Does anyone know how to repair the overhead light's connectors (they hold the bulb in)? It seems to me that it must be a common problem since they're riveted in very poorly, but I can't think of ways to fix them.

Drill it out and put a new rivet in? Or can it be soldered? I tried soldering it once but it didn't want to say where I put it.

Perhaps conductive glue?

And if using another rivet is the only choice, what kind, and where can you get the gun?

And while am at it, is it possible to repair the hood latches by drilling out the rivet and replacing it with a bolt, preferably with some sort of insulation to prevent hood rattling when it's cold?

 

One of my rivets had broken so I used thin wire stripped of its insulation to literally tie it back down in place, and dropped a blob of solder on top to make it physically and electrically secure. Sounds crude but it hasn't given me any trouble in over five years.

 

just drill that bitch out and put a new rivet in, done

 

I don't have a drill with me, unfortunately. (guess I might as well buy one eventually)

It sounds like you'd need to drill a hole either way, though (to tie it down with wire or to re-rivet it).

But wait, I guess with a rivet you wouldn't even need to take it out of the car...since rivets are cool like that :p

I'm still curious as to whether a bolt would be a good replacement for the hood latch rivets (which tend to cause rattling).

 

You will need to take it out, and you will need a very small rivet gun and a very small rivet. It's not reallt worth trying to find these things if you don't have them. You're far more likely to have a bit of wire and a soldering iron lying around.

 

I fixed it today with a rivet... well, two actually... neither of them were attached properly. And the total amount of rivets actually used was bout 10...haha

The tools you need are rivet gun, rivets (material doesn't matter, aluminum works fine), screwdriver, drill, and properly-sized drill bits. You'll need a small one to drill out the old rivet, and one that's the same size as the new rivets (which need to be the smallest kind, but not the shortest kind...). You'll also need to drill out the metal parts that hold the bulb (drill into a cardboard box to help hold it in place), as well as the as the paper-like material that it goes in, and the ring on the other side that it goes through (with the wire).

Rather than going from the outside-in, the rivet will need to come from the inside outwards (yes, you have to take the assembly out of the car), because otherwise you can't pinch it off properly.

Put it through the ring, the body, and the holder, from the backside through, then pop it off... check to make sure it conducts electricity with a multimeter...

Tomorrow I'm gonna solder my battery terminals (the neutral is a quick-detach type that comes with crimp attachments), and re-attach my ground strap to see if that helps my idle and the brightness of my lights when applying the brakes at idle.