Headlight relays on a car with concealed headlights

[Kern Dog]

I am going to keep it wired as shown in the diagram and keep a paper copy in the car, in my FSM and in my car journal.

 

[Kern Dog]

THANKS to Randy, Mark and Rob...The Pep Boys of electrical repair.
This was a situation that defied logic to me. Given my limited knowledge of electrical stuff, it seemed logical to think that since the lights and doors worked fine before, that the relay kit was to blame. Crackedback has a great reputation so I hesitated to blame his product. His emails helped steer me away from his harness and to a problem within the car. 1WildR/T-Randy always jumps in on my topics and provides helpful advice. 1972GY8SE Mark stepped up nicely as well.
In a couple more hours, I'll know just how much brighter the lights are.

 

[MoparGuy68]

Nice to see you fixed your problem, even though I don’t fully understand what the problem was. Stock relays didn’t work with Crackedback’s kit, is what I got out of it..

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Nice to see you fixed your problem, even though I don’t fully understand what the problem was. Stock relays didn’t work with Crackedback’s kit, is what I got out of it..

But they have on other 70 Chargers which is kinda strange.... Especially since Greg tried swapping relays from his other 70 Charger which should logically show it's not a problem with the relay...

 

[blue69runner]

So glad you found the problem. Electrical wiring can be testy for sure. Some times you just have to step back and take a deep breath and then go at it again. One question I have did you do this to take stress off the wiring or to buy pass the old system.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

So glad you found the problem. Electrical wiring can be testy for sure. Some times you just have to step back and take a deep breath and then go at it again. One question I have did you do this to take stress off the wiring or to buy pass the old system.

Guys do it because vintage Mopars are known for dim flickering headlights and burned up electrical connections... Adding relays takes the load off the switches, the bulkhead connector & the ammeter... Plus suddenly the headlights are much brighter & don't flicker... IMO it should be done to every vintage Mopar...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Waiting for Greg's report on how much of an improvement the relays made...

 

[blue69runner]

Yes have run into the same problem with older cars that the wiring and all is old. I agree to take the load off the wiring harness and other part's. If you have all new wiring then it should work fine. But would do this any ways after a while to keep from this problem happening. Thanks for the answer.

 

[Kern Dog]

So glad you found the problem. Electrical wiring can be testy for sure. Some times you just have to step back and take a deep breath and then go at it again. One question I have did you do this to take stress off the wiring or to buy pass the old system.

I did it because I wanted to also upgrade to more powerful headlights that would draw more power than these sealed beams. The wire harness on the engine side was new in 2013. The dash side is mostly original and in really nice shape.
Years back, I had a 76 Camaro with 100% stock wiring. I put in Hella H4 headlights and was amazed at how much better the lighting was compared to stock sealed beams. I made no changes to the wiring on that car and it never proved to be a problem. I don't know whether the Chevrolets used a simpler wiring path or bigger gauge wiring but I never had flickering lights or charging issues. The lights have not flickered in this car either, at least not since I replaced the engine side light harness in 2013.
One thing that I like about newer car headlights is that their light pattern seems more even. The light seems about the same across the main pattern then the edges just fade out. The Wife's '15 Challenger R/T has HID lights that are amazing. My 2007 Ram 1500 has stock lights that are pretty good too.
Test drive tonight....The lights are brighter but the pattern sucks for low beams. It is like 2 balls of light that fade quickly from the center out. I like the brightness but not the pattern. Daniel Stern over at FABO (SlantsixDan) sells all sorts of lighting products including some interesting headlights. I may check back with him.

 

[Crackedback]

Yes have run into the same problem with older cars that the wiring and all is old. I agree to take the load off the wiring harness and other part's. If you have all new wiring then it should work fine. But would do this any ways after a while to keep from this problem happening. Thanks for the answer.

Even new wiring has significant voltage drop and poor output compared to a relay kit. The issue with bulbs is that output degrades exponentially with corresponding reduction in voltage inputs.

 

[Kern Dog]

Those are big words, Rob. This isn't a Prius forum.

(Ha ha)

 

[Nacho-RT74]

So it was definitelly green and blue wires shorted out internally into the relay! Great it was a fairly easy fix with available replacement parts.

As mentioned, I would keep the breaker into the 30 line ( blue wire )

 

[Kern Dog]

I'm not experienced enough to know the exact problem but when I pulled the two green wires off of the H/L door relay, the headlights THEN only came on with the switch. I can only guess that something inside that switch was messed up. I used the same circuit breaker when I changed to the Bosch relay and the setup works with no defects now.
I decided to convert my other car too!

 

[Kern Dog]

I ordered Hella headlights the other day and they were on the porch this morning.
The high beams are designated H1.

The bulb setup in these is strange. There is only one wire to the bulb and a separate ground. Hella supplies the wires .
The bulb is placed in the back and held in with this spring clip.

The gray boot slips over the housing and actually fit in my stock headlight bases.

The outer headlights are designated H4 and they use a high and low beam.

The bulbs can only go in one way.

 

[Kern Dog]

I don't usually wear gloves but the rumor is that oils from skin or anything can cause the bulbs to fail. It may be BS, who knows for sure.

Waiting for night time to adjust and report back.

 

[kiwigtx]

I don't usually wear gloves but the rumor is that oils from skin or anything can cause the bulbs to fail.

That is quite true. Wearing the gloves is a great idea.

 

[Kern Dog]

The lights look closer to stock than any LED one looks.

 

[Kern Dog]

Pretty bright. It isn't quite dark yet but I have to make dinner....My Granite Bay famous "Butt-fire" tacos!

 

[blue69runner]

I don't usually wear gloves but the rumor is that oils from skin or anything can cause the bulbs to fail. It may be BS, who knows for sure.

View attachment 1089083

View attachment 1089084

Waiting for night time to adjust and report back.

Sweet now you got me to thinking. Yes Halogen bulbs will burn the class where you touch them. Don't touch them with your finger's. You can clean them with rubbing Alcohol. Best to ware clove's. LOL. Hey they are bright enough. Not like the old blubs Hey.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Take it for a drive & tell us what you think.... The cut-offs in the lens are pretty effective...