Heaven help me. My dome light wasn't coming on with the drivers door, but did with passenger door. Hmm. I swap door switches, same thing. Drivers side no worky, not the switch. While pondering my next step, I absent mindedly pushed my hazard switch (had never tried it) and 'blink, blink' they work. And work. And work. The swtich stuck 'in' and wouldn't 'catch' coming back out. Great. Pursuing one problem, created another. Now, I cannot figure how to remove the Hazard switch. I see a knurled nut under the switch and try as I might, can't budge it. (Figured it was like the 328). Any special tips, tricks, or tools to coax the permanently on hazard switch from its little nest? I think once out I can bend the tension wire to make the switch work, but if not, this looks like those used in many cars.
Dear Ferraristi, Try pushing (with slight pressure) on the hazard switch again. Since it hasn't been used, it probably has just gotten hung up. You can even try squirting a little silicone spray around the button and push. that might allow it to click back. On the door switch, you have two switches. Are you sure you pulled the correct one? Shamile Freeze...Miami Vice !
Even if it doesn't work, you give me hope. I'm not with the car now. Left it at the garage just prior to using a butane torch on disrespectful switches. I pushed it about 3,452 times, but didn't use a lot of pressure. I imagine it hasn't been used in years. Perhaps overenthused to have been called into action. I pulled the top switch for both sides. Correct? Thanks Shamwow. Will check tomorrow.
Just for anyone who searches this thread in the future, I could NOT get the knurled nut to budge under the console, so I did the unthinkable: manipulated the plastic keeper and PUSHED the switch through from the top. Egads. Thought I was going to break several unobtainable parts. Didn't though. I was extremely tight - and wrong I admit - but once out I dealt with it. The knurled nut was almost immobile, requiring a two handed grip of death, finally relented, STILL didn't just 'spin' off, but I got it. Separated the two switch halves, making sure to watch for the errant center spring. Then I gently bent the guide pin back into it's little groove area. (You'll see if you ever have to do this, nope, no pics.) Reassembled and voila, a working switch. Shamille was almost dead right. The pressure to 'push' must be fairly high to get it to grab and ungrab, but my pin was 'off track' and no amount of pressure was going to do it... this time, but worth anyone's try in the future before going through this hassle. I then shaved the threads on both mating surfaces to ease the reassembly into the console. Hooked it up. All's well. Now I get to attack the ORIGINAL problem, which was/is: My driver's door switch does not operate the overhead light. It is NOT the switch. Anyone with prior experience like this?
Dear Ferraristi, AHudson, ...glad you got the switch working. I've never seen the guide pin go out of alignment unless it was used allot and wore out. Original problem..... If it isn't the switch...are you getting power on the switch leads? Put a multimeter to the switch wire and ground....tell us what you get. Does the light in the door and the bottom of the door light up? When you open the passenger door, does the driver door lights ( end and bottom ) light up also? Let us know. Shamile Freeze....Miami Vice !
Dear Ferraristi, On the driver side door jamb, of the two switches, the TOP is for the motorized seat belt. The BOTTOM switch is for the dome and door lights. ....hit head and do a Homer "doh! " Shamile Freeze....Miami Vice !
OK, please excuse my ignorance here, as this is this is way down on my To-Do List and I haven't even spent the time to look at the wiring diagrams yet. But if that switch does both the dome and the door light, how come my driver's side door light works but the dome light from that side doesn't? I was sort of hoping that the two functions were split between the two switches and that it would be a relatively easy fix. once I finally got to it. The seat belts are disabled (as purchased) so maybe they've done some hacked-up wiring in there, though they're disabled at both doors yet only the driver's side is missing the dome light. Unfortunately I still can't find a copy of the updated wiring book that includes my seat belts, so I'm having to do some reverse engineering here.
Shamwow, you're ruining my life. On my car, the top switch in the jamb on both sides controls the dome light. (A 512TR thing perhaps?) I double checked and was not standing on my head at the time, even though I may try that next. Thats EXACTLY what mine does for the Driver's side: Door lights (red marker light for traffic) work; dome light doesn't. Passenger side, both dome and door lights work when the door is opened.
There are lights on the bottom of the door! Who would have thunk it? Wonder what exactly they're supposed to be illuminating; it's not exactly the tallest car out there. Good thing I was already working in total darkness to be able to detect the tenuous presence of the dome light or I'd never have noticed. Just checked mine ('90 US Testarossa) and the top switch on the passenger side does both door lights and the dome light, and the driver's side top does both door lights (and still no dome). The bottom switches on mine do nothing at the moment, even intentionally shorted at the switch connection. There's only one connection directly to each switch, so it must be split off somewhere. Some previous owner had painted the valence and the lower door sills on mine 512TR style, so maybe they, you know, decided to swap the switch positions to really fool people...
I believe the light under the door is called a puddle light. One imagines that it would light the area on which a lady may position her foot on alighting from her steed. I am sure Shamile can elaborate.
OK, I just measured it and that light is 9" off the ground, so based on the geometry it's going to have to be one very small and precisely located puddle to be illuminated in any useful way. Besides, most people I've seen trying to struggle out of this car seem to have more to worry about than stepping in a potential puddle. Though I can't claim to have the same caliber of passengers that others here seem to.
Remember this was the Rolls Royce of sports cars when it came out in 1985. Not sure what other cars have this feature and I agree basically useless. Not the most elegant of vehicles to get in and out of!
Dear Ferraristi, You should see a chick trying to get out of my Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster...not elegant but definitely exciting. OK, checked out the pin switches. Bottom pin switch on driver and passenger side are for courtesy lights. Driver door open / passenger door closed: - driver door red marker light on - driver door "puddle" or (look at my pretty shoes) light on -passenger door red marker light on -passenger door ground illumination light on -dome light on Passenger door open / driver door closed: -passenger door red marker light on -passenger door ground illumination light on - driver door red marker light on - driver door illumination light on - dome light on I made notes of what was going on to post this information. Shamile Freeze...Miami Vice !
Hmmm, looking at the schematics this looks like the way it should be working, with both doors interconnecting at C8 pin 4 (at least on the original Ferrari manual, I still can't find the updated wiring book). Didn't know that was how it was supposed to work (and at first was about to ask how you'd seen the puddle light with the door opposite closed). Unfortunately we seem to have a problem between the driver's side switch, which is working and correctly connected to its door lights, and C8. Looks like it's a dash-off thing to check the split from the pin-switch, which doesn't happen at the switch itself, so I'm not likely to be looking in that area any time soon. Will try to check at C8 , as soon as I actually figure out which one that is (c'mon, there are like four connectors down there) Oh, and the light switches are STILL on the top for my '90.
I have the same problem on my '94 512TR. Driver's door open - no dome light. I ended up running a jumper wire from the driver's door top pin switch to the passenger side so it now functions correctly. I just had the dash off and I still could not see any interruption to the original wires. I suspect a teenage alarm installer in 1994 cut that wire and attached it to the alarm door circuit, but I can't find it. Yet.
That's amazingly coincidental. Unless the teenage alarm installer did all of ours, I suspect something more factory sinister. It's funny, I'm not sure now whether mine EVER worked (since I've had it) but it just seemed like one day, it quit coming on, and not again since. In my car's history, the dash was replaced with new leather. Maybe that claimed mine. I may run the same jumper wire you did. Good idea.
Holy cow, that hadn't occurred to me at all, but it sounds really plausible. In fact I'd found some information on how to wire up an alarm on the TR while searching for some hint of updated wiring diagrams for my '90 on the web. When listing where to tap into the door switches, this is is the line suggested: Function Color Location Dome Black(-) Behind Kick Area Speakers So that would agree with someone messing with the two nero wires that connect up at C8. And isn't C8 behind the passenger speaker kick panel? (I still haven't found it, though I didn't look very hard) Looking on the driver's side speaker area, it would seem that the [top] pin switches themselves are located much higher and would need the dash off to access. Maybe it's a conspiracy, or maybe it's just that installers have the same info on which wire to tap into?
What is C8? Is it possible for you to fax me a copy of that installer wiring info? Or maybe post it here? I'd like to see where they suggest running other wires. Thanks.
[I'm in no way knowledgeable about this car and just learning about it myself. I'm just basing most of this off the Ferrari WSM at the moment, which isn't even up-to-date for my '90 Testarossa much less a 512TR. So don't quote me on any of this!] C8 is a connector "on RH side of passenger footrest plate" that connects the black (N, nero) wire from the pin switches from each door (after their split to run their respective door-mounted lights) to the wiring heading to the dome light. Both doors connect at pin 4 on C8, which provides the interconnection between both door systems that was demonstrated by Shamile. It appears from the diagram that the connection between these wires is actually made by crimping them together at the pin itself, but I have yet to dig for that connector and verify (looking to do that as part of my troubleshooting). In short, the wires from each door pin switch must run through pin 4 on connector C8 in order to activate the dome light. The little snip I had about alarm installation is just a cut&paste note I made from some website I never bothered to bookmark. The short textual description only covers two wires and is not only vague but also inaccurate (claiming that door lock actuators must be added). Aside from the black wire described they also say that a red wire from the fuse panel can be used for power. Not really any help at all. Hoping to get the passenger speaker panel off over the weekend, find C8, and narrow down the position of the disconnect from my driver's side door. Any detailed advice from the experts here on the location of this connector would be greatly appreciated!
If I understand correctly, the pin switches provide a ground through C8 that activates the dome light?
[Once again expect extreme ignorance below.] This is correct. When the doors are open the pin switches supply ground to power their own door lights (marker and puddle), to C8 pin 4 for powering the dome light, and through interconnection at this pin supply ground for the opposite door's lights. Attached is a picture of C8 on my '90 Testarossa, hiding up above the passenger side speaker. The two dark PURPLE wires (not N, black, as indicated) here come from the two pin switches, after being split to also illuminate their respective door. On the other connector side there is a single N (black) wire from this pin leading to power the dome light. What you'll see from the pin switches at C8 pin 4, with C8 disconnected, is 0V (referenced to ground) when the doors are open, or ~13V when the doors are closed (pulled through the filaments of the doors' bulbs). I'm hoping to get a Molex pin-puller to pull this pin out, uncrimp the two wires, and confirm that there is no connection here for the driver's side wire. At that point I'll have to dig behind the dash I guess, as the wiring diagram shows that the split between the driver's door connector (leading to the door lights) and that going to C8 occurs basically at the pin switch itself, though I only see a single wire exiting the female blade connector at the driver's pin switch itself. Also managed to pull off the tweeter on the passenger side while messing with this, so I guess I'll have the dash off anyway to replace it. Anyone know a good replacement tweeter that will fit nicely? What about a source for the stock tweeter covers? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dear Ferraristi, Mollex Pin puller? If you are trying to pull the pin switch in the door jamb, they are held on by a single phillips screw....which also acts as the ground conductor. Sometimes the screw corrodes and the contact becomes intermittent. Perhaps check the ground to make sure you have connectivity. Shamile Freeze...Miami Vice !
Sorry for the confusion. Pin puller to pull out pin 4 of C8, a 9 pin Molex type connector. The pin switch at the door is actually doing it's job and provides ground to correctly function the door mounted lights. Though I did re-seat it and manually grounded out the blade terminal just to confirm. Unfortunately there's a disconnect somewhere between the door pin switch (the female blade connector is all I can access at the moment) and C8 pin 4 running to light the dome light. It's going to be a lot easier to look for a failure at C8 than look behind the pin switch, as it seems you'd really have to get the dash off to have any real access behind it, other than through the tiny mounting hole itself. But I'm guessing that the failure is most likely in the split right after the pin switch, as I wouldn't guess there'd be a failure in the wiring harness on such a low amperage circuit, but who knows.
[see above warnings] Here's another picture sort of completes the circuit of where the failure must be. This is the blade connector leaving the driver's side door light pin switch (as much as I can get to, sorry for the quality), which for my car is also the TOP switch on both doors. Two wires leave the female blade connector, which appear to be purple but sheathed in black protective coating (again, sorry it's really hard to get in and see). One of these wires will head off to run the in-door lights (marker and puddle) via connector C1, and the other will travel to C8 pin 4, as shown in post #21. According to the WSM there is no intervening breaks in this connection. (Note that according to the WSM this is NOT how the passenger side is wired) So for at least in my case where the in-door lights operate but the dome light from that side does not, it is either a failure at this split at the pin switch, the crimp to pin 4 of C8, or in the long run of the purple wire. I have no idea where this harness actually runs from the left side of the car to the right, so I don't know if there's an easy place for an alarm installer to try to tap into it, or how they'd even know to do that. Maybe with the dash off it's easy to trace. I understand you just ran a wire pin switch to pin switch to re-make the connection, right? If it turns out it's a break somewhere along the purple wire I'll probably just do something similar but run from the pin switch here directly to C8. Image Unavailable, Please Login
As it turns out, I ran the wire from the door pin switch to pin #4 on C8 without knowing what C8 was. The wires run above the AC evaporator unit and in back of the fiberglass dash panel and would not be accessible to malicious teenage stereo installers. I think there is a crimp connector in the purple wires from the pin switch in the second photo. C8 is on the right in photo #3. The hansome devil with the Lambo is none other than Professor Shamile himself, ready to assist with Ferrari repair. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
