Ok, here's some other random observations. Please comment / question / deride as you will...
I can't get my pilot bulbs out. I tried with my fingers; the opening is too small. I got a piece of vinyl tubing that looked like it should fit over the bulb to help, and I proceeded to push the bulb way back into the housing. My tubing doesn't fit; now it's stuck back there and I can't get to it. On the second pilot light, instead I tried to pull the rubber housing out, which worked fine until the wire came up tight and pulled the bulb way back into the housing. Pushing the rubber housing back in place didn't bring the bulb forward, so now both the pilot bulbs are buried way back where I can't reach them and they probably won't be very visible. I can't reach around from the inside of the headlight casing, what with all the wires and cables and speedo in the way... what's the best way to deal with those pilot bulbs - pull the speedo?
I can't get a look at the pilot bulbs' socket end (see previous paragraph
), but the glass end is definitely not the same size and shape as the speedo backlight bulb. Is it likely that they are both BA9 bulbs? My parts catalog says the speedo indicator lights are BA9 (2 watt), the speedo backlight spec isn't indicated (3.4 watt), and the pilot bulbs are BA7 (2 watt).
The BA9 bulbs appear to have small sharp round "bayonets" that anchor the bulbs with a twist; the BA7 bulbs seem to have elongated smoother bayonets - do the BA7's anchor with a twist too, or do they just press fit?
The more I write, the more I think I will just double check my bulbs. I'm thinking that if I remove my speedo, I'll have all the room I need in there to get to all the lights? And, what's the trick for the pilot lights?
ps: I was poking around with these things this morning, and I got pretty cold pretty quickly - and no wonder... it's 6 degrees F out this morning, and 15 in my unheated garage!