P REG Cinquecento lights

Just bought a secondhand Cinquecento SX ....no handbook....Is it normal for the side and headlights not to come on until the ignition is on????

-- Jim Stewart. Renfrew SCOTLAND.

Reply to
jim.gm4dhj
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Al Fiat's have that yes, if you want some light without ignition on, turn the key one step under the of position, while pressing the little button near the key.

Reply to
Draak

A thousand thanks kind Sir ! I thought something was wrong with it as this is the first time I have seen anything like that......

-- Jim Stewart. GM4DHJ Renfrew SCOTLAND.

Reply to
jim.gm4dhj

Fiat already does this for years now :-)

Reply to
Draak

Certainly fooled my last MoT tester!

Reply to
Mark W

But WHY do they do it?.....to save you leaving your lights on????

-- Jim Stewart. GM4DHJ Renfrew SCOTLAND.

Reply to
jim.gm4dhj

On the downside, as I've found twice, the heavy headlight load/ampage goes through the ignition switch, which finally packs up. The failure mode seems to be that the small push on quarter inch blades oxidise, start to warm up with the ampage, this gets transmitted into the body of the switch, once it starts it accelerates and then gives out at the most inconvenient time. Catch it in time and you can replace the blade with a heavy duty one, they are around, but you may have to file the old one off, after freeing it from the block, as there isn't enough spare wire.

Reply to
Ato_zee

Surely not - the headlights are normally powered through relays, aren't they?

Reply to
Mark W

Ofcourse they are

Reply to
Draak

Cinq may be different to the Uno but I suspect not. Had ignition switch failure on both Mk1 and Mk2 Unos. Havn't had it on the Cinq so far, touch wood.

On one occasion my problem arose on a cold snowy night, with headlights, heater fan, radio, wipers, heated rear screen, all of which go through the ignition switch, on. I estimated 6 or so amps for the lights, and overall about 9-10 amps. a bit too much for comfort with a quarter inch push on blade. Everything went, not good on a motorway, at night, in fact potentially fatal when all your lights go out and the engine stops. It's not a by the roadside fix either.

Reply to
Ato_zee

jim.gm4dhj skrev:

In my Cinq Sporting it was normal :-)

Do you plan to park the car with the lights on.......?

Reply to
Søren C. Fischer

yes and I now can....

-- Jim GM4DHJ.....

Reply to
jim.gm4dhj

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