology

 

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