Euro headlights

[gkrumian]

I just got my car back today from the shop that installed the Euro lights. Everything works beautifully except for the headlights washers. I know it's no big deal but I like everything to work on my car. With the old lights on, pulling the washer stalk would activate the headlight washer pumps. They would come on only when the headlights were on. Obviously some relay or contact controlled the washer pump.

Now that the wires have all been changed around and three sets of relays installed to control the headlights circuitry, I can't get the washer pump to work. I either need to re-trace back to its original setup or feed power to the headlights pump from the same wire that activates the windshield pump. Before I get into it though I thought I'd ask if anyone has gone through this before and what the best way to get it done is.

Thanks.
Gary

[Gubi]

Yeah, I had a similar problem. Clean all the grounds in the ground cluster at the front driver's side of the engine compartment. Be sure to remove and clean the cable that goes from the ground cluster to the negative battery terminal.

The headlights dump current through that ground, and that's also where the headlight washer relay grounds. If the ground is marginal it can barely handle the headlight current when the lights are on and doesn't allow enough washer relay coil current to go through and trip the relay.

If that doesn't work it's possible they mucked something up, so you'll have to get out the multimeter and do some troubleshooting. The washer relay is a black plastic relay at the front driver's side of the engine compartment IIRC.

[coppcarz]

is there anyway to know if the verde came with headlight washers?

[Gubi]

All US spec cars should have them. Look in front of the lights for two nozzles on each side. They only operate when the headlights are on.

[tiger0529]

Do you have the stock front bumper on your car? The picture below shows location of the headlight washers on Milanos (inside of the yellow circles). I have never seen a Milano without them so I assume they were standard on every Milano produced (I have seen a few 75s without them though).

Quote:

Originally Posted by coppcarz is there anyway to know if the verde came with headlight washers?

[Grant]

Off topic, but this picture explains a good reason why stock Milanos understeer when really pushed. The rear suspension keeps the wheels parallel to the road (almost ideal) while the front wheels have positive camber, and you can see how distorted the front left tire looks - which is giving the front end less grip.

Awesome picture huh?

[gkrumian]

I remember Fred DiMateo years ago saying that a proper alignment on the Milano should not be at factory specs but rather zero camber, zero caster and zero toe. Does this help aleviate some of this understeer behavior?

[Grant]

Hmm.. I think as much caster as possible feels better on these Milanos, and more caster will reduce the understeer, as the inside tire turns harder b/c of ackerman effect.

Zero camber is only going to help tire wear. I am running about 2.3 degrees of camber, and should use more to kill the rest of the understeer. I'm running 0 toe to help tire wear.

Are you enjoying those headlights?

[JoeCab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gkrumian I remember Fred DiMateo years ago saying that a proper alignment on the Milano should not be at factory specs but rather zero camber, zero caster and zero toe. Does this help aleviate some of this understeer behavior?

[gkrumian]

Sorry I thought it was the Milano. So turning the topic on this thread from lights to alignment specs, can I get some suggestions on what some of us are running on almost stock suspension Verde? The wheels are stock as is tire size. Ride height has been lowered a bit.

And to answer Grant, I love those headlights. I think they need to be adjusted a bit because it seems that the sharp cutoff is too high. Should not be a problem. My main concern is still getting the Megasquirt adjusted just right. I still get knocking at below 3,000 rpm or at full throttle.

[Hit an Apex]

The euro lights are awesome. The 90/135w bulbs I have might be even better

[Rookie ROX]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Memory always tells me that not only will it melt the wires if not upgraded, it'll melt the ballast as well.

ROCK ON
R~R

[Hit an Apex]

I made a new wiring harness for them with the standard super relays.

Lights have been find as far as not melting reflectors go!

[Grant]

It's your thread, do whatever you want

I think the factory alignment is just fine for normal driving.

What version of MS are you using? Do you have access to a wideband 02 sensor? Are you utilizing spark control on your MS?

[gkrumian]

I'm running MS II version 3. I couldn't get the wideband sensor to work. I think I need to buy something else to get it to work. I am using spark control off MS. The technician who's helping me with the project says he knows what he needs to do to get the specs more correct.

The car has a lot of power with the 10.8 compression and CSC headers, S cams and MAP sensor. The stock AFM housing is still there with its guts removed so there still is an air restriction due to the small size of the AFM. I wanted to keep the stock look. Total advance is 32 degrees which I think may be a little low. I remember Tiger telling me that he was getting a lot more pinging at 36 but I think he needs to play with the enrichment curve a bit more. Same with the below 3,000 rpm pinging. It's very rich from idle to 3,000 so he needs to lean it out a bit but I think the rate of enrichment needs to be increased to prevent knocking. I guess having the wide band makes this process much easier.