| Author | Message | ||
| Craig Dewey (Craigfl)
|
Martin, I checked the current on mine and the total draw is just less than 15A -- which should be safe for my circuit although marginal. The problem you had with them being "super hot" -- do you mean temperature and the wires melted due to the bulb heat? Were you using H-4 bulbs or H-1's? P.S. The harness with the relay is a better way to go anyway and is recommended! | ||
| Sam NYCFERRARIS (Sam)
|
thanks for the warning Martin I have not had a problem and will get the harness and take them out until I do - Paul, which harness do we get for the ferrari ( the negative ground one or the other one...do you do their test yet for this on ther web site...anyone? | ||
| Gene B. Radcliffe - 308 GTS (Brcbank)
|
Thank you all for your assistance on the headlight issue. Martin, thanks for the warning, I knew there was more to the upgrade than just sticking in higher watt bulbs. The wiring harness from autobulbdepot seems an easy and reasonable long term solution with Craigs 100/80 JC Whitney bulbs, but I'll try Steve's Hella 55/60's first to see if that is enough improvement. Living here in Wisconsin with relatively little human traffic on the back roads, I wouldn't mind blinding those furry little (and sometimes big) animals some day, if it would keep me from hitting them! | ||
| Paul Sloan (Sloan83qv)
|
This is the direct to battery headlight harness at autobulbdepot.com:  | ||
| Paul Sloan (Sloan83qv)
|
Go to http://www.autobulbdepot.com for all your headlight needs, they have special harness set up so you can run high wattage bulbs without melting wires. | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
|
100/80W BULBS !!! DO NOT INSTALL THEM IN YOUR CARS! I just had to replace my wiring harnes for my BMW 840Ci. They burned right through the wires. An expensive lesson. Thank god that did not happen to my Ferrari, but it will eventually. These things are super hot compared to the regular bulbs. I was told that there are other more expensive bulbs that do not work on higher wattage but have the same effect as the 100/80W bulbs. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE I MADE !!!! TAKE THEM OUT IMMEDIATELY!! | ||
| Craig Dewey (Craigfl)
|
Gene, Steve's correct that you need to be concerned about the current capability of the circuit/wires/fuse. My 328 didn't have a problem because it has 15A circuits. If you want to go beyond your present wattage, it would be very easy to add a relay in the circuit so power for the higher wattage lights could come directly from the battery. | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
|
Gene -- Just wanted to warn you that maybe should be a little concerned about using super-high power headlights as I believe your '79 has 8A high and low beam fuses (whereas Craig's later QV is 10A or 15A I think). I wasn't blinding small mammmals at great distances, but I was still very pleased with the results after upgrading to Hella 55/60W halogens (I especially liked the flatter, more clear lenses which gave a much more modern look IMHO compared to the typical US sealed-beam type). | ||
| Craig Dewey (Craigfl)
|
Gene.. This is what I bought with the 100/80W bulbs. They are inexpensive and work well. The pattern is flat with an upward angle toward the edge of the road. Much easier to see at night. Because there is such a cutoff to the pattern vertically, I haven't had any problem blinding oncoming cars -- unless you are cresting a hill or hit a bump. http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=5142&BQ=jcw2 Additional bulbs here: http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=5231&BQ=jcw2 Or HID conversion(EXPENSIVE!!): http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=158282&BQ=jcw2 | ||
| Low Kai Chin (Speeddemon)
|
Changed my to PIAA 5000K(color of daylight) 130watts Plasma bulbs. I make an average of two 1,000km round trip high speed runs each month, normally at night averaging 200km/hr on an unlit highway. The new bulbs extend the visibility by I guess at least 25%. Well worth the minimal costs. Try the PIAA web site to locate the right ones for your car. | ||
| Gene B. Radcliffe - 308 GTS (Brcbank)
|
Sam, could you please share the name, model or part no. and source of your replacement headlights. I can't see nearly as far at night in my 308 compared to more modern cars. I was sure there was a thread on headlight replacements, max watts, effects on relays etc., but I can't find it. Any help would be much appreciated. | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
|
Look at Morgan, besides their new Aero 8, the old Plus 8's and 4/4's are still using ash wood for underbody frames. Old world technology. I learnt this saying when working as a go-for in machine shops as a kid: "When in doubt, build it stout with materials you know about". | ||
| Sam NYCFERRARIS (Sam)
|
the low beams are like driving w/a flashlight. I upgraded to off-road xenon gas bulbs of max illumination and they work great - very ez to do. | ||
| Danny R. West (Dan_West348ts)
|
Sam, You are right! It is fun having a "street legal" race car! For 348 owners, are your headlight low beams also very dim? The brights are very bright and the low beams are very dim on my car. Dan | ||
| Sam NYCFERRARIS (Sam)
|
I agree with Herb, I often shake my head and wonder if they even tested these cars before approving the design and building them and selling them, much of the problem is simply really poor engineering that could have easily been changed if they just cared to look at the problem... this is the problem with such a low volume producer they have poor quality control and underfunded r&d (ferrari is always so far behind in road car engineering that is unrelated to racing) they are simply a race team that sells road cars on the side to keep fiat happy. They are really like lotus (w/colin) F-1 road cars that are built crummy but go and handle like the devil. | ||
| Michael A. Niles (Man90tr)
|
Its like a great girl who does everything you want very well except she is a B#%@&*. A B#%@$ but we still love her and want her badly. No common sense there either. In fairness to Dina, the reverse could be said about a guy. The one thing this says is Ferraris are a love affair and not simply about buying a car. | ||
| Herbert E. Gault (Irfgt)
|
You would think that Ferrari would have fixed the problem. It is not as though they had a bad run of motors and a few cars got out with them. They have had the same problem for years and years. If Ferrari sold as many cars as Honda to the mass of people they would be like Fiat, no longer sold here due to crappy workmanship and design. And what really amazes me is that it is one of the most expensive cars in the world and most desired. A Ferrari is an exception to all common sense. I guess all of this blows my mind as I have worked around so many other cars for so long and believe me, the average car owner would not put up with so many design flaws and even more insulting is the price. Ferrari owners are the easiest going people on earth. The fellow with the F-1 transmission problem had the right idea, Give it back. I came from the old school where you got what you paid for. | ||
| Peter Boray (Gts308qv)
|
There is no direct application, but it is a matter of adapting a custom kit to fit the window rails/runners of the Ferrari.A friend retrofitted his 308GT4 & his windows move much faster/smoother without hesitation. It is not a job for the faint hearted! | ||
| Lawrence Michaels (Lxmichaels1)
|
Here's the link for Electric-Life, http://www.electric-life.com/electric.htm Application guide does not specify Ferrari. Maybe an E-Mail will help. | ||
| Peter Boray (Gts308qv)
|
A company called "ELECTRIC LIFE" make a retro-fit kit that can be used on the Ferrari which speeds things up to normal modern car standards. It does however consist of removing nearly all the Ferrari components. I will try and find the brochure I have and post details if anyone interested. | ||
| JPM (John_308qv)
|
I haven't looked at my doors yet. Was kind of hoping the electrical fix worked because it looks like the easier one to do. Maybe some other 308 owners out there can answer this one. | ||
| Kurt Kjelgaard (Kurtk328)
|
I think the rope trick did the most good. Is the 308 system with the wire system mounted in the same way, I mean, half of the system on the outer part of the door and the other half on the inner part? brgds Kurt | ||
| JPM (John_308qv)
|
Thanks for the info Kurt! Which of the two procedures made the most difference? | ||
| Kurt Kjelgaard (Kurtk328)
|
I had slow windows on my 328. A long time ago I promised to post the results of my experiments - here we go (better late than never): I realized, that the windows were slow partly due to poor electrical design and partly due to a mechanical problem. The electrical problem was fixed with an extra grounding wire from inside the left door (both window curcuits are grounded inside the left door) to an "official" grounding point under the dash and with the addition of a Clifford alarm system window module. This puts the power supply directly to the motors by having its own fused circuit directly from the battery. The original switches are now just giving signals to the window module which controls the power to the motors. The mechanical problem was not due to lack of lubrication or old dry grease, but the following: The 328 window system is based on a rigid tube containing a spiral "spring", which is moved by the motor. The spiral then moves a sliding mounting plate, to which the glass is fixed, up and down. The window glass is curved as are the guiding channels fore and aft. The problem in my case was excessive binding between the glass and the channels, since the glass didn't follow the channels exactly when connected to the winder mechanism. The genius who designed this decided to fix the glass channels to the outer part of the door and the winding mechanism to the inner (cabin) side of the door. The inner side is reinforced with a piece of rectangular tubing running from front to rear. Not very strong and over time the inside half of the door has apparently been pushed outwards and out of shape. Only a centimeter or so, but enough to make the glass not follow the guide channel curvature. Solution: Put a thick rope through cutouts around reinforcing bar and pull door side back in to original position. Takes a little trial and error, but not difficult at all. Result of all of the above: Windows now work very nice. brgds Kurt | ||
| Doug Meredith (Doug308)
|
I think it was in the archives of this board that someone said that they jumped the window switches directly to the battery and they worked fine. This was on a 308, so you may want to test on the 348. | ||
| Chuck Rine (Chuck348ts)
|
Lxmichaels1- There was an earlier thread on 348 door lock clips; try http://www.yourlog.com/discus/messages/112/641.html? | ||
| Lawrence Michaels (Lxmichaels1)
|
Ok, I'm in. My 348ts has window problems as well. When I bought the car, both windows were slow as compared to all my other experiences with electric lift windows, the passenger side was somewhat slower. I've pretty much keep the top off. Well on the return from a Sunday trip, it starting getting very cool so on goes the top and as I power up the passenger window would slow and stop about 3/4 the way up. This weekend I pulled all the internals out of the door shell, cleaned & lubricated with Slick-50 teflon lube. It now goes up to about 1 inch from the top. It appears to be a binding type of problem. I'll have to do this again. It really is a piss-poor design. Also, does anyone know if the is sometype of clip that holds the little arm to the back-end of the door lock cylinder? I keep thinking someone said you buy a Ferrari for the running gear, suspension, styling & sound. I'm starting to agree as I'm having a problem with the craftsmanhip as of late. In spite of this I just love the Ferrari Experience, what gives??? | ||
| Danny R. West (Dan_West348ts)
|
After I replaced everything except the glass in the doors, you can imagine how upset I was that nothing worked to speed up those F#$%^*& windows.  | ||
| Chuck Rine (Chuck348ts)
|
The passenger side window on my '93 is noticeably slower than the driver's side and both are about twice as slow as the windows in my pickup. I guess slow windows are natural on 348's. I was going to ask the same question sometime as Mbornyk has, but after reading these responses, I guess I'll just live with the slow lifts. | ||
| David Albright (Dalbright)
|
I also have slow motors...especially when the car is not running and only the key is inserted. Good luck. | ||
| Danny R. West (Dan_West348ts)
|
Michael, I have replaced all the hardware, wiring and motors in my 348 in an attempt to speed up my windows. Nothing helped. Live with it and save your money. Dan | ||
| James H. (Jamesh)
|
I dont know if the 348 window motors are the same as the ones on the 308, but I have seen new replacement motors being sold on Ebay that is suppose to fix the slow moving power windows. | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
|
I'm really tempted to pop out the little round covers on the door panels, pull out all of those heavy iron-age mouse-trap Rube Goldberg window mechanisms and just put hand cranks in.... | ||
| stu cordova (Balataboy)
|
There's been lots of very helpful discussion on this issue (try Keyword Search - "windows"). I just got done cleaning and lubricating mine this weekend and it did help a bit, but they're still pretty slow. I removed the door panels, cleaned as much of the old grease as I could, and used both a white grease and wd40 on all of the moving components. As I said, they do work a bit better (the pass side improved more than drivers) but for some reason Ferrari didn't make it a priority to have fast moving power windows! Good luck! | ||
| michael bornyk (Mbornyk)
|
i have the slowest moving power windows on my 348 is this normal or can this be rectified any suggestions would help |