Upgrading the headlights | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Upgrading the headlights

Discussion in 'Mondial' started by Journiacois, Jun 14, 2015.

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  1. theunissenguido

    theunissenguido Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jan 21, 2004
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    Guido
    #26 theunissenguido, Dec 14, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2015
    then you can turn the black fobe on top of the motor. That way the lamp unit lifts and stay that way. Its important that there NO electricity..so DISCONNECT your battery !
    Workshop manual says : If the headlamp lifting motor is not operate, do as follows : -disconnect the plug of lifting motors,- turn the knob A fig.8 until complete opening is obtained....
    Guido
     
  2. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    Apr 25, 2010
    2,903
    Central Florida
    I do this all the time when cleaning/detailing/servicing the lights.

    1. Turn your headlamps on, they will pop up.
    2. Disconnect your battery via the disconnect switch or battery cable.
    3. Headlights will be off, but in the up position.

    Make sure there is nothing left in the way when you reconnect the power: Tools, rags, fingers, etc.

    When you are finished:

    4. Reconnect power
    5. Turn headlights off, pods will go down.

    You can turn the headlight switch off when the power is disconnected if you don't want a power spike when you reconnect, but the lights will go down immediately on power up, dangerous. And I have never tried this, so it might be a good idea or cause other problems, not sure.

    This question is asked a lot here, instructions should probably should be in the sticky section once procedure is verified/edited by everyone.
    Alden
     
  3. Rover1551

    Rover1551 Karting

    Aug 12, 2015
    77
    Tampa, Fla.
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    Alex
    He has all four on at the same time as low beams, drivers see that and think he has his high beams on, until he hits the switch!
    Alden

    Exactly Alden. Thanks
    Good point on cutting power to headlights. Otherwise they can/will go down at the worst possible moment and are ABSOLUTELY MERCILESS in relation to skin & bone!!
     
  4. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

    May 25, 2013
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    Why not use the deadman's switch? at least that is what I do :)
    Turn on your headlights and switch the Mondi off using this switch (next to the battery) you do not have to disconnect the battery as the switch does it literally.
     
  5. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

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    #30 MvT, Dec 19, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  6. Journiacois

    Journiacois Formula Junior

    Dec 28, 2013
    260
    Dordogne, France
    Full Name:
    Gerald
    Thanks Tijn, I will try Mr. Switch's brother on Dante.

    The first thing I note in looking at your pic however, is how clear the lenses are on Lady Grey. Mine look like the teeth of a 3 pack a day gauloises smoker versus yours of a hollywood starlet. Just cleaning the lenses in itself should make a big difference.

    Now for the next obvious question. I assume that the headlamps are in fact held in by the two screws that are around the glass and that removing the lamps will be simple after removing the screws. Or is there some other mystical information needed to be passed along by the Mondi gurus?

    And will remounting them require reaiming or will they settle back into their original position?

    Thanks again for the counsel.
    Gerald
     
  7. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

    May 25, 2013
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    No re-aiming needed, just unscrew the black plastic cover and the rest speaks for it self.

    Not sure if you have a true Frenchie (Yellow bulbs) that makes the lenses look more yellow. However, glass gets also yellowish due to UV radiation especially on cars older then 86 I noticed. Not sure if they added a chemical substance to it, but I see a huge difference for example between pre '87 lower flashing light lenses and younger. You already see it in the pic. left is more clear. that is an '88 and the other is an '85.
     
  8. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    Apr 25, 2010
    2,903
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    Per my instructions:
    1. Turn your headlamps on, they will pop up.
    2. Disconnect your battery via the DISCONNECT SWITCH or battery cable.
    3. Headlights will be off, but in the up position.
    Alden
     
  9. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

    May 25, 2013
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    Sorry Alden I over read your instructions and I saw only "battery cable". Indeed the same! IMHO never take off the cable unless you really know what you do. Even then... It's in an awkward deep place. Your tool could touch the + in this cramped space and you could fry your ECU. It would not be the first time it would happen or people unhook the + cable if they cannot distinguish + and -.

    The correct way to unhook a cable is to take of the wheel and unscrew the panel inside the fender to get access to the battery. I'm sure not many people do that :):)
     
  10. bigeasy

    bigeasy Formula Junior

    Dec 31, 2012
    368
    I purchased just two of these, received them yesterday, look great, good glass and solid metal housing. Hoping to install them today. I will probably swap out the included H bulbs with the Silverstone bulbs after a test night run, I will report back
     
  11. bigeasy

    bigeasy Formula Junior

    Dec 31, 2012
    368
    Did the conversion to these headlights (Low beams only)with the included H4 bulbs yesterday. The swap went well except for the fact you need to trim the three wire tabs off the outside rim of each bulb, as it makes the bulb sit to far out from the bucket for proper installation, these can be easily trimmed with a pair of tin snips. after that, they fit perfectly and the light output is substantially brighter over the old sealed beam lights. I don't feel the need to go with the upgrade to the Ultra bulbs, as these are more then bright enough for the low beams.

    doing the swap, I had noticed one of my headlight connector pins was bent over and not making any contact to the plug. Wondered why before when I turned on my brights only three bulbs would light up. Corrected this during the installation and voilà all lights worked!
     
  12. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    #37 Alden, Dec 25, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I have a partially clear plastic panel over the top of my battery that I can remove and access the battery from the top, not sure if my model year ('88) is the only one to have this feature. Pic below.

    But I do agree: Only remove the battery cables as a last resort. I have touched the frame with a wrench while taking off the positive terminal on other cars and the sparks really fly! Turning off the disconnect switch before doing this on the Mondial takes the ground off the battery and makes working on the battery much less exciting!
    Alden
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  13. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    Do they still fit securely enough to not vibrate loose without the tabs?

    Seems like the folks who sell the kits would have noticed this and re-engineered it somehow.
    Alden
     
  14. bigeasy

    bigeasy Formula Junior

    Dec 31, 2012
    368
    yes they fit snug, just leave a small portion of the tab, don't grind all of it away, the kit is probably not model specific, so you have to fine tune it. easy to do.
     
  15. Mfoncerrada

    Mfoncerrada Formula Junior

    Dec 20, 2009
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    Miguel Foncerrada
    Mark,
    These still working well? I think I'm about to do the same. BTW, why just do the low beams and not all 4? Cheers
     
  16. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    I did all four of mine. Will probably swap out for Silverstars too when I can get around to it.

    They do stick out further than the OEM sealed beams so I had to do some "modification" to the locating tabs on the back of the light so they would fit deeper in place.

    They WILL rub the front of the light enclosure on the body if you don't do this mod, or they will be impossible to aim low enough to be effective.

    Be careful.
    Alden
     
  17. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

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    I'm curious why to go down this road if you can easily upgrade to Sylvania Silverstar Ultra or Philips extreme.
     
  18. Mfoncerrada

    Mfoncerrada Formula Junior

    Dec 20, 2009
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    #43 Mfoncerrada, Jun 2, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2016
    Just trying to figure out what to buy to put the halogen bulbs into....i.e. US cars have sealed beams and I understand the European cars have Halogen....correct? Perhaps one of these:
    My Hella Lights :: Vision Plus 5¾" Conversion Headlamp
    has anyone tried those? I expect depth of the bulb will be a problem. What is in the European cars?
     
  19. MvT

    MvT F1 Rookie

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    ok got it! :)

    We have indeed Halogen. Even on the Mondial 8. The headlamps are from "Cibie" (Check the diameter though!)
    Cibie 470093 Headlights Alpine Citroen Ferrari Porsche Simca New | eBay
     
  20. Mfoncerrada

    Mfoncerrada Formula Junior

    Dec 20, 2009
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    Miguel Foncerrada
  21. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    Can't be done with US cars, we have halogen sealed beams as OEM, bulbs cannot be swapped and Silverstar and Extreme are not made in sealed beam sizes to fit our cars.

    It appears possible because the Sylvania catalog shows the wrong 7" part for our cars, not the 5 3/4" that we need, beware.
    Alden
     
  22. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
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    Jul 1, 2013
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    Just a note on the Silverstars - they are great as others here stated - but my experience is they definitely have a much shorter life span (Had to swap 2x as fast)

    Cheers
     
  23. Mfoncerrada

    Mfoncerrada Formula Junior

    Dec 20, 2009
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    Miguel Foncerrada
  24. geno355

    geno355 Karting

    Jul 5, 2007
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    Winchester, KY
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    Geno Kearney
    Boy, I've been studying this thread, but I'm hoping since it's two years later there are better options for my US 89 Mondial T. I found this from RockAuto.

    https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=5920656&cc=1104163&jsn=361

    Does this appear to be a direct replacement that will work for me? Can anybody offer an alternate option that I can get in the US?

    Thanks,

    Geno
     
  25. WilyB

    WilyB F1 Rookie
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    Feb 23, 2007
    4,104
    AZ
    There is a great write up by No Doubt about the best bulbs for the t/348/355 etc.

    https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/the-348-355-light-thread-oem-vs-ge-nighthawk-vs-hir-vs-hid.171084/page-3

    After extensive tests No Doubt selected HIR bulbs. They need to be trimmed to fit. This is a very easy modification.

    http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html
     

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