License plate light socket - any alternatives?

[Ed H]

I am not cheap, I am frugal.

Both of my license plate light sockets are corroded to hell. I just looked up the part on RockAuto and GMPartsDirect, and they are $25.79 each!! You have GOT to be kidding me.. I was thinking $10 tops.

Before I run to Autozone or Advance looking for more cost-effective alternatives, can someone advise if they were successful? I can't imagine there being anything 'special' about these things...

In the meantime, I will keep looking.

 

[PennTB02]

I am cheap. The real questiion is how much time are you willing to spend fabing a mount for the low budget light sockets you find? My solutions are as follows:

1) Visit a salvage yard and buy an exact replacement at a huge discount. It will most likely come with bulbs.
2) Most pick-up truck metal step bumpers have two round license lights that snap into a 1" diameter hole. Buy a pair of them, make a sheet metal plate w/ two 1" holes, and mount the plate where your existing lights are. They are availabe at Pep Boys, Autozone, Advance Auto, etc.
3) Go on line and spend hours looking at 12v LED lights. (Maybe a short string of LED's?) When the ones you like arrive, devise a way to fasten them where your corroded sockets now are and splice then into the tailgate wiring.

 

[TexazReece]

I'd look at your local salvage yard. You cant lose with that at all best of luck on your search.........$20+ for light sockets

 

[mcc]

How corroded are they? One of my backup lights had a good deal of moisture in it for who knows how long and the contacts became corroded. The bulb was still technically good but it didn't have a clean enough connection for it to light up.

I sprayed the socket with DeoxIT and scraped the corrosion away with a screwdriver. It wasn't hard to restore a clean finish. I didn't bother to clean the bulb and instead opted to replace both backup bulbs. I sealed the connection with some dielectric grease to help prevent the same from happening again.

This was done in July and both still work properly.

 

[oh05ext]

i would try some 4 inch led strips.they seem to be bright enough to lite up the plate and are fairly easy to conceal.ill take pics of ours today so you can get an idea

 

[Mooseman]

I had that problem and used a couple of side marker light sockets from older GM vehicles. Had to cut off a couple of the tabs but fit perfectly. Cost: $2

 

[Ed H]

Thanks for the input guys. Definitely some good options above. I will try to clean them first (although it appears some metal on the contacts is literally missing). If that doesn't work, side markers, running board lights, LEDs, or the salvage yard are great options. I still can't get over the price tag for OEM replacements. Damn!

 

[groundshock]

Cripes, I can't believe that some salvage yards wouldn't just GIVE the things away. I know my local ones would.

 

[Mooseman]

Everything's more expensive in Canada