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Dr A. 33 1.5IE
Alfa Sprint
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 133
Location: Nicosia - Cyprus
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 Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:35 pm Post subject: Headlights quote... |
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Dear all, 
I think that it might be the time to change my headlights on my series-3 as the light they emit is not helping me much driving at night and if its raining is like you drive holding a torch. It appears that the reflector has all gone foggy and in some places has been eaten up by the condensation. 
It is not entirely dull but I hope that a new set of lights will improve things a bit or not??? Anything else before I go for that expense 
In addition how much does a set of new headlights cost in your country (don't worry I can change all currencies in euros on-line) just to compare the prices here in Cyprus .... 
Thanks everyone 
_________________
1994 Alfa 33 1.5 IE Cat. 220.000Kms and still going strong!!! (Από την Αθήνα και τώρα στην Λευκωσία) |
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bobbber
P4
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 2162
Location: The Greatest Town on Earth - Swadlincote, UK
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| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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The official Alfa price per headlight in the UK is £91!
Although there are occasionally some on eBay. I'd look on eBay first.
Bob
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Fiat Bravo 165 Sport |
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gritsop
Green Cloverleaf
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 766
Location: Ekali, Athens - Greece
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| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
Here in Greece, one can find the headlight for approximatelly 75 - 80 €
However, many replicas exist in the market for lower price but I 'd doubt about their quality.
Regards
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Thanassis Gritsopoulos
1991 Alfa 33 1.4 IE
2001 Alfa 147 1.6 Distinctive
http://www.alfa-restoration.co.uk
Parts Shop: www.alfa-restoration.co.uk/shop |
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Bellamachinna
Alfa 33
Joined: 12 May 2003
Posts: 352
Location: Lisbon-Portugal
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| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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Hi
I just bought 2 almost new headlights in a scraper, for 5 €....
They are in great shape...
There are, replicas on the market, but dont doubt their quality... All the replicas that i found are made by the same parts supplier that supplies Alfa Romeo... All replicas are made by Carello...
The price in the dealers is around 90€ per set, here in Portugal... The replicas cost around 65€...
As you can see, 5€ for both headlights was very cheap...
All the best
P.Camilo
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All'interno della mia macchina, vi sedete, tenete sopra e CHIUDETE IN SU... |
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ZeNiTh-PbArM
Alfa 33
Joined: 14 Mar 2003
Posts: 388
Location: Paris, France
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
Prices are pretty low where you live!
I'd like for sure to be able to buy a set of headlamps at €65 around here...dealer price is around 150€ each!
regards,
zp |
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Dr A. 33 1.5IE
Alfa Sprint
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 133
Location: Nicosia - Cyprus
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with Zenith...  those lights are cheap...
Dealer prices here in Cyprus range between 150-170 euros per headlight ... 
I might go for second hand or not the original ones ... buy the way Carello makes the original headlights ...
If i crack a better deal I will let you know ...
Thanks everyone ... 
_________________
1994 Alfa 33 1.5 IE Cat. 220.000Kms and still going strong!!! (Από την Αθήνα και τώρα στην Λευκωσία) |
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Dr A. 33 1.5IE
Alfa Sprint
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 133
Location: Nicosia - Cyprus
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Another thing that came up...
in previous posts some people said about checking the voltage running to the headlights just in case some of it is lost with time ...
... and also said about relays to ensure that 12V run toi the lights ... but if I am mistaken series-2 and -3 alfa's do have relays for the headlights...
If not does it worth installing a couple of relays???
Thanks again... 
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1994 Alfa 33 1.5 IE Cat. 220.000Kms and still going strong!!! (Από την Αθήνα και τώρα στην Λευκωσία) |
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gritsop
Green Cloverleaf
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 766
Location: Ekali, Athens - Greece
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Ben_nz
Gold Cloverleaf
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 575
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:19 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
in previous posts some people said about checking the voltage running to the headlights just in case some of it is lost with time ...
... and also said about relays to ensure that 12V run toi the lights ... but if I am mistaken series-2 and -3 alfa's do have relays for the headlights... |
Some people (who thought there was too much voltage lost in their Alfas' wiring) have installed relays right close to the headlights which take a power feed directly from the battery, bypassing all the original factory wiring.
My car loses about 0.85V between the battery and the headlight (after I reduced this from 1.15V by cleaning the fusebox). Considering the headlights draw 4.3A this represents a resistance of 0.2 ohms in the wiring, which is too small to worry about. If my headlights are dim I figure it's because of low powered / old bulbs, poor design, dirty reflector etc.
Installing some good quality driving lights (which can take a higher power bulb) would be a good way to get more light. I've done this on my car (except with cheap lights)... The wiring is already in place from the factory. |
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Dr A. 33 1.5IE
Alfa Sprint
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 133
Location: Nicosia - Cyprus
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:51 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Ben_nz...
By saying anout driving lights I pressume you talk about something like Hella or PIAA driving lights placed were the fog lights should be
In addition can you guide me through the fuse-box cleaning process? Did you remove the box from the dashboard or you you just cleaned it on the spot ?
Thanks for the response ... 
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1994 Alfa 33 1.5 IE Cat. 220.000Kms and still going strong!!! (Από την Αθήνα και τώρα στην Λευκωσία) |
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Ben_nz
Gold Cloverleaf
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 575
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:35 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| By saying anout driving lights I pressume you talk about something like Hella or PIAA driving lights placed were the fog lights should be |
Yeah, something like this:
My car never came with foglights, so by adding a factory relay and foglight switch I used the foglight wiring to run those driving lights. The wiring hasn't burnt out yet either!
Oops, you have a series 3 car.. do they have the fusebox in the dashboard? They probably changed the fusebox because the old design was rubbish.
On series 2 cars where the fusebox looks like the one in this picture: http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/WIPERS2.JPG, you can probably leave it in place to clean it because the worst connections seem to be at the fuses themselves, not at the wires at the back. Open the clear plastic cover, and take out the fuses (but don't mix their order up because they are all different ratings). Clean the metal mountings which the fuses sit in, using electrical contact cleaner or metal polish or CRC/WD40 or something. Bend the mountings inward so they will press harder against the fuses. Check each fuse and replace any where the metal is tarnished, loose or doesn't sit properly over the end of the fuse. Make sure the replacements are the right rating.
Put the fuses back in their proper positions, making sure each one sits tightly and that the metal end caps are the only thing touching the mountings.
That's the same principle that you'll probably have to apply in other places on your 33 at some stage. Bad connections (usually earth connections where a wire connects to the body of the car to complete an electrical circuit) cause interesting things to happen (or not happen). The aim is always to fix loose connections, and reduce electrical resistance by cleaning any corrosion or oxidisation using sandpaper and/or an electrical cleaning spray. |
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bobbber
P4
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 2162
Location: The Greatest Town on Earth - Swadlincote, UK
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:11 am Post subject: |
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Ben,
Yes on the series III the fusebox is in the dashboard - but is STILL rubbish!!!!
Bob
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Fiat Bravo 165 Sport |
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Ben_nz
Gold Cloverleaf
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 575
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:57 am Post subject: |
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Dammit..
I used my car on a business trip today, a 2-hour drive up country at 2:00 in the morning, and now it has problems with the headlights.
(Better to take the 33 than any of our rubbish company cars, one of which has dodgy suspension and no CD/cassette player, and the other is a diesel that makes about 30hp)
But the headlights didn't like that much use... The driving lights started playing up (not coming back on straight away after I shut them off for passing cars), and the low beam headlights would do the same thing. Then the driving lights stopped working completely. Sometimes I'd have the option of either high beam headlights or nothing at all - I bet oncoming traffic wondered whether I knew how to work my headlights!
So now fixing the things becomes this weekend's interesting electrical challenge.
The driving lights will be easier than the low beam headlights, because the driving lights problem isn't intermittent. |
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paulhide
P4
Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 1607
Location: Oh Beautiful Billingham
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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I always found lighting problems on the series two came from one of three places. 1 Dim/dip relay (the big red one) 2 The connectors at the back of the actual lights. 3 The main wiring loom junction under the hydraulic fluid reservoir)
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Owner's Club 33 Registrar. Now from P4 & S2 1.7 QV
http://www.alfa-pages.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=5188 |
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Frits
Alfa Arna
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 7
Location: Delft, the Netherlands
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| Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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Check the fuses, they can be oxidated (?)
And if the condensation in the headlight is a problem, this can be solved to open up the headlights on the backside (just remove the rubber or hard plastic thing) so the moisture can go away.
Another one: I changed the bulbs for bulbs with 30% more light. The diffrence was a big one! (Philips Premium!)
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Two type II 33 1.3s SW www.meisenbacher.nl/auto.html |
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bobbber
P4
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 2162
Location: The Greatest Town on Earth - Swadlincote, UK
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| Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:29 am Post subject: |
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Trick for condensation :
Remove the rubber bit at the back of the headlight.
Get rid of the condensation with a hair dryer.
Bob
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Fiat Bravo 165 Sport |
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Ben_nz
Gold Cloverleaf
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 575
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 10:39 am Post subject: |
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I fixed the driving lights!
paulhide was right, one of the problems was the wiring loom junction between the brake master cylinder and the ventilation unit.
When I first attacked the problem, I could measure 12V always at the junction plug, but 0V at the driving light connectors (the other end of the same wire) unless the lights were unplugged. With the lights unplugged, I measured 12V at the light connectors, but when I plugged the lights back in, the voltage turned around and ran away back into the wiring and the lights didn't go 
How's that for Italian electrics
The problem was a very bad connection in the junction plug which wouldn't let any current through. Once that was fixed,   One driving light worked.
The rest of the problems were in the earthing of the lights. They earth through their mounting brackets, which are cheap quality metal and now have surface rust on them. I hit the second light and it started working, but parts of the mounting brackets got hot where there was too much resistance.
Cleaned that up, now both driving lights go again.
The mysterious occasional failure of the main headlights to work on low beam will have to wait until I can replicate it on demand.
| Quote: |
Trick for condensation :
Remove the rubber bit at the back of the headlight.
Get rid of the condensation with a hair dryer. |
If you're always getting new condensation in your headlights, check they're closed properly at the back and that the seals are OK. It's surely best to fix the cause of the problem if you can, rather than hair-drying the condensation, because the condensation will leave dirt inside your headlights and dull their output. |
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Dave_NZ
Alfasud
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Amsterdam, NL
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| Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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well, when i had condensation problems with my s2 qv, i found out the lense was almost detached from the plastic casing.
I pulled it apart, cleaned it out, and then siliconed them back together. They worked perfectly, although i dont know how long they will last. Either way, i dont own that car anymore.
good
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Looking for a type 2 33QV in NL |
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