I bought about 95% of the parts for my “new to me” 1979 Ford F350 Camper Special from RockAuto.

With a background in electrical engineering, I figured refreshing the instrument panel would be easy. The gauges worked, but none of the lights did, so I replaced the old bulbs with blue and white LEDs and cleaned the circuit board contacts. After reinstalling, only one LED worked. I checked wiring, voltage, and even cleaned and adjusted all nine bulb sockets—still no luck.

After more troubleshooting, I realized the issue: These are LEDs (Note the 'D' stands for DIODE - DUH!) Power only flows one way, and the LED must be inserted correctly to work! I flipped the non-working bulbs in their sockets, and everything lit up perfectly. A simple fix—once I stopped overthinking it!

Art in Washington

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Glove box latches fail in proportion to how often they are used. That is why I avoid opening my car's glove box unless it is time to replace expired insurance or vehicle registration paperwork. Unfortunately, many passengers cannot resist opening and slamming closed glove box doors with utter abandon. Some of the vehicles most likely to have broken glove box latches are also the most likely to haul passengers (i.e. the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey mini-vans). A few original equipment (OE) latch designs are also just less robust than others. That may help explain why the glove box latches on Chevrolet C5 and C6 generation Corvettes wear out sooner.

Honda Odyssey & Chevrolet Corvette Glove Box Latches

The good news is that replacing a broken glove box latch is usually a relatively easy and satisfying project, even for a novice DIYer. Find replacements for many of the most failure prone glove box latches under the "Interior" category in the RockAuto.com catalog.

Some latch designs require that the new part include a new lock and key, but often it is possible to reuse the lock cylinder from the broken latch. Reusing the lock cylinder typically does not necessitate any significant locksmithing skills, and you will conveniently be able to keep using the vehicle's existing keys.

Once the fasteners (screws, bolts...) are removed and the glove box latch is off the glove box door, you will typically see the lock cylinder is held in place in one of three ways:

1. Cylinder Locking Pin (GM, Chrysler...): Insert and turn the vehicle key in the lock cylinder until the metal pin is visible through an access hole (see example photo). Compress the pin with a small screwdriver or pick tool. Continue turning the vehicle key and the lock cylinder should pull out of the glove box latch housing. Use the vehicle key to insert the lock cylinder into the new glove box latch, and rotate the key until the lock cylinder slides completely in and clicks in place.

2. Wire Retainer Clip (Odyssey...): A u-shaped wire retainer clip (see photo of clip with similar shape) holds the lock cylinder in place. Often the wire clip can be put on the new glove box latch housing before the lock cylinder is inserted in the hole and clicked in place.

3. Plastic Tabs (Sienna...): The glove box latch housing has plastic tabs that hold the lock cylinder. Pry the tabs on the old housing with a screwdriver or similar tool to remove the lock cylinder. Insert the lock cylinder in the new glove box latch housing. Rotate and gently push the lock cylinder until it slides completely in and the plastic tabs click in place.

Now perhaps consider locking the glove box door. It will not do much to keep out determined thieves, but it might deter the busy fingers of those latch-happy passengers.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.

Been a RockAuto customer for years!
Mike in Texas

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