Light arrangement

Ok. Take a look at the picture below. I have the two light housings on the rear of my car. There are two bulbs in each housing, and one bulb in each housing has 2 filaments. My question is this: Which lights are for brakes, running lights, and turn signals. The way the previous owner started to wire it is with the outer most lights as the running lights and brake lights, and the inner lights as the turn signals. This doesn't seem right to me. Any input?

I believe the outer section is the turn signal and running lights,(two element bulb) and the inner is the brake light. At least that how mine is set up, believe that is the way it should be.

Bruce

That's how it seemed to me, but that's not how he has it. I'll change it tomorrow. Thanks.

Like so......here you go.....don't these cars look ggggggreat from this angle? The OUTSIDE lights are running and TURN while the inside are BREAK ONLY

Adam,

Who''s the manufacturer of your body/trim/etc. I really like the "purpose-built" look of the engine lid grill! It doesn't look a bit like the one that I found on Ebay, yours has sort of a prototype feel to it that I'd love to achieve for my Ghia project.

Thanks!

TC

Looks like the cast one piece aluminum "hibachi type" CMC/Fiberfab grille to me.

It's a CMC kit.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31356&item=4525699445&rd=1


This is similar...

Yup...cast CMC grill for sure.

Thanks Guys!

Now I know what to look for! The one that I bought looks like the one on ebay now. Kind of made from oval and flattened tubes and such, with an aluminum surround. Kinda looks like a Porsche piece, in a way. Anyone know who might have made it? I ought to know the manufacture when I sell/trade it off . . .

Again,

THANKS!

TC

Boy, this subject has been a pet peeve of mine for some time now. I even went so far as to poll the manufacturers who were at Carlisle.
What does the small inside light do and so on. It started whilst I was following Karl Macklin one day on a cruise. When he put on the brakes, the outer amber part of the Euro lens lit up. I was convinced that this didn't seem right and the brake light should be the red inner lamps. This is how my car is wired. As far as I was concerned, mine were correct. But now, guess what? I came across this very subject on the 356 Registery forum. Those PorcheePhiles claim the very opposite. They say outer amber(or red) segment is to be running light/brake light and the inner segment is the turn signal. So I guess it can be whatever trips you're trigger as to how you wire the lights. I'll be the outlaw and go against the grain.
It should be noted that the CMC manual doesn't explain which part of the light does what.
BD

Bill,

About a year ago at a car show a fellow with a 356 coupe and the Amber/Red tail lights answered my question and he said the outer Amber was the turn signal and running light, just as my JPS has them. It really makes sense for the amber section to contain the turn signal, as far as the amber running lights, who knows for sure. I'm leaving mine as is!

Bruce

My neighbor, who has a "real" '62 Porsche Roadster, has Euro tail-lights wired so the outer amber lights are the running lights/brake lights and the inner red lights are the turn signals. When I asked him about it, he said that's the way they've always been.
My JPS with Euro tails is wired just the opposite way, which I think makes more sense - turn signals amber, brake lights red.
Bottom line? Like everything else "Porsche" there is more than one way to do it and neither one is "correct" per se.

Many years ago, when I was hanging around a small Porsche shop in Massachusetts, I helped re-wire a 356B racing coupe which had been involved in a racing fender-bender. We didn't know what lights lit when either, so we looked at three other coupes in the yard and they ALL had running/directional on the outside, and brake (only) on the inside. Two were amber/red, and the third was an all red lens.
When I was wiring mine, I remembered that, but I also checked an old Floyd Clymer 356A manual and the wiring diagram confirmed the same wiring configuration.

Somehow, I don't think the German engineers would use amber for "Stop", do you?

Gordon

To throw a wrench in, when I was polling Henry, he said he makes the outside segments brake lights because they are more dominant making them safer to see. Also, in Italy, they made the inner segment amber and the outer segment red. How rare would those puppies be.

BD

Sounds like it is time for GB to weigh in on this one!

Bruce

According to Dr. Brett Johnson's "The 356 Porsche; A Restorer's Guide to Authenticity", on the subject of taillights:

"The rear indicator light in the first 356s was identical to the early front turn signal light, differing only in lens color. The taillightwas the rectangular Hella-made light directly above the signal unit.

According to the 1955 parts book, at coupe (chassis #) 11779 and cabriolet 15073 (1953 model year) this arrangement was replaced by the two familiar beehive light units. The inside unit was the brake light, the outside unit was the taillight and turn signal.

The outside unit was a two-poled light with a red lens. The inside unit originally carried a 15-watt bulb and a dark orange lebs. At coupe 53210 and cabriolet 60765 (early 1955) this unit was revised to accept a 20-watt bulb.

With the 356A, the miracle of rewiring transformed the inside light of the pair to become the taillight. It had a red lens. The outside unit became the turn signal/brake light and was red-orange in color.

At coupe 100001, cabriolet 61701 and Speedster 83201 (March 1957), the teardrop unit appeared, combining taillight, turn signal and brake light. This configuration continued throughout the remainder of the production. The only variation was the diffeence in all red U.S., red-amber European and amber-red Italian lenses."

(BTW, my smiley-face donation is in the mail).