Hi, my headlamps have little side lamp bulbs in the main unit along with the larger bulbs. I need a replacement headlamp as the glass is cracked but the ones I've seen on ebay don't have the side lamps.
Why are there 2 types? Is one for Italy and one for the UK?
Does anyone have a spare lamp with the side lamp bulbs?
Thanks
PC

crazypierre said:

...........
Does anyone have a spare lamp with the side lamp bulbs?
Thanks
PC

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some cars had the sidelights in the headlights and some didn't depends on the year/model...


there are LHD and RHD headlights.. all to do with the way the prismatic effect of the lens directs the beam towards the foot path..
Obviously a car built for use in the UK will have RHD headlights, but an imported LHD car may have the original lights still fitted or may have been changed....
So you need to firstly determine whether you have LHD or RHD headlights.. you could post a pic here if you don't know...
if you have Carello headlights... it's easy.. if the word Carello is on the RH side of the headlight believe it or not they are RHD headlights...
You could buy one from one of the many Spares dealers ,, Van the Man is probably the cheapest.
If the one you have is LHD, then probably worth getting a new matched pair of RHD units....

crazypierre said:

Why are there 2 types? Is one for Italy and one for the UK?

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Italian cars seem to have white lenses in the front indicators which share the function of indicator and sidelight.
If yours has RHD headlights, keep them handy. The "pattern" replacements seem to have a poor prism construction and when one of mine was cracked by the MOT man I bonded one in taken from my old light.
Ten years ago I easily bought brand new ones RHD with sidelight holes and I have seen them available since.

fiat500 said:

........................................................ The "pattern" replacements seem to have a poor prism construction and when one of mine was cracked by the MOT man I bonded one in taken from my old light..............

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this shows why you should always keep old original parts....
take care removing them, as the pattern replacements are often poor....

if the reflectors are rusted... you can cut around the lens and keep them.. you may find another matching original.. you can buy repro LHD lights cheap, so as Peter says you can bond in the original lenses...
even if you have to make do with the repro RHD ones keep the original lens for the future...


Even panels are worth keeping...
I let someone have an original rear cross member that was rust free but had a big dent...
he took the time to cut the outside of the panel from the main part and remove the dent then weld it back in... simply because the quality is better than the repro ones...

Hi, thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.
So, the ones I have with the small bulbs in the reflectors of the headlamps- are these UK spec ones? (As opposed to the Italian originals which don't have the small bulbs in the main headlamp?)
Thanks
Pierre

crazypierre said:

Hi, thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.
So, the ones I have with the small bulbs in the reflectors of the headlamps- are these UK spec ones? (As opposed to the Italian originals which don't have the small bulbs in the main headlamp?)
Thanks
Pierre

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Probably so. Yes

fiat500 said:

Probably so. Yes

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sorry I have to disagree...
here are just two headlamps pulled from my box...
LHD and RHD, both from later cars (F/L/R)

and both with sidelights, I'd say from my collection with sidelights it is a 50:50 split

Bigvtwin996 said:

sorry I have to disagree...
here are just two headlamps pulled from my box...
LHD and RHD, both from later cars (F/L/R)

and both with sidelights, I'd say from my collection with sidelights it is a 50:50 split

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....you might have detected a little uncertainty in my voice? There appear to be only "rules of thumb" in these matters. On balance, if it's a UK spec car then what I'm tentatively suggesting will be true.

Just out of interest, where did your LHD light originate? (and don't say Italy ). I'm wondering if this is a result of different LHD countries having different lighting regulations or if the regulations in Italy changed at some point?

My knowledge is limited as many here know but from a statistical base of n=1 (i.e. my experience) I believed that Italian headlights did not have the sidelight within the headlight as regulations allowed for a white sidelight/indicator combination (this may have changed more recently since original 500 days which may explain why there are LHD headlights available with sidelights). For the UK you must have a separate sidelight and an orange indicator, therefore all RHD/UK headlights should have the sidelight within the headlight.

AndrewRL said:

My knowledge is limited as many here know but from a statistical base of n=1 (i.e. my experience) I believed that Italian headlights did not have the sidelight within the headlight as regulations allowed for a white sidelight/indicator combination (this may have changed more recently since original 500 days which may explain why there are LHD headlights available with sidelights). For the UK you must have a separate sidelight and an orange indicator, therefore all RHD/UK headlights should have the sidelight within the headlight.

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...echoing my n-1 (I like that) experience Andrew AndrewRL.

If crazypierre wants to splash out, these latest RHD lights, whilst expensive, sound like the business.

https://webshop.fiat500126.com/en/e.../front-lights/headlamp-with-parking-light-rhd

Bigvtwin996 said:

sorry I have to disagree...
here are just two headlamps pulled from my box...
LHD and RHD, both from later cars (F/L/R)

and both with sidelights, I'd say from my collection with sidelights it is a 50:50 split

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Assuming the light on the left is for cars designed to drive on the right, Axel Gerstl still sell that type so it may not be an original part, although it does look that way. Your example does look quite a bit newer than the one on the right:
https://webshop.fiat500126.com/en/e...adlight-unit-with-trim-ring-and-parking-light

Funny really, because I've noticed that in the case of many of the UK owners who have recently acquired Italian spec cars, they like to retain things such as the clear indicator lenses, so they would actually be looking for RHD headlights without sidelamp holders.:bang:

fiat500 said:

....you might have detected a little uncertainty in my voice? .....
Just out of interest, where did your LHD light originate? (and don't say Italy ). .........

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We are all uncertain......

My lights either originated with my cars or via Ebay UK. or similar UK sites...

AndrewRL said:

............. For the UK you must have a separate sidelight and an orange indicator, therefore all RHD/UK headlights should have the sidelight within the headlight.

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Again not strictly true.. look at RHD N's

Bigvtwin996 said:

Again not strictly true.. look at RHD N's

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...and who the heck is looking at RHD "N's".

fiat500 said:

Assuming the light on the left is for cars designed to drive on the right, Axel Gerstl still sell that type so it may not be an original part, although it does look that way. Your example does look quite a bit newer than the one on the right:

Funny really, because I've noticed that in the case of many of the UK owners who have recently acquired Italian spec cars, they like to retain things such as the clear indicator lenses, so they would actually be looking for RHD headlights without sidelamp holders.:bang:

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Yes the one on the left is for cars driven on the right... and whilst people like Axel Gerst sell reproductions... they are not permitted to put the Carello markings on the reflectors!!! look closely both are original Carello lights..

there are 80 different Fiat 500 versions, that excludes LHD/RHD and country specific requirements...
Various books only document a fragment of the range of Fiat 500s....
that is why I try to collect as much information as I can... so little actually exists...

Later Headlights can be adapted and used in Early cars but it is much harder to adapt early headlights to use in later cars...
So you could buy N/D lights without teh sidelight bulb.. but they would be hard to use.. but not impossible... the N/D fittis far better as you can use non prismatic lenses, as the beam direction is set by the mounting.... this them opens up the possibility of using motorcycle headlights (true LED reflectors)... but that's a discussion for another day...

fiat500 said:

...and who the heck is looking at RHD "N's".

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the select few..

ohh yeah that's me
and
Aaron500