General Headlights won’t turn off

[Sbohner]

I have a 500 sport and recently started having issues with headlights. When the car is running headlights won’t come on but when car is turned off headlights stay on causing battery to go dead. Took it to garage and they are saying it’s needs a new clock spring. All my research tells me that’s not accurate. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I pay $1250 for them to replace clock spring.

 

[bugsymike]

I have a 500 sport and recently started having issues with headlights. When the car is running headlights won’t come on but when car is turned off headlights stay on causing battery to go dead. Took it to garage and they are saying it’s needs a new clock spring. All my research tells me that’s not accurate. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I pay $1250 for them to replace clock spring.

No model specific knowledge, but surely if clock spring/steering wheel airbag squib? was faulty it would throw up an error code to confirm fault?
maybe you can have the error codes read somewhere else before committing to the $1250?

 

[Mitchell9292]

Hey - I had a similar issue. I have a 2013 500 Abarth and when I would turn the car off the headlights would stay on. When I turned the car on they also always stayed on and I couldnt turn them off. Constantly on. I took my car in and it ended up being the first symptom of my entire ecu system and full wire harness going bad. So i replaced the whole thing and had my entire car rewired to nip it in the bud from impacting different electronically controlled aspects of the car (alot). That was one relatable issue I had and I also needed to have some more minor maintence done and my bill by the end was about 4200.

Hope its not the same story for you!

 

[varesecrazy]

Thats bad news !

I know the North American 500's are 'Different ' to the European ones..

But that sounds like it may have been misdiagnosed.. to a degree

Generally the 319 designation European 500/panda have an excellent reputation for wiring (only the 500 rear hatch being problematic)

What kind of mileage has your 'Mexican' 500 seen..?

100 /150,000 is generally all Euro 500's see as they are smaller with a 1242cc nonturbo motor


Charlie

 

[ROGER Fiat lux]

I have a 500 sport and recently started having issues with headlights. When the car is running headlights won’t come on but when car is turned off headlights stay on causing battery to go dead. Took it to garage and they are saying it’s needs a new clock spring. All my research tells me that’s not accurate. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I pay $1250 for them to replace clock spring.

I used to have the same problem in a Fiat 500. They way I solved it is with the key on but without starting the car, you have to pull the left lever and it will show the time for the “follow me” headlight staying on.... Each time you pull the lever the time changes ... So keep on pulling to complete all the different time until return again to the minimum ,,, it worked for me.

 

[bugsymike]

Thats bad news !

I know the North American 500's are 'Different ' to the European ones..

But that sounds like it may have been misdiagnosed.. to a degree

Generally the 319 designation European 500/panda have an excellent reputation for wiring (only the 500 rear hatch being problematic)

What kind of mileage has your 'Mexican' 500 seen..?

100 /150,000 is generally all Euro 500's see as they are smaller with a 1242cc nonturbo motor


Charlie

I agree, some of the fault diagnosis in the threads above sounds like the "technician" is using the customers wallet to put their kids through college.
Surely a good Auto Electrician would have located the fault and just replaced the part necessary?
Many times I would go out to a breakdown in the past, open the bonnet/hood and see a mass of new parts that others had fitted to "solve " the problem.
Often the case I would trace the fault to a small simple part that cost next to nothing, maybe that is why I am poor.

 

[AndyRKett]

I have a 500 sport and recently started having issues with headlights. When the car is running headlights won’t come on but when car is turned off headlights stay on causing battery to go dead. Took it to garage and they are saying it’s needs a new clock spring. All my research tells me that’s not accurate. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I pay $1250 for them to replace clock spring.

I'm sure like the European models the lights are on the switch on the end of the steering column stalk. When they say "clock spring" are they actually talking about the whole switch assembly behind the steering wheel? switch issues are not common but not unheard of?

I would probably take a look at the wiring into the rear hatch, this is a very common problem in Europe and insulation breaking down on wiring is very common on US cars of all makes, so I'd look here as any shorts between the wiring or especially ground to another live wire could turn on the lights when the engine is turned off and power cuts elsewhere.