Clearance lights

[tevz32]

This is in the "Dumb Moves" department. I needed to replace one of the top front clearance lights. Removed lens, took out screws, lifted lamp, cut wires - OOPS!. Wires fell back through hole in roof. How to re-capture wires? The inside fabric on the ceiling is 1991 vintage and I'm not sure i want to loosen that. Ideas? Please?

[Dude]

I have a 1989 and the whole front room/carpet was removed. I have access to my lights and wiring I assume it will be very similar to yours. Which light is it? I'll take a pic of it so you can see how the wires might be hanging. I would suggest needlenose pliers or a bent coat hanger or a combination of both. Oh, and patience. Lots and lots of patience.

[tevz32]

I have a 1989 and the whole front room/carpet was removed. I have access to my lights and wiring I assume it will be very similar to yours. Which light is it? I'll take a pic of it so you can see how the wires might be hanging. I would suggest needlenose pliers or a bent coat hanger or a combination of both. Oh, and patience. Lots and lots of patience.

Thanks very much for your reply. The light is the 2nd from the left (driver's side). A picture would be helpful.
Tom

[Dallas Baillio]

I dropped bolts into my black water holding tank (a long story and a dumb move) and I got a lot of good suggestions as to how to extract. One was duct tape wadded into a ball sticky side out.

[stevek]

Try a.... Flex-Cable Pick-Up Tool 4-Finger Claw End Retriever Snake.
Last year, I replaced the rear license plate light housing, on my BF.
And dropped one of the wires inside the wall of the BF.
It took me a while, but with patience I was able to find the lost wire using that tool.

Of note... this wall was between the shower and the outside wall.
This wall had some insulation, but not that much.
So fishing out the wire was easier.
Just wish there had been signs of more insulation.

[bcope01]

What Steve suggested above. Great to have in your tool set.

http://www.amazon.com/X-Long-Flex-Cable ... ck+up+tool

Bill

[stevek]

Thanks Bill. Great pic.
Another I use for retrieval is super strong magnets.
You can get them in the shape of a washer, so they are easy to mount.

For example...http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RC22CS-S

Super cheap. Shop ebay. Shipped from China. Look for free shipping.
Just have to wait a little for delivery.
The higher the "N" number, the stronger the magnet.

[tevz32]

The flex cable pickup tool that Steve & Bill suggested was/is the right tool! My son also suggested it and happened to have one (how did my kids get so smart?) At this point I have successfully retrieved one of the two wires before my patience and knees wore thin. I secured the one and will go after the other tomorrow. Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate this site!! :

[Dude]

Here is a pic of a light from the inside. They all look the same. I could not get a pic of where those 2 black wires connect to the main wires. But at least you have an idea of what is on the inside.

[URL=http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/Campe ... f.jpg.html][

[tevz32]

Thanks to Dude for the picture and the effort it must have taken. As it turns out I was able to retrieve both connecting wires for the lamp by using the flexible tool that more than one on this site suggested.
Thanks to everyone. A lesson learned I hope.

[Roger]

I used a hemostat to hold the wires when pulled out of the roof. Harbor Freight has them listed as "clamp pliers"!

I snapped off two of my clearance light while shoveling off snow last Winter. I ordered replacements and it looked
like a simple 10 minute job to replace one of them. WRONG!!! The replacement came with about 4 inch leads so I
figured that the original would come out with a couple of wire nuts connecting it to a harness. Surprise! The original
has long leads that disappear into the overhead of the unit and connect somewhere in there. I held the wires with the
hemostat and cut them next to the old socket. Fortunately, I had some small wire nuts to make the new connections.
One on the front was the same.