Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I know this has been covered before several times on the forum, but I have to say that if anyone has a truck that hasn't performed this upgrade, you don't know what you are missing. It is unbelievable that 2 relays, a circuit breaker, 5 bucks worth of wire, and about 20 minutes could change the lighting and overall electrical system so much. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! :metal:

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I agree, even on standard sealed beams it makes a huge difference. But when you upgrade further to H4's with a GOOD bulb wow what a difference you can get.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Give a poor old man a link...............................

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=182351

link for you.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

:lol: Ya happy now Mutt? :lol:

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I wil see if I can locate the thread. But here is a run down...

Tools needs:test light,soldier iron/soldier(60-40),shrink tube,heat gun/lighter,wire cutters/strippers,(2)30amp Bosch style relays SPDT,female spade connectors,10g ring terminals,(2)inline fuse holders w/30amp fuses,small roll of 10g automotive grade primary red wire,14g balck primary wire for the ground,electrical tape and plastic wire loom. I may have frogotten something,but as you go you'll firgure out if you need something.
First off,DISCONNECT BATTERY,then unplug the headlight socket on the drivers side,turn on the lights and find the "LOW" beam wire with the test light, then hit the "HIGH BEAMS" and repeat. Mark each wire.
I strip back the factory wire wrapping about 12-18" BEFORE the driver side loght socket and expose the wires. Find the wires that you marked for the "LOW" and "HIGH" and cut them. Strip back the ends COMING FROM THE FIREWALL CONNECTOR,slide a piece of shrink tube onto each wire,then either crimp AND/OR soldier on a female spade connector. Then heat shrink the tube on the ends. That will plug into the #85 position on the relays.(mark your relays HIGH-LOW)
Now take and strip the other end of the wires you cut,slide a piece of shrink tube over and crimp AND/OR soldier on another female spade connector to those. Match the wire colors and plug into the #87 position of the relays.
Now take your 10g RED primary wire and run from the BATTERY + side terminal
across the radiator support to you relays. Instal a ring terminal on the battery end. On the relays,the position #30 is the power side. Take your inline fuse holders,install a female spade connector on ONE end and plug into relay(#30 position). Now strip back the other end of both AND the 10g RED wire from the battery and soldier all three wires together...DONT FORGET TO SLIDE ON SOME SHRINK TUBE. Now heat shrink the splice.
Now take the 14g BLACK primary wire(you'l need 2 pieces at least 8-10" long)and strip back both ends,one end gets a female spade,the other gets a ring terminal. This plugs into the #86 position on the relays and the ring terminals go to a GOOD ground.

And that should do it. Reconnect the battery,install the 10g RED wire to the + side terminal on the battery,and turn on the headlights and check. Good Luck.
I dont have a schematic drawn,but a few pics of the way I have done mine. Also I go to the wrecking yards and find the headlight harness out of another truck so I can position the relays where I want. I will cut the harness thats in the truck off at the drivers side connector then cut the "NEW" donor harness off back BEFORE the connector about 12-18", so I will have enough to play with.
If you pm me with your email I will send you pics of mine. Good Luck.
-Lance

If I forgot something,please someone chime in. Thanks

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Don't forget to put some kind pf circuit breaker between the relays and the battery. I got a little 30 amp circuit breaker from Advanced in the electrical section that will open and re shut itself if needed...no fuses required. :chevy:

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

If you don't feel like taking the time to do it all yourself and want it to look pretty, check this out. (Look in the lower left-hand corner)

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Well i put the same relay setup on my electric fans but with no breaker. Should i stop and get a breaker???

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Thank You, forgot to mention to install fuses or circuit breakers.
-Lance

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

If done right,it will look VERY good. possibly even STOCK.
-Lance

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I k now the LMC kit that is linked up there has total crap relays. Knowing there commitment to quality (snicker) I would expect the plugs to be junk also.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Tough to justify $40 shipped though. Any board vendors make one pre-made?

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I would be interested in it too.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Jayherrell i'd recommend a breaker or at least fuses. I am putting the ford taurus fan on mine monday and i think everyone says at least a 30 amp fuse is required. most fans will blow a 20 amp. after seeing my friend's 240sx almost burn to the ground because his fans had no fuses and grounded out, i definitely try to do my electrical work with Murphy's Law in mind.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Guess I'll find out tomorrow! :lol:

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I have that LMC kit, works fine, looks clean, plug and play. I tried without luck to get some spare relays from the factory that made them, no luck, they're in Tawain and don't speak very good English...

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Looks like you could just pick up some spare relays from Napa.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Good idea, just don't know if they're wired the same way...

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Should be... they're just simple SPDT relays I believe... will know more tomorrow when my kit shows up.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Just for the record,I'm completely illiterate when it comes to auto electric,but this is something you can do!
I did it on my '80 with stuff I either had or bought from napa.

P.S.I would have used shrink wrap on the yellow connections,but I didn't have large enough tubes at the time.

*edit*The single 10awg wire comes from the firewall bulkhead(on an 80,I believe 72 and earlier are on the core support).That wire runs through a 30amp breaker(if something goes wrong,the lights will flash on and off,unlike a fuse which will be a daaaarrrrkk ride).From there,I split it off into to bright and dim relays.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I used H.D. relays off a scrapped '96 P/30 step van. Got the plug with weather pack connections, and cut the pigtail off nice and long.
Now I just need to do the burb.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I like that idea! Do you have a picture?
Thanks,
s/t

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I am in the process of "making" my own set-up and reselling. But would be ALOT nicer than LMC's. Better Quality and probably a little more money.
-Lance

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Where did you get that junksion block longhorn??

i"ve hit every auto parts store in town and no one has one. I need one for my fan relay, and in the future will need the same block for the head light relays.

I just need to hit the man mall i guess and snatch one up.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

That was Rollie396's post, not mine. Although, i would say go to the junk yard. There's a million of them in there.
I don't have any photos of my set up, and most of it is hidden under the second battery in the longhorn, so basicly, I ain't getting any photos either. ;) When i get around to doing the burb... I'll try to do a FAQ thread, and it'll certianly bbe seen on here, and highlights in my build thread.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

That's actually a 30 amp breaker.I got it at Napa,but Longhorn's suggestion is a good one as well.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Well, my harness came in today. It will probably work ok, but I'm gonna have to put some black loom on it. That yellow just does nothing for me! The connectors look ok, no different from others I've seen. I have seen better looking relays (Nothing a little paint over the name won't cure!), but hopefully these will work. It will save me a bit of time (as long as it works), but it did leave a little more empty space in my wallet than building my own.

What I do have to laugh about is the instructions. The picture is a poor one, but I'm too lazy to take another one. It just cracks me up that these companies can't find someone that actually knows how to write in English. I've been over there, and plenty of people speak English just fine, so why can't they write it?

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Update on this.... that harness IS crap. The wires aren't long enough to go from headlight to headlight. I'm gonna have to finagle it a bit to get it to work right. Why can't people sell stuff that actually works? I mean a couple extra feet of wire is not that expensive, especially after what I spent on this thing. Should've just built my own like was suggested and not try to go the "easy" way. Lesson learned.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

Well at least you have some relays with pig tails, thats worth at least $20

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

thats exactly the same one I got for the Ford Superduty, I got it to work, but had to do some figuring myself. I got it from LMC as I was in the neighborhood. I didn't have time to build one myself and it worked out ok,, I think the wires are all the same lenght just the connecitons are different base upon the vechicle...

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I have the LMC one, it's tight but you can get it to work. The relays have to be on the passenger side. I ran the main wiring part along with the factory harness across the radiator support.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

from what I understand, the relays are junk too.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

So who's gonna step up and make this better? ;)

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I'll go out there later and spend some more time w/it. I know the relays have to be on the passenger side. But the part where the new harness plugs into my harness ends up right where my battery is. :( If it had about a foot more wiring, it would plug in closer to the light and out of the way.

Re: Headlight Relay Upgrade
 

I did this conversion a long time ago to my old '76 C30. It works great. I did it not too long ago to my '69. This time I placed the relays(like 2.50 each from O'rielies) on the inner fender and ran 2 power wires from my secondary fuse panel($13, from O'rielies) I powered that from a 10ga from the junction block. It also powers my electric fan, and I can't think what elese. It looks neat and organized. I just cut the factory wiring right about where the relays are. I took the wire from the switch and went to the relay and the other side to the lights. I have thought about incresing the size of the wires to the lights but they are much brighter and the right is no less bright than the left, that is like 1ft away from the relay, so there isn't power drop. I haven't checked with volt gage, don't have one might get one...

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040550.jpg
The relays on the inner fender.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040551.jpg
The wires in aftermarket loom, I like sprial loom better. The screw in the middle is for the ground.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040552.jpg
Notice the anti-freeze jug? Thats my radiator overfill, 3/8 hose from the rad. Notice the collection of paper towels, LOL
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040553.jpg
The sub fuse panel, it has 6 slots.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040554.jpg
Ran the power wires out thru the firewal. Then between inner fender and outer fender.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...n/P1040555.jpg
Ohi the lovely crapy blue over paint by the P.O. uggg, I love the original orange... And the rust ugh. Some time I at least need to sand and paint it so it does not rust...