F355 Headlight won't close all the way or open all the way but works fine

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 01:32 PM

Blew a fuse last night which started all this. Researched on the forums, put a 10 amp fuse and swapped relays from right to left as right was working fine. Relays are good, 10 amp fuse fixed driver's side headlight that was stuck half way open. After searching here and other forums, I can't seem to find others who have had this exact problem. The light now works fine but only opens 3/4 of the way up and closes about 85% of the way. When I turn the lights on, it dips down then opens up 3/4 of the way. When I turn them off, it raises a little then shuts 85%. I've tried the manual knob adjust and that moves it all the way with no resistance that I can feel, but when I turn it back on the same thing happens. I tried opening them up all the way then doing the battery disconnect to reset the ecu and it still returns to the 85% shut position.

I can't feel any resistance and the light was working fine, no rain, no cold. Is there some other way to reset the default top and bottom position of the light?

It's a '98 355 spyder

Brian · 12-28-2011, 01:40 PM

The bellcrank is in the wrong position on the motor shaft.

Someone probably tried to lift or push down the headlight bucket by hand when it quit working and caused it to slip.

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 01:44 PM

Thanks Brian, that did happen and I'm the idiot that did it. Is there a way to adjust this? Do I need to pull the head light and the motor a part?

Brian · 12-28-2011, 02:13 PM

The bellcrank does not have its own number in this picture. The nut #14 holds the bellcrank to the tapered motor shaft. That lever and the adjustable link need to extend perfectly straight with the headlight in the up position. They need to perfectly overlap each other in the down position. The lever needs to be freed of the tapered shaft to perform the adjustment and the nut needs to be retightened without turning the motor or moving the lever. It is in a spot that is pretty hard to reach and if it is done without first disconnecting the battery you run a very real risk of losing fingers.

I hate to say it but if you had read the owners manual first there would be nothing here to fix. There is a knob to turn to raise and lower the light in an emergency.

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 02:21 PM

Thanks for the reply, totally my boneheaded mistake. I bought the car yesterday and this happened less than 2 miles from where I bought it. Now it's a pita and all I needed to do was change a fuse, hard lesson learned. I come from racing M3's and they're built like bricks and when something gets stuck, you just pull harder! First Ferrari, first dumb lesson.

Thanks for the diagram, I'm off to the garage....

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 02:32 PM

Done, thanks Brian! I loosened the nut, realigned the levers, had my wife hold the light up after I already dropped it on my finger once (battery disconnected but it's still heavy when it falls) and tightened the nut back up and she's happy again.

champagne612 · 12-28-2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RotarySwingGolf

Done, thanks Brian! I loosened the nut, realigned the levers, had my wife hold the light up after I already dropped it on my finger once (battery disconnected but it's still heavy when it falls) and tightened the nut back up and she's happy again.

This could be the funniest thread of the year - but then again I have a warped sense of humor

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 03:22 PM

Feel free to laugh, I feel like a nominee for the "Darwin Award". All day today I kept looking at my M3 and wondering what the hell did I get myself into with this Ferrari stuff... To make matters worse, on the drive home from the seller's house I got pulled over and got a written citation for a "Faulty Equipment Notice". Like I didn't know one of the headlights was down... This all happened within 20 minutes of me taking possession of the car.

champagne612 · 12-28-2011, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RotarySwingGolf

Feel free to laugh, I feel like a nominee for the "Darwin Award". All day today I kept looking at my M3 and wondering what the hell did I get myself into with this Ferrari stuff... To make matters worse, on the drive home from the seller's house I got pulled over and got a written citation for a "Faulty Equipment Notice". Like I didn't know one of the headlights was down... This all happened within 20 minutes of me taking possession of the car.

Welcome to the Ferrari world of ownership - these forums make it a whole lot easier ... especially guys like the gent who helped you out.

Once you open her up on a nice windy road with the top down you will feel much much better.

Brian · 12-28-2011, 03:41 PM

Glad it was such an easy fix.

When you have an hour, read the owners manual.

RotarySwingGolf · 12-28-2011, 03:45 PM

Thanks guys, oh trust me, stayed up last night on the forums and reading the manual as the ebrake was "broke" too, or so I thought. As I was about to tear that thing apart it said in the manual, "Umm, we designed it to feel like it was broke and disengaged to make it easier to get in and out of the car (slightly paraphrased)". Downloaded all the workshop manuals as well which is good as I now apparently need to replace the windshield washer fluid reservoir because when I went to put fluid in it kindly dumped all over the garage floor...

12-28-2011, 02:13 PM	#4
Brian Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern California Ferrari Life Posts: 859 Name: Brian Crall	The bellcrank does not have its own number in this picture. The nut #14 holds the bellcrank to the tapered motor shaft. That lever and the adjustable link need to extend perfectly straight with the headlight in the up position. They need to perfectly overlap each other in the down position. The lever needs to be freed of the tapered shaft to perform the adjustment and the nut needs to be retightened without turning the motor or moving the lever. It is in a spot that is pretty hard to reach and if it is done without first disconnecting the battery you run a very real risk of losing fingers. I hate to say it but if you had read the owners manual first there would be nothing here to fix. There is a knob to turn to raise and lower the light in an emergency. Attached Images

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12-28-2011, 01:32 PM	#1
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Headlight won't close all the way or open all the way but works fine Blew a fuse last night which started all this. Researched on the forums, put a 10 amp fuse and swapped relays from right to left as right was working fine. Relays are good, 10 amp fuse fixed driver's side headlight that was stuck half way open. After searching here and other forums, I can't seem to find others who have had this exact problem. The light now works fine but only opens 3/4 of the way up and closes about 85% of the way. When I turn the lights on, it dips down then opens up 3/4 of the way. When I turn them off, it raises a little then shuts 85%. I've tried the manual knob adjust and that moves it all the way with no resistance that I can feel, but when I turn it back on the same thing happens. I tried opening them up all the way then doing the battery disconnect to reset the ecu and it still returns to the 85% shut position. I can't feel any resistance and the light was working fine, no rain, no cold. Is there some other way to reset the default top and bottom position of the light? It's a '98 355 spyder

12-28-2011, 01:40 PM	#2
Brian Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern California Ferrari Life Posts: 859 Name: Brian Crall	The bellcrank is in the wrong position on the motor shaft. Someone probably tried to lift or push down the headlight bucket by hand when it quit working and caused it to slip.

12-28-2011, 01:44 PM	#3
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Thanks Brian, that did happen and I'm the idiot that did it. Is there a way to adjust this? Do I need to pull the head light and the motor a part?

12-28-2011, 02:21 PM	#5
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Thanks for the reply, totally my boneheaded mistake. I bought the car yesterday and this happened less than 2 miles from where I bought it. Now it's a pita and all I needed to do was change a fuse, hard lesson learned. I come from racing M3's and they're built like bricks and when something gets stuck, you just pull harder! First Ferrari, first dumb lesson. Thanks for the diagram, I'm off to the garage....

12-28-2011, 02:32 PM	#6
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Done, thanks Brian! I loosened the nut, realigned the levers, had my wife hold the light up after I already dropped it on my finger once (battery disconnected but it's still heavy when it falls) and tightened the nut back up and she's happy again.

12-28-2011, 03:22 PM	#8
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Feel free to laugh, I feel like a nominee for the "Darwin Award". All day today I kept looking at my M3 and wondering what the hell did I get myself into with this Ferrari stuff... To make matters worse, on the drive home from the seller's house I got pulled over and got a written citation for a "Faulty Equipment Notice". Like I didn't know one of the headlights was down... This all happened within 20 minutes of me taking possession of the car.

12-28-2011, 03:41 PM	#10
Brian Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern California Ferrari Life Posts: 859 Name: Brian Crall	Glad it was such an easy fix. When you have an hour, read the owners manual.

12-28-2011, 03:45 PM	#11
RotarySwingGolf Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windermere, FL Ferrari Life Posts: 13	Thanks guys, oh trust me, stayed up last night on the forums and reading the manual as the ebrake was "broke" too, or so I thought. As I was about to tear that thing apart it said in the manual, "Umm, we designed it to feel like it was broke and disengaged to make it easier to get in and out of the car (slightly paraphrased)". Downloaded all the workshop manuals as well which is good as I now apparently need to replace the windshield washer fluid reservoir because when I went to put fluid in it kindly dumped all over the garage floor...