headlight relay rewire

27871 Views 69 Replies 29 Participants Last post by srwven, May 23, 2011

axaviere

Discussion Starter · Mar 27, 2004

ok i did this ....

and it costs about $15-$18 dollars. thats with new bulb plugs and a roll of friction tape to make it look like a harness. all the parts i needed were at the local auto parts store and hardware store. heres a list of what i got
12ft 14g blue wire
12ft 14ga green wire
12ft 14ga red wire (could have gotten 6ft & been ok)
6ft black wire
all .09 a ft
2-light bulb plug harness calterm #08521 @2.99
2-12v relays 5 poles on the bottom @3.99
misc terminals i already had
roll of friction tape at autozone $? cant find receipt
heat shrink 2.99 harbor freight

after that, i did it all while watching jimmy kimmel. i did solder all the wires when joining the plug to the 14ga & a few other connections but i did crimp a few too, plus its all heat shrunk at the connections. i got pics & will post asap or sooner if i can get a digi. longest part was wrapping it up with fricton tape

oh by the way, thanks to who ever it was that drew that out in the first place. its a nice way to spend a few hours

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axaviere

Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 9, 2004

and it looked like this...

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RavenTBK

· #3 · Apr 9, 2004

Its about time someone other than me did this. I was beginning to feel like I was the only one. Those diagrams have been circulating the 'net for many years now..and I did it on my Z car when I first saw them (`99), and converted the Bko about a week after I bought it.

Go you! :chili:

jbondi

· #4 · Apr 13, 2004

I've been looking at this wiring diagram for awhile and I still don't understand the light blue and olive green wires!! What are they attached to??

Lonestar_Bronco

· #5 · Apr 14, 2004

Maybe my head has been stuck in a hole in the ground...

But what does this do? Increase current to headlights by replacing old wiring? Prevent the low beams from turning off when the high beams are on?
:shrug

axaviere

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 15, 2004

delivers full voltage to the headlights, eliminates dim yellow headlights. im installing conversion lamps with hi-intensity cool blue bulbs & i want them bright. but it will work with regular bulbs too

Sixlitre

· #7 · Apr 15, 2004

Heck I think that's one of the diagrams I used to wire mine ! Thanks again

Where's the third relay to keep the lows on when the highs are on ?

Also I ran 12 gauge wires instead of 14s. With the 130 amp alternator supplying 14.75 volts at the plug and Sylvania ExtraVisions I can see into the next county !

Sixlitre

axaviere

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 15, 2004

jbondi said:
I've been looking at this wiring diagram for awhile and I still don't understand the light blue and olive green wires!! What are they attached to??

look at my picture. see the wires marked "leads into factory plug"? they plug into one of your factory light bulb plugs. when you turn on your lights you send power to trigger the relay. one plugs into the slot in the plug for the bright and the other for the dims. those are the blue and olive wires.

jbondi

· #9 · Apr 15, 2004

Thanks, that answered my question. :thumbup I was confused when I saw one of the old headlight plugs crossed out. Looks like a fun project. Have you had any complaints, from other drivers, about your headlights being too bright??

axaviere

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 15, 2004

unless you run higher wattage bulbs you should be ok. i bet i piss people off anyway since i am so high due to the lift, but what do i care? there may even be a law on how high off the ground the lights should be from state to state or for the whole country. but you could wire this with one more relay & a switch to keep both hi & low beams on at the same time and use higher wattage bulbs too. the other light plug is crossed out cause you only tap into one of the stock ones from the factory harness. i would tape up the other and leave it instead of cutting it off. just in case, that way the factory harness is still there. its hard to tell from my picture, but there is a blue & a green wire to each new plug that i used, blue=brights green=dims, the colors washed together. one relay does both brights, the other does both dims

axaviere

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 4, 2004

i dont draw straight lines at right angles, but i hope this helps someone...

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Sixlitre

· #12 · May 4, 2004

Hey Axaviere !

Where's the third relay to keep the lows on with the highs ?

Jbondi

Yes, I do get the odd flash once in a while, but it beats not seeing the Moose crossing the road !

Before I did all the mods, I had really poor headlights, to the point of almost dangerous. Now they actually outshine my 4 headlight Mopar's halogens.

As Axaviere mentions, the height of the trucks is a major advantage for us as well.

Sixlitre

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EvlErn69

· #13 · May 5, 2004

thanks for the tip axaviere gonna try to install it this week.... well at least buy all the stuff this week

axaviere

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 7, 2004

just take your time & measure stuff. i left plenty of room to mount it where ever i had to, high or low. i did tape the relays together to make it easier to handle. i can mount them close to the battery so they are easy to replace if they go out.

BigNorm

· #15 · May 11, 2004

Great write up. Sixlitre I think he wired it so that the lows stay on when he hits his high beams so there is no need for a third relay.

Where did you buy your relays at? Is there a PN for them? Or do I just have to ask for 2 12V/30Amp relays at Napa and they'll know what I'm talking about. I wonder why they never thought to do it this way stock.

Sixlitre

· #16 · May 12, 2004

BigNorm said:
Great write up. Sixlitre I think he wired it so that the lows stay on when he hits his high beams so there is no need for a third relay.

Where did you buy your relays at? Is there a PN for them? Or do I just have to ask for 2 12V/30Amp relays at Napa and they'll know what I'm talking about. I wonder why they never thought to do it this way stock.

Norm

Thanks I didn't see those lows wired in there.

I get mine locally from Addison electronics. They used to be cheaper but he's moved us up to 40 amp units. They're now $4.95 CDN or $3.47 American. Their pigtail sockets are better quailty now as well and he want's $2.95 CDN or $2.07 American each.

I usually fill the back of the pigtails with bath tub silicone seal to keep the salt out and stuff the front of the plug with dielectic grease. Touch wood, not one of my three realys has died yet taking these precautions.

That said I can bypass the whole relay system and plug in my headlights, using the stock plugs, in a minute if things ever went dark on me.

That's what's keeping me on my front signal light to LED conversion. I'm gonna wire in two relays each so the running lights turn on the brightest bulbs of the LED lights (normally for signalling or braking).

In the event of a signal while these bright bulbs are already being used(as running lights), the other relay will interupt flow to the LED bright bulbs turning them off each time the signal pulse comes down the signal wire. This should look just like a signal !

I also want to hollow out two 1157s and solder in all three wires to each one and fill em' with silicone so I can twist them into the stock 1157 harness socket and not have to cut wires. This way I can again switch back to bulbs fairly quickly if need be.

Sixlitre

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axaviere

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 12, 2004

the one i copied is just hi or low, not both. i got plenty of other lights if i need more. its not a bad idea, but when i put in the conversion bulbs i can always get higher wattage bulbs. yee haa, it was so fun

Seabronc

· #18 · Nov 29, 2005 (Edited)

axaviere said:
ok i did this ....

and it costs about $15-$18 dollars.

The original write up for this was done by Sgt. Erik Marquez at Bigbroncos.com. He did this about 6 years ago, here is the link to the complete writeup http://www.off-road.com/ford/bigbroncos/tech/lights/index.html#2

Just to give credit for work where credit is due.

As you will note in the original writeup, he uses a #10 feed to the relays and #12 from the relays to the bulbs. That is what gives the boost in power to the lights. It shortens the run from the battery to the head lights, reduces the resistance to current flow and greatl;y reduces the voltage drop on the circuit since they are no longer on with the rest of the truck lighting.

Good luck,

:thumbup

FordPerf300

· #19 · Nov 29, 2005

Can this convesion be done on a 93? Not sure if it was limited to older models?

ToddACimer

· #20 · Nov 29, 2005

I've been wanting to wire up my 94 so the low beams are on with the high beams.

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