944s2cab Posted 13June, 2019 Report Share Posted 13June, 2019 After putting LEDs in the headlights, three flaws were exposed, 1, cut off beam is awful, 2, the light is very mottled and 3, different colour of light compared to the other lights I came to the conclusion that unless I spend $500+ on 7" sealed projector/LED lights, that good old Halogen with a relay kit was the best option, What relay kits/looms do is take the heavy current away from 30 year old switches and consign them to do the job of turning the relays on/off (mA's compared to 10A+) there are two switches which are saved of doing the heavy current work, the round light switch and the indicator/flasher stalk, I ordered and received the relay kit and started installing it, after a while wondering the best way to route all the new wiring (a pain with our pop-up lights) , I thought there must be a better way, so I looked up the wiring diagram and worked out a way that the EXACT same benefits can be achieved by installing everything in the fuse box, as an added bonus, the dipped and main beam will work simultaneously (unlike normal relay kits which can only work one at a time) when you pull back the indicator/flasher stalk The result is great, Along with new GE globes (link at the bottom) the relay kit works a treat, as much light as you'd ever need. So I'm wondering if there is interested in a truely plug n play headlight relay kit made specifically for our cars. I guess the kit would cost around $40 and would probably need to get around 10 orders for it to be worth it This is a prototype, Subsequent kits will be refined, I will post some pictures of how well my lights now work in a day or so https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/H4-General-Electric-GE-Megalight-Ultra-130-Car-Headlight-Bulbs-Twin-50440XNU/254173303773?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian in buddina Posted 13June, 2019 Report Share Posted 13June, 2019 Are you saying these new halogen bulbs would put too much stress on the existing switches? Should the existing wiring be replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 14June, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 14June, 2019 20 minutes ago, brian in buddina said: Are you saying these new halogen bulbs would put too much stress on the existing switches? Should the existing wiring be replaced? Not quite, the new bulbs are very much the same Wattage as standard, but over time the switches develop high resistance causing voltage drop across the switch contact, voltage drop is related to current, the more current flowing the greater the voltage drop, I suspect there are some cars operating with as low as 8Volts at the bulbs Re. the wiring, this is probably best left to the owner/mechanic to ascertain as each car is different, but from my dealings with wiring, wiring that does not move or overloaded generally does not deteriorate to the point of being dangerous, but with our cars the wiring does move at the headlight, so this should be checked, But even in the worst case scenario, the circuit is protected by fuses, I'm also looking at using Micro relays to reduce the overall size, If people could post photos of their fusebox this will give me n idea of best place and how to position the relays, have people got the same space where I mounted my relays? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian in buddina Posted 14June, 2019 Report Share Posted 14June, 2019 thanks Steve Would it be advisable then to just replace a section of wiring where the wire moves due to the actuation of the hidden headlights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANF Posted 14June, 2019 Report Share Posted 14June, 2019 I thought the 944 had halogen lights and relays as standard? Would be surprised if it did not? US cars had sealed beams which are crap due to some crazy rule they had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 14June, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 14June, 2019 1 hour ago, brian in buddina said: thanks Steve Would it be advisable then to just replace a section of wiring where the wire moves due to the actuation of the hidden headlights? It's something that should at least be looked at, check the flexibilty of where it bends, Mine was fine but like I said, every car's different, If you do a repair, do it right with quality wire, soldered connections are preferable but proper crimps (ratchet type) are ok, Remember, a dodgy repair is almost always worse than no repair, 36 minutes ago, ANF said: I thought the 944 had halogen lights and relays as standard? Would be surprised if it did not? US cars had sealed beams which are crap due to some crazy rule they had. The 944 had Halogen but no relays, when they were new there would have been minimal voltage drop across the switches, but with time comes resistance (just ask my joints) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian in buddina Posted 19June, 2019 Report Share Posted 19June, 2019 @944s2cab Steve Do you have any others interested in your relay kit? I'd be interested. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 19June, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 19June, 2019 8 hours ago, brian in buddina said: @944s2cab Steve Do you have any others interested in your relay kit? I'd be interested. Brian No, but I'm sure there will be a few once I manage to take some photos of the improvement, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 22June, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 22June, 2019 On 19/06/2019 at 13:51, brian in buddina said: @944s2cab Steve Do you have any others interested in your relay kit? I'd be interested. Brian Hi Brian If you can post a picture of your fusebox, I'll do a custom one to suit you relay locations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2cab Posted 29June, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 29June, 2019 Been trying to get some decent photos of the difference these relays make but living in the big smoke means finding a place devoid of light is very hard, here's the best so far, Although there appears to be not much difference, there is in real life, the pictures were taken with fixed camera settings for aperture and exposure. Normal fuse With relays I've found a solution to the tap from and back to the original headlight fuses, also because of the orientation of the supply to the fuse (from the switches) there is no possibility of connecting these the wrong way, The final solution will not have the crimp connectors from the "add a circuit" adapters to the relays (a solid wire or a soldered, heatshrinked connection) The negative can be connected to a spare connection on an unused relay base (I will include a list and diagrams of suitable points), I will also supply a 30cm length of wire which will give you the option of extending the negative to under the fuse box and connect to the factory earth point with a 6mm ring terminal The "add a circuit" adapters are installed in fuse locations which are supplied by the "X" circuit (turns off while starting) and are supplied with suitable fuses for the headlight circuits they now supply, these adapters do not change any function of the fuse location they are placed in, you use the original fuse in the lower location in the adapter I'm quite chuffed at how "plug n play" this is, and has made driving at night a pleasure, I no longer suffer from "headlight envy" but proud to pop them up at the first opportunity. Could I ask people to post pictures of their fuse boxes, so I can work out if there is a "standard" layout of relays or whether I should offer a tailor made setup to work perfectly with your car. I have also developed a relay solution to slow window winding, although this is a bit more complicated to install, requiring running wiring to the inside of the doors, lifting the fuse box up, removing a connector and tapping into a wire, there may be an easier way, once I do the drivers side (I did the passengers window as these suffer from the most voltage drop as it is supplied through the drivers switch), I'm planning to get power from the connector in the drivers footwell, Note that you can't just use "any" 12V as it needs to be supplied by a power regulated relay so it wont crush any hand which get in the way. 7.3Volts getting to the motor, that's nearly half lost through the switches, (note, that cabrios are worse as they also go through a set of relays which lower the windows a bit when you raise the roof) Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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