Headlight Relay Kits

-
Just adding to the conversation here.
I've done hi/lo relays on my dart after upgrading to some pioneer led headlights.
I have already done the big 3 upgrade and completely isolated the charging circuit so I do not have the ammeter and the "P" circuit [everything that was spliced with that old ammeter wire] is isolated after the battery now.
I added the relays behind the battery to keep a short power (with each fused) and a short ground run for both of them.
The old wires were converted to the trigger wires instead (and the relays switch which one is on) at that location and new wire was ran with the relays and new lights etc.
Besides talking or searching on here, the12volt.com is a good resource for various wiring and breakdowns for relays too.
I have read nothing but great compliments about Crackedback's kits, I just enjoy doing things myself.
 
Dale Davies said:
Lots of those are chinese crap. Easy enough to make your own with Bosch relays and American or European made fuse folders. The less Chinesium we use the better. China is a hostile adversary, so we do not want to support it if possible.
Watch the video about Summit removing all Speedmaster products.
Click to expand...
True enough , these mainly got me the wiring already done and was cheap , I will most likely upgrade the relays and probably change the gauge of the ground wire
 
72dustervs said:
True enough , these mainly got me the wiring already done and was cheap , I will most likely upgrade the relays and probably change the gauge of the ground wire
Click to expand...
So if I change the gauge of the main power supply wire to the harness I might be able to use it with the PIAA’s?
 
65Val said:
So if I change the gauge of the main power supply wire to the harness I might be able to use it with the PIAA’s?
Click to expand...
Power wire supplying power to the 30 terminals should be 10ga or 8ga so no voltage drop. You can use one relay to turn power on for the low beam lights. Two relays can switch from lo to hi or just to turn the hi beams on.
 
Dale Davies said:
I do like fuses coming from the power supply to the relays, just in case.
Local Ford dealer had a shop fire a few weekends ago. Service department is totally shut down. Word is they had a truck on the hoist with a wiring issue bad enough they could smell hot wiring. Now how any responsible mechanic would leave for the weekend without disconnecting the battery is beyond my comprehension. How many other vehicles were in the shop and how many mechanics tool boxes are junk?
Click to expand...

One of the shops I was lead at had a hanging air hose let go during the night, and since it was hanging between two cars on lifts it beat the crap outta both cars doors. (and I mean down to bare steel)
Looked like they both got shot with a giant shotgun.

Fuses are fine, and good safety precautions in most cases no doubt.
 
Last edited:
That is why it is good practice to shut the compressor off at night and drain any water out. You probably do not want the compressor running all night or weekend.
 
Dale Davies said:
That is why it is good practice to shut the compressor off at night and drain any water out. You probably do not want the compressor running all night or weekend.
Click to expand...

FACT^^^

I went out of town for a couple of weeks to take care of my parents and I forgot to turn off the compressor.

It just so happened that the cheap assed harbor freight junk air hoses I have sprung a couple of leaks. Leaks so bad the compressor never shut off.

Didn’t even shut off after the rods got knocked off the crank. It was just spinning its guts out so hard, for so long it ran out of oil.

So yeah, I double check that thing every time I leave the shop.
 
65Val said:
So would the ones going to the lights themselves be fine?… 16 or 18ga I think ( nothing written on the wire itself….it figures…)
Click to expand...
I would use 12ga to each power to the bulb filaments and 10ga ground. You will have no voltage drop and lights as bright as possible.
The OEMs have to take profitability into consideration so they use as small wires as possible. Smaller wire is less Cu and plastic for insulation. If they save $2 on every vehicle they build in a year, and build 500k vehicles that is $1M saved. That also is why there is no extra wire to pull things out for service. An inch or two on a harness with 20 wires × 500k vehicles. And how many terminations like that in one vehicle?
So when you do your own, go for heavier wiring. You will generally be doing yourself a favor. Now LED lights I have little experience with but generally they have lower power use for the output. You may get away with a ga size smaller, but got with the manufactrurer recommendation and maybe step up one size.
With the electronics (as compared to electrical) in vehicles these days, it is wise to get solenoids with clamping diodes built into the relay. When a circuit is opened and there is a winding in it, the collapsing magnetic field works like a small ignition coil, bumping the circuit voltage up. If this gets back to an IC you let the magic smoke out, and that can ruin your day. These relays normally have a diode depiction on them. Pretty much all new vehicles come with these so you can get good ones at the wrecker for next to nothing. Take a multimeter with you and measure the resistance between the 85 and 86 terminals both ways. The resistance one way will be a bunch lower one way than the other. This bleeds off that electrical energy harmlessly. These are sensitive to correct wiring to the 85 and 86 terminals.
 
slantsixdan said:
Only the headlamps are brightened by putting in a relay harness. If you want the rest of the lights brighter/working better, check/improve the grounds at all four corners of the car, make sure the feed wires and all connections are in good condition, and do like this.
Click to expand...
Great read Dan. Thanks for posting.
 
65Val said:
So would the ones going to the lights themselves be fine?… 16 or 18ga I think ( nothing written on the wire itself….it figures…)
Click to expand...
If your going to do it on all wires then 14 gauge or better as stated above by Dale go to 12 gauge
 
I too made my own several years ago when I installed the 2012 Wrangler headlamps.

Wrangler Headlamps.jpg
 
I ordered a kit from my local dealership a month ago and it finally came in this past friday.
Upon opening the box there was a Dear Customer letter inside. It seems they substituted a Halogen Semi Sealed beam headlamp unit in place of a Sealed Beam headlight unit [Halogen?].
It also indicated in the instructions that the Halogen lamp will be very hot when turned on or just been turned off.

Should I be concerned on the headlight being switched from sealed to Halogen semi sealed? [heat generated]
No mention if the original sealed beam was Halogen.

Also, would there be an issue with the heat when installed in a 1970 Dart Swinger with the plastic headlight grille surround?

Thanks
It looks like a decent kit for the price. [$30.00]

IMG_6540.jpeg


IMG_6542.jpeg


IMG_6546.jpeg
 
Last edited:
pa340dart said:
I ordered a kit from my local dealership a month ago and it finally came in this past friday.
Upon opening the box there was a Dear Customer letter inside. It seems they substituted a Halogen Semi Sealed beam headlamp unit in place of a Sealed Beam headlight unit [Halogen?].
It also indicated in the instructions that the Halogen lamp will be very hot when turned on or just been turned off.

Should I be concerned on the headlight being switched from sealed to Halogen semi sealed? [heat generated]
No mention if the original sealed beam was Halogen.

Also, would there be an issue with the heat when installed in a 1970 Dart Swinger with the plastic headlight grille surround?

Thanks
It looks like a decent kit for the price. [$30.00]

View attachment 1716242450

View attachment 1716242451
Click to expand...
If I am understanding the letter, you went from the big halogen bulbs, to housings that will accept different globes (Halogen or other off the shelves). The note about temp sounds like it's in regards to changing the globes after use. Like the modern style headlights, the globes (small light emitting pieces you pop into the light housing) will absolutely be warm with use, but they're set inside the new bulb housing you recieved so that will be the plastic/materials exposed to the heat you're concerned about and not the bezels or grill plastics.
You should also have the metal dishes behind the headlights too unless you removed them for some reason.
If you're worried about current creating heat, the suggestions for increasing the wire sizes to feed the lights, coupled with relays, will alleviate that and make the lights shine brighter.
I like to swap out the plastic connector that goes on to the lights themselves, with ceramic ones instead and have also increased gauge wire size for the wires off the relays to the lights themselves. The ceramic is just a preference and the wire size increase in my case was to be able to use hi/lo simultaneously [specific to the lights I bought and their instructions, otherwise that will pop the original style headlights high or lo].
No matter what you do, the bulbs or globes you use will be hot to the touch after being on.
Hope that clarifies that letter a bit for you and the things you mentioned.
 
@Cashtastic,
thanks for reply, my dart has original headlamps and circuit.
I am in the process of replacing the factory wiring harness.
I bought the headlight kit as an upgrade and was concerned about the heat generated by the halogens melting the plastic grille surround but as you stated its the plug-in bulbs that get hot and not the whole headlight as a unit.
I like ceramic socket change out and wire upgrade also.
Thanks Tom
I would have bought crackedback's kit instead, hope he's recovering well.
 
pa340dart said:
I ordered a kit from my local dealership a month ago and it finally came in this past friday.
Upon opening the box there was a Dear Customer letter inside. It seems they substituted a Halogen Semi Sealed beam headlamp unit in place of a Sealed Beam headlight unit [Halogen?].
It also indicated in the instructions that the Halogen lamp will be very hot when turned on or just been turned off.

Should I be concerned on the headlight being switched from sealed to Halogen semi sealed? [heat generated]
No mention if the original sealed beam was Halogen.

Also, would there be an issue with the heat when installed in a 1970 Dart Swinger with the plastic headlight grille surround?

Thanks
It looks like a decent kit for the price. [$30.00]

View attachment 1716242450

View attachment 1716242451

View attachment 1716242452
Click to expand...
No worries on the lights getting hot enough to damage the plastic grill. I would check the wire gauge to the relay power (30) and the out to the lights (87). Should be 12ga and then the bulb ground should be 10ga. This will ensure good bright lights that are trouble free. The ground is part of the circuit and must not have resistance.
 
Frank Mopar said:
I bought the ebay kit ($9.99) for my H4 lights. 16ga wires do not get hot, or warm for that matter.
Click to expand...
What is the voltage at the 87 terminal on the relay, with the lights on, to the battery ground. Now what is the voltage at the bulb terminal with the lights on. This will tell you the voltage drop in the wire.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top