headlights on gtv6

[alfagtv58]

Andrew,

Hope you read this...

I'm trying to do this now, how do you manage to get the globes into the new lights once pressed into the old reflectors?  I pressed the first one in, then went to put the globe in and couldnt get the bracket holding the globe down in??? So when I tried to get it out (figuring the only way was to have it all assembled first, then press it in) I broke the glass on the new one.....dammit!

By the way, the first one I did the glass was alrady cracked, but I cannot bring myself to smash the carello glass on the rest, think I might try to heat the rubber holding it in and cut it out....carello glass is hard to get, I just cant smash it!!

[alfagtv152]

Hi Phil,
Sorry to hear your having trouble,Sounds like you didn't cut enough of the old reflector away,see the pictures on page one of this post to see how much to cut away.I assemble the new light before I put it in the reflector and then clip over the trim,part of the reason for that is I put them in the car or grill to make sure the are aligned correctly before pushing them all the way home in the reflector.
What I do if the glass is worth saving is use a little screw driver just the width of the gap between the glass and the out side of the reflector,which is sharpened at the tip and carefully dig out/cut away the old mastic holding the glass in then you will have to carefully grab the old reflector front edge,front and back with a pair of pliers,and bend it back slightly away from the glass.Once you have done that go around the edge of the reflector with a knife to scrape away any mastic etc between it and the glass.If you have successfully removed all the stuff you should be able to push the glass out from the back through the globe hole.
Feel free if you need any more help.
Cheers
Andrew

[alfagtv58]

Ah, right....that would be the bit where you clearly explained it and provided photographs to demonstrate.  And obviously I chose not to either read that bit or enlarge the photo before deciding that I knew what to do....god some people can be thick.

Thanks Andrew, appreciate it

[Al Campbell]

Phil,

I have three spare Carellos glass lenses if you want one. GTV6  116 type.  I just used a small sharp knife to cut the rubber in the Carellos - one of those snap-off blades things. I just went round and round lots of times till I could gently push the glass out via the bulb hole. I  got impatient  and broke the last one.

AL.

[tpalfa]

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but this seems to be the best place to post this...

I bought some Motolites and they fit perfectly. But the bulb holders on them are the cheapest nastiest holders I've ever seen. The H1 bulb holder is particularly bad. The retaining clip doesn't latch properly and exerts no pressure on the bulb. The bulb locator hole/slot hasn't been cut correctly and is made of such cheap thin metal that it bends at the slightest pressure and it isn't even aligned with the lens. And the supplied plug doesn't retain a H1 bulb properly. Even the metal locator tabs are badly aligned - which would be fine if I was simply breaking them off but I am using the lights with US style buckets so need the tabs.

I've attached some photos to illustrate.

Just wondering if others faced this same problem and how they dealt with it. I'm concerned that with such poor connections these lights will create more problems than they solve.

Thanks

[alfagtv152]

Hi tpalaf,
You are correct but I have just figured out over many of them how to bend the clip and the contacts to give good enough fitment for reliable use,haven't had many that don't line the globe up but have seen it.
As for the retaining clip I bend the ring and the clip around a bit to bring the end of the clip out through the slot a little and then turn it up on the end so it will not slide back.The trick to fitting the contacts is to fit the contact to the globe so that you are happy with it then fit the rubber back over it,part of that is linked to how you position the retaining clip around the globe,occasionally had to drill the hole out for the lamp.As far as the tabs go I have never used them as they don't allow the lamp to go deep enough into the old reflector the way I do it.If you want to use better quality stuff you can do the same,with a bit more effort,with Hella Lights.I have also taken the glass out of the Motolite lamps and fitted Corello glass to them but this requires a little reduction in the glass diameter,have fitted corello glass to Hella's as well.
Cheers
Andrew

[Rigi]

ok so we have hopefully all been successful in improving the lenses on the car, however hopefully I'm not the only one that has serious difficulty with the adjustment and retaining screws. Either the last owner of my car adjusted them with a pair of vice grips or went at it with dodgy screw driver. Does anyone know where to buy replacement screws, both the adjustment screws with the cir-clip recess and the hold down screws also? thanks