Technical Difficulties with 32 headlight plug.

I'm pretty stumped here. I'm trying to attach the headlight conduit to the headlight bucket.
All stock 32 Ford.

Problem is I can't get the plug together. I'm obviously missing something. I've removed the wiring from the bucket just to work out how it works. There appears to be nothing to orientate the contacts with one another. If I press it together it won't go far enough to twist lock.
If I place the black tri-block in the socket that doesn't work either.
I'm 50 years old and should know this by now but it's the first time I've used stock headlights.
Ed

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Good luck!

 

I have no idea, but it looks like the black piece has a notch that should line up with something?

 

Yes it does but there's nothing to line it up with.

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Oh, well thats no help....

 

Good question for fordbarn. May just be bad reproductions. It has been a very long time but I think I remember just throwing the connectors away and soldering the wires together.

Charlie Stephens

 

There is supposed to be something in the socket to line up the black insulator. That looks like a reproduction socket and may be inferior quality.

 

Since I have nothing else to do at the moment, I looked on Fordbarn, did a search and came up with lots of people with similar sounding problems. A lot of them hard wired the lights and got rid of that setup altogether. It seems like the repop stuff isn't very good as far as fitting without modifications. Maybe sanding down that black piece to make it a hair shorter?

 

The one on <<< side of the photo looks like it was intended to go on a bulb It looks like what Mac's shows as a headlight socket ferrule https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mercury_early/headlight-socket-ferrule-brass-ford.html

 

Yes I bought that piece too, but it's actually just part of the pigtail assembly.

I'll probably end up hard wiring the lights. I have connectors just beyond the grill shell anyway.

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The conduit with the ferrule is for a stock headlight set up. The bottom of the stock headlight has a tube that the black insulator with the three wires slides into. The groove in the insulator lines it up. The pins on the ferrule twists onto that to anchor it. You are trying to combine new with old.

 

OKAY, there should be a little ridge in the housing that lines up the terminal block. Also the terminals on the wires appear to be the wrong style. They are too long and will not allow the cap to go on far enough to twist lock.

This is what the terminals should look like.

 

I've been searching for a half hour and cannot find any stock 32 wiring hookups.
That black plug looks like it would plug into the female plug in my Guide 682-C lights I have for the Model A.
When I was off searching and then doing a couple of things outside they gave the answer I was thinking but couldn't find the info for.

 

Edward, log onto 1932 Ford Headlights on E-Bay Motors. There are a few sets of original headlights for sale. If you click onto them you can use the magnifier to see what I am trying to explain in my post how your conduit fits original headlights. You can't mix and match what you have.

 

Bratton's Usually has the best repro stuff available and good illustrations. These may help.
https://www.brattons.com/catalog.html?cat=198 This may be A&L parts, but they do not note suppliers in the catalog.
I think most differences from '31 to '32 are just the lengths of wires. I think most serious restorerers carefully salvage the wire tips and socket compoments and just replace the wires.
Generally, the best stuff comes from A&L in Connecticut, a small, almost secretive place that won't sell anything that isn't just right...usually meaning that they have to make it. Mr. Lepore there died and I think his son carried on...I hope so. Even their catalog illustrations are first rate.
Somewhere I have a bucket of wadded up, totally stripped of insulation, wire sets but have not had the time to dig through them and figure out what I have.
The original bits don't really go bad, they usually just need to have the wire replaced on the original connector tips and sockets. Some at least reproduction stuff is flatly unusable.
Restoration to reliable use is entirely possible with real parts. Most sensible course, though not as satisfying, is to throw most of it away and run wires directly from switch right through the conduits to the actual sockets in reflector.
The resto companies even sell false bits to hold the conduits into the shell without any original socketry...Chicken shit but perhaps keeps you from a lifetime project.