Chevrolet Caprice Parking Brake Indicator Bulb Size

Additional Notes

• The Chevrolet Caprice parking brake indicator uses five distinct bulb types across its model year range: PC195, PC161, 194, 168, and 257, all conforming to ANSI standards recognized in both the United States and Canada.
• The 168 bulb is the most frequently specified type in these records, covering the Chevrolet Caprice from 1981-1989. It is a T10 miniature wedge bulb rated at 12V and 4.9W.
• The 194 bulb is the second most widely used type, specified for model years 1967-1980 and again for 1990. It is also a T10 miniature wedge bulb operating at 12V but draws less power at 3.78W compared to the 168.
• The 168 and 194 are both T10 miniature wedge bulbs sharing the same 12V rating and physical base type, yet they are not electrically identical due to their differing wattage ratings of 4.9W and 3.78W respectively.
• The 1991 model year uses the PC161 bulb, and the 1992 model year uses the PC195 bulb. Both are T10 miniature wedge types fitted with a printed circuit board twist-lock socket, a design specific to instrument cluster applications.
• The printed circuit board twist-lock socket on the PC161 and PC195 distinguishes them from the standard 194 and 168 wedge bulbs, meaning these types are not interchangeable despite sharing the T10 form factor.
• The 1966 Chevrolet Caprice is the only model year in these records specifying the 257 bulb, which uses either a festoon or BA9s base rather than a wedge base, making it physically incompatible with the T10 socket used in all other listed years.
• The BA9s base on the 257 bulb is a bayonet-style single-contact cap, while the festoon configuration relies on end-cap contacts. Either mounting style represents a fundamentally different fitment from the wedge base used by the 168, 194, PC161, and PC195 bulbs.
• At 2W, the 257 bulb draws less power than any other bulb type in these specifications, operating at 12V within the same vehicle electrical system as the higher-wattage types used in later model years.
• Substituting a standard 194 or 168 wedge bulb in place of a PC-series bulb in the 1991 or 1992 Caprice would be incompatible, as the twist-lock printed circuit board socket requires the specific PC-series base design.