General What does the middle switch and right hand light on the dash do?

[Jumpinjacks]

It may sound a stupid question, but I am new to classic 500's.
I have just got my 500F delivered from Italy, and I can't see what the middle switch does on the dash and the light to the right of the speedo.
I'm guessing there should be a windscreen heater or something?
Just trying to figure things out with it.

 

[lilgreencar]

On these old cars, the switches and wiring could be swapped around as people take them apart and put them back together again, but in general the three switches on the dash should be:

1. Main headlamps on/off switch

2. Wipers on/off switch

3. Switch that turns the dim little backlight inside the speedo on/off (why this is necessary, I don't know...)

The two lamps on either side of the speedo should be:

1. Orange which blinks with the directional flashers

2. Blue which is "on" when you have the high beams switched on using the high/low/parking light stalk on the steering column.

Hope that helps!
lgc

 

[Jumpinjacks]

Thanks for that lgc.
Makes sense why I wouldn't of known about the Speedo light button, as I've only ever tried them outside in the sun.

 

[Bambino]

I always been amused with the whole dash light on/off/dimming thing as well. I guess if you are traveling at night and don't want to be dazzled by the instrument lights, then the capacity to dim them is useful and on just about all new cars, this is possible. Older cars either have a rotary potentiometer somewhere on the dash to dim the lights (eg: old German cars) or a switch to turn them off (eg: old Italian cars). English cars of the period are usually fitted with Lucas electrics so the switch position is immaterial - the lights won't work either way
In both of my old Italian cars, the dash lights are already quite dim at night so my switch usually remains permanently on.
Chris

 

[Eklipze3k]

English cars of the period are usually fitted with Lucas electrics so the switch position is immaterial - the lights won't work either way

 

[ecdy]

Permanently on only works if wired through the ignition switch; otherwise, battery dies. So, beware; not all are.

 

[Bambino]

In both of my old Italian cars, the dash light switch is wired after the headlight switch so it does nothing if the headlights are turned off.

However the headlights are not wired through the ignition and yes, if that switch is left turned on, you will end up with a flat battery if the engine is not running.

Chris

 

[kalsig]

A little more about Lucas electrics......


The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness"

Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.

The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

Lucas dip-switch positions: LOW and BLOW (Bruce Miller, www.hermit.cc)

The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.

"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.

It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.

Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" "He replied, it doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens!"

Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.

Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.

Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times sunwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."

Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.

[FONT=&quot]Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices[/FONT]

 

[babbo_umbro]

I always been amused with the whole dash light on/off/dimming thing as well. I guess if you are traveling at night and don't want to be dazzled by the instrument lights, then the capacity to dim them is useful and on just about all new cars, this is possible. Older cars either have a rotary potentiometer somewhere on the dash to dim the lights (eg: old German cars) or a switch to turn them off (eg: old Italian cars). English cars of the period are usually fitted with Lucas electrics so the switch position is immaterial - the lights won't work either way
In both of my old Italian cars, the dash lights are already quite dim at night so my switch usually remains permanently on.
Chris

But the Topolino and (at least some) Nuova 500s had neat covers on the instrument lights that you could turn to give varied intensity - the cover is in alternatelyopen and closed quadrants that correspond to fixed cutouts between them and the bulb - neat, logical, too simple for toady's technology.

 

[ecdy]

No, too complex and expensive, compared to writing in another line or two of code for the processor that controls all that stuff.

 

[Bambino]

The alternative British and American views

I'm Australian and my question is - what's code ??

Chris