Queen Headlights

[365 GT 2+2]

Good morning Team TomYang.net

The Queen's headlights work well - it's just that they don't exactly shine too bright. It's not to say that they aren't effective - they are, but when you look at them when it's dark they sort of 'glow' rather than shine and throw out bright light.
So - normal? I have priced some replacement lights - not cheap. Or could it be an issues of battery power getting to them at a sufficient level? And one shines a bit brighter than the other...

Also - I got the replacement front bumper amber lens from FerrParts. It's a tight squeeze to get the screws into the lens - real tight. I fear that if I crank too hard on the screwdriver I might crack the part of the lens that accepts the screw. That wouldn't be good...The part of the lens that 'holds' the screws is long too - like a couple of inches since the distance from the front of the lens to the assembly inside the bumper is few inches at least. I think the screws are 1 3/4 inches long.
Question: Since the hole for the screws (which are very very long) doesn't appear rifled, what if I took my dremel tool and slowly but surely opened up the girth of the plastic screw receptacle (sorry...no idea what else to call it)? Or does that screw need to be snuggled up tight in there so just keep cranking, albeit slowly, as is? Ideas?

My wife asked why I got the dremel tool in the first place - maybe now I can tell her it was foresight?

[TOMKIZER]

Hi Tom,

If you are using the right screw and a factory Pininfarina lens, those screws should screw through the lens tightly, then the thread on the end of the screw passes the tight area and becomes loose in the hole. When the screw is finally installed in the lens, only the unthreaded screw shank is in the lens hole. The thread is beyond the hole on one end and the screw head is beyond it on the other end, thus capturing the screw loosely in the hole. I wish I had a picture. Apparently it's so the screws didn't fall out when the production lens was being shipped. Since you bought a replacement lens (probably repro), you had to reuse your old screws. I would not trust that the holes in the repro lenses are the right size so you should probably open them up so you don't have to screw the screws through the plastic. On the small repeater lenses that I had reproduced, the same thing occurred, so I used a tiny rat-tail file that came in a small plastic bound kit (one square cross-section, one triangular, one cylindrical, one cresent moon cross-section, etc.). They are cheap at a parts or hardware store. I was able to just file the hole bigger, and that kept me from having to risk breaking the lens by drilling it. If you have an appropriate dremel tool that will not stress the plastic, go for it.

I hope that helps.

Tom Kizer

[TOMKIZER]

Hi Tom, again,

Are your headlights original Carello headlamps (03.490.700 lens/03.490.800 reflector/H1 bulbs)? If yes, maybe you just need to change the H1 bulbs (2 per headlamp). More likely, you need to clean the contacts, especially the ground connection to the headlamp bucket (if I remember right - maybe it's grounded to the steel reflector). Also where the headlamp contacts the bucket, since that would be in the circuit as well if ground wire is attached to the bucket. I don't really remember and my car isn't here. Since one is brighter than the other, I suspect high resistance in the connections, or somewhere in the circuit. The electrical system probably just needs to be cleaned, whether you have Carello headlamps or aftermarket sealed beam units. Also check to see if the headlamps (or bulbs) on both sides are the same. That could conceivably be the difference.

Please let us know what your final solution is.

Tom Kizer

[TOMKIZER]

By the way, my Queen's headlights will burn the paint off my garage wall if I park too close. JOKE! But they are really, really bright.

Tom Kizer