3rd brake light socket: GM part # 05972532 discontinuued

[MikeESoc94]

For my 1999 LeSabre (but likely same for 90's Bonnevilles):

High-Mount brake light wasn't working ... so replaced the 1156 bulb ... still didn't work.

So: disconnected the bulb socket from the harness connector and looked inside the socket with magnifying glass.

Looked like the socket-tube side-contact tab (to touch-to the bulb-base side) may have been mostly broken-off
-so:
with small screw-driver pushed-outward that remaining piece of the side-contact tab
(got it to the point I could barely get the bulb back into the socket ...
... but was good because the side-tab was then gouging into bulb side).

Put it back together into the brake light assembly ... so far for past few days working OK.

So I went to find the GM part# for the socket
- found this (of course, discontinued regardless socket is used up to year 2005 GM models):

http://oemcats.com/oem-parts/05972532.html

So:
anyone else have any experience with using a universal 1156 socket for the GM # 05972532 socket ?

Maybe this
(since the diameter size is in ballpark of exact 1-inch diameter hole in the high-mount light assembly, with 2 twist-in tabs) ?:
Dorman 85804 ?:

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-12588- ... in=keyword

Thanks.

[MattStrike]

I don't see why a universal socket wouldn't work for most people.

The lamp monitor on the SSE/SSEi might not like a universal socket, I've never tried though.

[MikeESoc94]

Here the further story:

I also have a 94 Bonneville ... so ... today I got into the Bonne trunk and disconnected that 3rd-brake-light bulb-socket (same GM part # 05972532) from the OE wire-harness and from the light-house assembly.

After un-screwing the 1156 bulb from the Bonne 05972532 socket, I saw what is the flawed GM-design with that socket:
the metal ground-tab was ~ 50% eaten-thru ... the socket-bulb ground-tab corrodes right at the point that the metal ground-tab has a tension-bend to meet against the side of the bulb ... so ... when the metal ground-tab bend becomes totally eaten-thru (like on the 99 LeSabre) then the bulb looses it's ground connection (since the body of the socket is totally plastic).

So after seeing that, I am even more miffed at the fact that GM discontinued that socket GM part # 05972532 and that part currently isn't available anywhere new or NOS except supposedly from a Canadian dealer that sells the part for $9 CDN + international shipping to the U.S. for total $43 CDN (~ $34 US dollars).

I'm miffed because it's obvious this socket appears to be an eventual needs-to-replaced part on all the GM vehicles that used this part from early 1990s up to ~ year 2005 (since it needs to be replaced on the 2 of the 2 vehicles I have (99 LeSabre and 94 Bonne) that's a 100% replacement-rate) ...
... but as I have stated:
the part isn't available new nor NOS ... and ... from what I've seen today it doesn't make sense to buy that socket from a salvage yard since the socket metal ground tab will likely be just as corroded (or totally corroded to malfunction) from any used GM vehicle.

So: the alternative:
I did buy the Dorman part # 85804 universal 1156-bulb socket (that I had posted originally in this chat couple of weeks ago) ...
... that Dorman universal socket does appear to fit solid-enough in the hole of the 3rd-brake-light assembly,
since the 2 side hold-in tabs on that Dorman socket "squeeze together" to fit that socket into the assembly
(then let-go of the "squeeze together" on the 2 side hold-in tabs and the Dorman socket is solid-enough held on it's own into the assembly)
- only thing I have left to do is cut the OE harness 2 wires then crimp in couple of spade connectors and hold the harness ground-wire
to the body of the universal socket with a small hose-clamp (or maybe solder the ground-wire to the universal socket body).

Regardless: to me it's just "not right" that GM part # 05972532 currently isn't available new for not more than ~ $15 US dollars ... since to me it indicates that GM isn't supporting it's fans for what appears to be a normally-required replacement part.