550 Barchetta Red Open Door Light

There is a switch inside the latch on the body side of the door opening. If you press that little contact thing in with your finger or a screwdriver to fool that the passenger door is closed, and then the light on your drivers door go dark, then it is that switch that control the lights. I had the same problem on my passenger side door. The wire had fallen off inside the body. This migjt be the problem on your driver side door latch. Or the seitch iself is bad. There are three switches on each door. Two micrro switches, one inside, and one outside. And this third on the door jamb.

 

Part 16. you can see it has a socket for the wiring to the switch.
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Are we talking about the light on the door or the light on the instrument panel?

According to the wiring diagrams, the door striker plate switches (mentioned above) only control the instrument panel light.

It's hard to make out the plug wire colours in your photo except for #2 which is for the door key barrel microswitches (item 18 in the parts manual). The un-numbered plug looks like the inner door handle opening microswitch plug.

If the 550 door internals are similar to the 456M's, find a 2 pin plug with a white wire (with black stripe) and a black wire, this should be the microswitch which controls the door light. It also has an input into the Immobiliser. The plug for this is labelled 9H in this 456M diagram.

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456M wiring diagram here:

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If your switch is working, you should have continuity between main door pins 7 and 22 (on both the driver's and passenger's sides)

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/4021923747

Here's a photo of the 550 harness showing a possible plug:

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Short out the wires on the plug circled and it should turn on the light on both doors. i.e. the black two pin plug (not grey).

 

Just to clarify. I meant the male plug colour in the photo. The female plug may be grey (?)

 

This "IF" is where I usually get into trouble... On the 550 wiring diagram pages (which don't include door internal diagrams), the striker plate switch does indeed control the instrument warning symbol, but also has an input into the Window Control Unit. Wiring diagram here:

https://www.dropbox.com/t/uHPnd6zwXqnCG254

Unfortunately, after further research, the main door plugs on the 550 and 456M seem to have a different pinout. However, I still believe the 2 pin plug with the white/black and black wires are for the switch for the light on the door.... Ferrari has a tendency to stick to certain wire colours for certain functions. If you short out the pins (or sockets), you should get the light to come on. If the light comes on, trace the wiring to the component in the latch/lock assembly to find the switch responsible.

Unfortunately, if cleaning the switch doesn't help, you might have to buy a complete lock/latch assembly.

 

This is confusing... Erik posted some messages describing the operation of the 550 switches in this post:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/147006260/

Unfortunately, I can find no link in the 550 wiring diagrams between the door striker plate switches and the red door lights (unless there is some kind of communication path going from the switches to the Window ECU to the Immobiliser system and to the lights. The Immobiliser system handles the dimming of the door lights and interior lights (as there is no dimmer module on the 550).

Correction.... outer door handle opening microswitch. The inner and outer door handle microswitch wiring has the same colours, but obviously, the outer door handle switch is closer to these set of plugs.

@Kobra Can you list the colours of the wires on plugs 1 & 3 in your photo. I may be able to trace the colours to other components on the car. e.g. black/white wires are traditionally related to interior lights and door lights.

 

Hey Mr. Kobra,
i had the same problem on the right door of my 550.
You must remove part 14 complete, then you will find the microswitch without number.
This part is the problem. You can buy the BMW Part 61311392193. This is exactly the same switch , you only must change the plug.
BMW part =50 € (Germany).
Ferrari does not offer the microswitch, you will have to pay about 700 § for the complete unit nr. 14.
Sorry to my english.
I hope i can help you.
Best regards
Peter

 

Ah.. Thanks. That makes more sense now. Ferrari have a habit of making sensor/microswitch wires with generic colours (red, black, yellow, etc), but the car harnesses have more identifiable colours. So the grey plug (#1) is for the outer door handle.

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On the 456M, this is the switch (9M in the diagram) which turns on the red door lamp. It also sends a signal to the main door plug on the 456M. On the 550, this appears to be the same. This plug goes to the big latch/lock assembly that @FM 133 is talking about. Anyway, you could short out the male side of the plug and see if it turns on the red door light.

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The wire colours look brown-ish on the female side of the plug. That will be your #3 plug.

Does the 550 have a door sill lamp? (i.e. one on the bottom which illuminates the ground with the door open? On the 456M, this is tied into the interior light (and a dimmer circuit).

 

The part I don't understand is how opening the door on the RH side puts on the light on the LH side doorlamp. The 550 wiring diagrams show no wiring between the two doors (as on the 456M). I thought there might be a link via the Immobiliser ECU. There is a black/white wire coming from the Immobiliser ECU, but it goes nowhere.

When you close the LH door can you see the red light dimming after a certain time period?

 

Not important, but on the grey plug, does the blue/black wire match up with the yellow or the red wire? I'd just like to make a better wiring diagram.

 

That's just how they did it. Either door actuates both door lights, even if the other door is shut!

 

Looking at the Workshop Manual, I see it says that there is a doorsill lamp and that it is operated at the same time as the red light. This might suggest (but not prove) that the trigger for the lights is the same thing. Does your doorsill light work (with the opening of both the driver's door and passenger's door).

The 456M doorsill and red lights have different triggers. This may be the only difference between the 456M and 550 doors wiring (other than different pins being used on the main door plug).

 

I did not mean you should take the door cover off. Just open the door, and that switch is on the car side on the door jamb. It is not easy to spot. It is integraged into the mechanism! Press it in with a screwdriver and after a few seconds the lights should go out. It that is the matter, then you need to see if the one on the other side is doing the same. If it doesn't, then it is the seitch itself or the wiring that has fallen off! Good luch and post the results after you try it.

 

As Erik says, item #16 in the parts manual:

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It just looks like a catch, but as you can see, it has a two pin plug on the back.

The 550 wiring diagrams show that this is not hooked up to the doors, but wiring diagrams have been known to be wrong before.

ah... and window switches in the doors

 

Hello Mr. Thuestad,
sorry, but i will try to explane the problem once more.
If you open the left door - nothing happens..Then you are closing the left door !!
If you open the right door the red light on the right door and the white light underneath the right door are "burning".
In this situation you have to open left door an if both lights left (and right) are burning the problem is the microswitch
in the left pos.14 that i described.
You need no further wire diagram and oder things, you only need the BMW microswitch.
Believe me.
You only have to change the BMW plug against the Ferrari plug.
Best regards from Germany
Peter

 

Hello again, an addition :
you have to remove the cpl. door panel (be careful, the rods have left and right "windings").
Then you will find the plugs from nr. 14.
Separate the plug wich is named nr. 14.
Test the plug - half from the frontside of the door (excuse my english) with one wire that connects the to pins.
If all bulbs left and right are "burning " -well >>>>>BMW part.
To change the BMW plug against the Ferrari plug it is no problem. The colors of the wires doesn`t matter, it is DC.
Best regards
Peter

 

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Peter, can you remember what the switch is actually registering? e.g. Does it close when the latch hook is completely around the striker plate pin? What part of the latch mechanism is it touching?

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Good morning,
the switch is pressed by the latch hook. He close the contact and the lights are on.
Attention : the bulbs should not have more Watts than in the manual described.
Because the microswitch will be overloaded and will fail.
Best regards
Peter

 

Thanks, Peter.

I'm trying to understand why the door needs both a sensor on the B pillar and also on the latch. Perhaps the latch activates first, sensing "not fully latched" rather than "fully unlatched", so that the latch switch activates certain vehicle systems first (before the door is opened).

But what is the B-pillar switch sensing? I recall that the sensor (microswitch) is not on the cylindrical pin, but on the baseplate. Is the hook on the doorlatch activating both switches?

Good tip. Also, I guess if the Immobiliser ECU is controlling the time delay/dimming of the lamps, I guess the lamps need to be within a certain resistance range.

 

Hello,
5 years ago i had a problem with the window. The window did not close complete while driving.
The switch in the b pillar is closing the window if the door is closed.

 

Interesting. The 550 wiring diagrams do show an input into the Window ECU from this switch. This switch may also be responsible for the logic which raises the window after a certain time period if door opening is not completed.