brighter lights?

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 7:43 pm

Yeah... you gotta be careful... And always use appropriate fuses and color-code the wires if you're at all uncertain.

What did the problem end up being?

omegax · Post by **omegax** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:06 pm

When pluging the relays into the headlight socket I was looking at it facing my direction not plugging into the bulb. I had the Hot wire and Current switched, and the highbeam connnected proper. What is odd to me though is considering this switch.... somehow the highbeam was as bright as it was supposed to be.... where the hell was it grounding to?? And current running in the wrong direction thru the low beam fillament was creating a light just very crappy light.

I ended up botching the job up by rushing. When I looked over it that final time i really wanted to kick myself in the ass because it was not a difficult connection to make.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 9:04 pm

Ah... I think you had the high-beam and common wires switched; those are the ones opposite from each other.

So your high beam would have worked correctly, but when you had your low beam on you would have effectively put the high and low beam filaments in series, making them both illuminate dimly.

omegax · Post by **omegax** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 9:43 pm

yup yup , your right on the money.

LaureltheQueen · Post by **LaureltheQueen** » Sun Jul 04, 2004 8:06 am

Anonymous wrote:chasey.i have a 91 turbo legacy

chasey=chassis

musketeerracing · Post by **musketeerracing** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:55 pm

This all sounds good and both the sanding and rewiring no doubt helps, but....

....has anyone tried to fit small round lights intead of OEM - like the 5 inch H4 types? Also available in HID...

ACP

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 8:01 pm

That's the next project after replacing the bent rims.

Steve

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 8:02 pm

It's been discussed before and I think someone has even done something similar to what you're talking about. You should do a search to try to find more about it.

-Brian

Paul H · Post by **Paul H** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 5:52 pm

Hey guys -

I am a frequent poster on another forum and there are several similar threads about lighting currently running. I recently replaced the headlight harness on my car with a unit made with larger gauge wiring and relays. Even with stock wattage bulbs (Sylvania XV's), it made a difference in light output. The reason for this was explained to me as less voltage drop to the bulbs. The harness that I got was from : http://www.innovativewiring.com/innovat ... index.html The nice part was that the harness was fully plug and play and it will handle higher wattage bulbs if you go in that direction.

I don't think that he makes a subaru harness yet, but might do one if he had a car in front of him for purposes of measuring the wire needed and the interest in enough parts. His work is top notch and a good guy to work with to boot. I'm not associated with him in any way and am not making any money/comission off of referrals. Just a satisfied customer. He's located in Tracy, CA if anyone is interested.

Paul

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:08 pm

What type of relay has everyone used?

Is a 30A SPST horn relay enough?

kidatari · Post by **kidatari** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:26 am

30A should be fine, but what makes the relay specifically a horn relay? That makes me think that it can only take the 30A for a limited amount of time. Try and find out some more details on that one.

Personally, I plan on completely clearing out my spare set of lights and retrofitting in some Audi A6 projectors in the housings. Should take care of all my lighting problems

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:28 am

It should be. Is it the Bosch type? A cube about 2 or 3 centimeters along each direction? 30 amps is about right. The only concern would be if the pins weren't big enough to safely carry the current. Standard Bosch-type relays have terminals about 6mm or 1/4" wide.

Make sure it's made by a good manufacturer. No-name ones sometimes stick or have marginal internal contacts.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:32 am

why audi a6? What type of lights are they?

omegax · Post by **omegax** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 8:30 am

ahh HID retrofits make me drool.

Get some bi-xenon's but recommend not from BMW or Mercades. They use a 3 wire solenoid for the flap that requires a crazy ass little ciruit so you dont blow the solenoid from extended highbeam use. Ground, High powered to open, Lowe power to hold. Though the M3 hids i was playing with are nice especially with that chrome trim they have. Perfect for a retrofit. Nice big lenses also.

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 8:46 am

This is the description of the relay so I think it will be fine

Whilst designed for auto horns, this relay is ideal for any high current application i.e. burglar alarms, ignition cutout, transmitters, car spotlights etc., - as well as for horns! SPST normally open contacts. - Contact current (max) 40A- Contact voltage (nom) 12V - Nominal coil voltage 12V.

They also make a SPDT too.

kidatari · Post by **kidatari** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 10:47 am

omegax wrote:ahh HID retrofits make me drool.

Get some bi-xenon's but recommend not from BMW or Mercades. They use a 3 wire solenoid for the flap that requires a crazy ass little ciruit so you dont blow the solenoid from extended highbeam use. Ground, High powered to open, Lowe power to hold. Though the M3 hids i was playing with are nice especially with that chrome trim they have. Perfect for a retrofit. Nice big lenses also.

The A6/RS6 ECE Projectors seem to be my best bet, that or a set of Valeos. I'm probably going to start clearing out and removing the texture from my spare set of lenses tomorrow, from 80 grit all the way up to 2000 grit. My forearms are going to be hurt.

kidatari · Post by **kidatari** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 10:52 am

Erm, sorry for the thread hijack MY92

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 6:05 pm

MY92 - Yeah, actually, a lot of "horn relays" are meant for air horns which are actually one of the most stressful types of loads for relays.

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 8:40 pm

Sweet, I'll pick up some this arvo.

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:26 am

Is a 30A inline fuse (blade type) holder enough?

Should I get a waterproof one for twice the price of a regular one? i.e $5 instead of $2.50

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:42 am

An inline blade fuse should be fine as long as it's got decently heavy-gauge wires attached.

Definitely get a waterproof one. Consider what it has to stand up to in the engine bay.

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 5:11 am

Ok, the inline fuse holder wire is like 16GA or something, it is really really small compared to the 10GA I want to use.

Another newbie Q.

Do I want the fuse as close to the battery (like when you put a fuse in for an amp)?

Also, do I want the relay close to the fuse or to the H4 connector?

Thanks for all the help

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 1:08 pm

16-gauge is much smaller than 10-gauge, yes... You could probably get away with it for a very short distance, but if you can find a beefier fuseholder that would be better.

Yes, you always want the fuse as close as possible to the battery or alternator. If any part of the wire between the power source and the fuse managed to short to any part of the car's chassis, you have a car-b-que situation.

As for the position of the relays, what you should keep in mind is that you want to minimize the length of the high-current circuit (battery/alternator -> relay -> headlamp -> ground). If you're using 10-gauge wire, though, any reasonable arrangement should be fine since the wire's heavy enough.

MY92 · Post by **MY92** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 10:14 pm

Ok, if I can't find a big enough wire inline blade fuse holder I must just use a fuse holder that you use for amps.

Just went to the wreckers this morning and hacked off some H4 plugs.

Thanks again.

omegax · Post by **omegax** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 7:11 am

here in in all auto stores ive found a variety of fuse holders. Best ive found uses 12guage wiring and has the blade kind with a rubbery cap over it. Flip through the inventory and you will find the right one. There are plenty of bad ones.
I recommend you stay FAR away from clear plastic ones. Or the types that use the fusebulb type ( unless it is a heavy duty one like for amps). And alot of things SAY heavy duty but are not very heavy duty at all hehe.

I started off the a clear plastic one since i found it had the thickest wire. It ended up melting in the engine bay

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brighter lights?

Re: brighter lights?