Headlight switch | FerrariChat

Headlight switch

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by SouthJersey400i, Apr 3, 2007.

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  1. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    I am hoping someone has had this problem before. The headlight switch on my 400i does not work normally. You are supposed to turn the lights on (park/low/high) with a 90 degree turn of the switch. You then change from high to low to park via raising and lowering the "stalk". Bear with me. However, my lights (all 3 levels) are only on when I rotate the switch about 30 degrees. If I complete the 90 degree rotation, they go back off. When I first got the car this all seemed quite strange; when I turned the lights from off to on the headlight pods jumped up and promptly reclosed. When I turned them off, they did the same thing but I could not keep them on. I called the PO and he said there was a "sweet spot" where the lights stayed on. Yes, he was right. But this leaves you in the precarious position of driving at night with the lights on and when you switch from high to low beam or back the lights might just go off completely as there is nothing to keep the switch in the on position. DANGEROUS!

    Has anyone had this problem? Were you able to fix it or is a new switch the only answer.

    Clearly there is something out of place at the end of the switch stalk. The rectangular end of the stalk appears to be held on by a small round plastic piece before it changes into just a thin cylinder down to the steering column. I hoped it might unscrew but it does not. I tried some gently prying but I fear old plastic is on its breaking point. I am sure If I could get it off in one piece the true problem would be revealed and possibly fixed. Any ideas?

    If it can not be fixed, is the switch/stalk available new or used? How difficult is it to remove and replace? It appears you remove the steering wheel first. Is this correct or necessary?

    Ideas please.
    Ken
     
  2. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    Ken,

    Don't pry it anymore on the car. There is a little ball inside and when you "pop" off the rotating part you'll lose the little ball and be in all kinds of trouble.

    You're correct about removing the wheel first. If you're going to try to remove the rotating part then get the entire switch off first. Take it apart on the kitchen table. Have it covered in white paper so you can see any little bits that fall out when you get it apart.

    Can you find the switch new? Yes. Used? Also yes.
    Expensive? Yes.
     
  3. mambodave

    mambodave Formula Junior

    Jun 3, 2005
    531
    Charlotte NC
    Full Name:
    Dave


    I had my switch rebuilt here at a local shop. The cost was about $200.
    IIRC theres a guy (verrell i think) who rebuilds them also.
     
  4. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    Dave
    Thanks for advice. Okay, let's say I have the switch on the kitchen table. How do I remove the rotating part? Is it back to prying that little round collar off?

    I am not ready for a $200 rebuild yet; though I will check new and used prices. Maybe like the mirror control switch, it is a BMW part! (Did you know that? I have the BMW part # to anyone interested and they are reasonably priced and available.)
    Ken
     
  5. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    I got a possible price of $1000 for a rebuilt with a $500 core refund. That hurts! The kitchen table sounds good. Though I am going to look at a few contemporary BMW's to see if I can find the same switch. I can wait some since my lights do go on and off.
    Ken
     
  6. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    Dave
    Welcome to the world of owning a very rare front engine V-12 Ferrari.
     
  7. moserpe

    moserpe Karting

    Jul 20, 2006
    137
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    Peter Moser
    Hi Ken,

    Unfortunately, i can not give advice concerning the lights switch but i'm surprised to learn that BMW and Audi have been using identical components. I have found the mirror switch in my Audi quattro as well as the lock of the glove case and the clips of the door panels!

    Peter

    http://homepage.hispeed.ch/Cavalli/
     
  8. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    Jun 6, 2004
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    Ken: I had the same problem. In my own heavy handed way, I simply pulled the end piece off the end of the stalk. As pointed out above, be sure to watch for the little ball and spring. What you'll find inside is two metal flaps with a wire soldered on each. The piece you just pulled off has a flat nub that separates the flaps as you turn it to turn off the lights. On mine one of the wires had fallen off of the flap. I soldered it back on and pushed the end piece back on. There is a grove in the piece you push on to guide the ball into place. It has worked fine every since.
     
  9. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
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    Ken Battle
    Mark
    That is what I wanted to hear. What you describe sounds like the same issue as my switch. I am just worried about how hard I will be pulling and if the little collar on the rotating part will crack on the way. It sounds like yours did not.

    I may still wait for next winter since I do not anticipate much night driving; it is a long weekend tourer.
    Ken
     
  10. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
    79,143
    Houston, Texas
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    Bubba
    You aren't too far from Verell he's up East Coast way......

    As noted the broken wire is an easy repair but if the plastic itself is damaged you'll be talking to him.....

    IF this is the same switch as the V8 cars, they are No LOnger Available new....
     
  11. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    Not unobtainium.....not yet anyway.

    The part number is 119317. It'll run you $875.
     
  12. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
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    Ken Battle
    But where did the part come from? Did Ferrari really get someone to make that switch just for these cars? I doubt it very much. If they like selling $50 BMW parts for $110 why not a $150 light switch for $850. First, I will fix the switch, probably tomorrow. Then I will find the original switch and let you all know where it came from. Ferrari electrics up until recently have been pretty poor; reminds me of my 2 Lotus with Lucas electrics. I am fixing my car one piece at a time.
    Ken
    p.s. Mark, I was able to pull the top of the switch off without a big problem. I hope to work it out tomorrow with your post by my side. I'll let you all know how it goes.
     
  13. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    Jun 6, 2004
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    Ken,
    It seems that the whole light/directional/wiper switch assembly is around $600 at Eurospares. I'll bet any hardware store has a suitable glue for anything you might snap for around 6 bucks.

    Good luck, God speed and may the Enzo be with you.
     
  14. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    This switch was made by Vitaloni.
     
  15. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    All responders,
    Thanks to Mark's input I fixed the switch. It was about a 15 minute job. Once I saw the problem and how easy it was to fix, I treated myself to a new $30 soldering gun. My problem was identical to Mark's, a detached solder joint. Switch works fine now.
    Ken
     
  16. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Bubba
    Rock on, brudda!

    Go blast thru some tunnels in the dark with high beams on!

    You'll feel better! LOL!
     
  17. BoxerCrazy

    BoxerCrazy Formula Junior

    Nov 7, 2002
    355
    Charleston WV
    Full Name:
    Douglas A Hunt
    another good trick when working with those switches and such that have the small springs and detent balls etc, is to slide the whole assembly into one of those xtra-large freezer bags and that way if something pops loose it will still be trapped inside the plastic bag,easier to find than on the kitchen floor


    doug
     
  18. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    Great Ken. I'm glad it worked out.
     
  19. b3tech

    b3tech Karting

    Apr 17, 2007
    100
    Los Gatos CA
    Full Name:
    Boyd Bowdish
    if you have yet to start this project, call vintage ferrari parts. Tom will help you out.
     
  20. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    "Project" is done. With help of Mark it was a 15 min job after buy a $30 soldering gun. No need for help besides this board, this time.
    Ken
     
  21. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    Way to go!

    You just saved a ton of money.
     
  22. jason blood

    jason blood Rookie

    Dec 15, 2018
    35
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    jason blood
    HELP AMY 400I HEADLIGHTS JUST GOT NEW MOTORS used fiat x/19 motors, as prior posts have suggested. Now the lights literally flip up and down, one at a time all of the time. Mechanic is trying to charge me for this and says that there is "no fix, or maybe a relay" also many other items on my hit list were not fixed. I bought a new fuse panel from the dude in Belgium and that didn't fix alot of the issues. Mechanic is giving up and hitting me with a 6k bill - what do I do please????
     
  23. Ak Jim

    Ak Jim F1 Veteran
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    Dec 23, 2007
    8,451
    North Pole AK
    Search in this section. There are several threads about this problem. In one of the threads there is a wiring diagram. There are multiple results. I just searched diode and got a couple of pages of results. Here is one.

    https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/new-owner-needs-help-with-pop-up-lights.324067/#post-140657066
     
  24. raemin

    raemin Formula 3

    Jan 16, 2007
    1,825
    Lyon (FR)
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    R. Emin
    Just invest in Paul Bennet's Ferrari diagram. It will make your mechanics happy and ease the final bill.

    when the lifting motors are down, if you use the high beam switch, the foglights are activated. That's this feature that requires to detect the position of the lifting motors and which may generate a mess when things go wrong (eg: water in the connector may open the headlights even when the car is switched off!).

    In any case, just look at your owner manual for the diagram (buy a magnifying glass), or pay Paul Bennet a small fee...
     
  25. raemin

    raemin Formula 3

    Jan 16, 2007
    1,825
    Lyon (FR)
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    R. Emin
    Forgot to say that the connector in the fender should be thouroughly inspected an cleaned.
     

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