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winking 308

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by cptn.Big, Nov 17, 2008.

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  1. cptn.Big

    cptn.Big Rookie

    Nov 17, 2008
    17
    #1 cptn.Big, Nov 17, 2008
    OK, so I know the winking headlight thing is very entertaining to the general public, however it got old fast. It started recently and my understanding is that it is caused by a faulty diode??? But where is it?? Can I test it, or does someone have the fix??? The typical 308gt4 manual is not really a repair manual and fairly useless for diagnostics. Thx. JP
     
  2. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
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    Feb 24, 2006
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    Mike
    #2 miketuason, Nov 17, 2008
    Check the relays
     
  3. FasterIsBetter

    FasterIsBetter F1 Veteran

    Jul 22, 2004
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    Steve W.
    #3 FasterIsBetter, Nov 17, 2008
    Welcome Big. A little information would be helpful. What year is the car? Have you upgraded the fuse blocks (Birdman upgrade)? Have you changed the relays or are they most likely the originals?

    Lots of electrical problems in cars can ultimately be traced back to a faulty ground. For the headlight that is "winking", check the ground connections. Over time, they can corrode, causing in intermittent condition. I find that cleaning up the ground wires solves most electrical problems on these old cars. But even it not, it's a good place to start. Remember Occam's Razor: The simplest solution to any problem is usually the correct one. Check out the easiest things first. If they don't fix it, then move on to the more complex.
     
  4. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 11, 2001
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    Steve Magnusson
    #4 Steve Magnusson, Nov 17, 2008
  5. umsneeze

    umsneeze Formula Junior

    Nov 16, 2004
    449
    Knoxville, TN
    #5 umsneeze, Nov 17, 2008
    Also make sure that the bolt holding the arm from the motor is tight. My winked because the motors would raise the headlight, then the bolt would work loose and it would slam down again. 2 hours of relay checking to figure out 30 seconds with a wrench would fix the problem.
     
  6. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    Nov 5, 2002
    8,489
    #6 Dom, Nov 17, 2008
    Agreed. Check the relays first. Easy to do, cheap to replace. Most of the time, that will solve it.

    Dom
     
  7. cptn.Big

    cptn.Big Rookie

    Nov 17, 2008
    17
    #7 cptn.Big, Nov 19, 2008
    Thank you all for the input, Steve your link gave the whole story, I obviously didn't use the Tech. archive search properly or I might have found it. My car is a low milage '79 (had to have carbs), never out of the San. Fran. bay area car, so I have no corrosion gremlins like fuse blocks etc. (Yet) I have brought it home to the Great White north so I will have to be carefull to keep it that way. Thx. JP.
     
  8. Ferraripilot

    Ferraripilot F1 World Champ
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    May 10, 2006
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    Atlanta
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    John!
    #8 Ferraripilot, Nov 20, 2008
    I have this same issue, but it is very intermittent. Seems that the right headlight will 'wink' a few times and then stay up or stay down depending on if I turned the switch on or off. It always eventually stops and sometimes it does not do this at all. Can someone tell me where the ground strap specifically is so I can clean it. If that does not work I will change the relay then troubleshoot diodes if need be
     
  9. edworak

    edworak Karting
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    Jun 10, 2007
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    Genoa, Nevada
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    Ed Dworak
    #9 edworak, Nov 21, 2008
    I had this very thing happen to me while my '82 308 was being judged at the Concorso Italiano in 2003. After winking 3 times the left headlight stayed up so the judges just laughed but didn't dock me any points. When I got home I changed the headlight relay and the problem went away. I've since upgraded to Birdman's fuseblock also.
     

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