Why is there a relay on my headlight?

[Nj]

this is very useful. I think it's probably worth doing both low beam and high beam.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

[John.]

I know that was English John but.......

I just need a wiring diagram I think!! Can't get that link to work, will check Henk's post.
Good luck sausage fingers! (seriously though cracked skin when working in the cold is ****......vaseline for me when this starts to happen.)

[Nj]

i'm not one to discuss hand creams normally but Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream is brilliant. no smell or anything. A few days of using that tends to fix the cracks etc on my hands around this time of year. If I remember to use it... because after all i'm a man..

[John.]

Got it now, was Kit's post that says "relay feeds headlight loom" that threw me...... But basically the original wiring is used as the switching circuit for the new relay, don't think my brain was in gear yesterday!!

[John.]

i'm not one to discuss hand creams....

Me neither, vaseline isn't hand cream.

I'm off to cut down some trees then go to the pub and do other man stuff.

[Nj]

Got it now, was Kit's post that says "relay feeds headlight loom" that threw me...... But basically the original wiring is used as the switching circuit for the new relay, don't think my brain was in gear yesterday!!

Yeah, exactamundo. Original wiring from the stalks to the relay/relays and then new, heavier wire from the relays to the lights... which is exactly what the previous owner of my car decided not to do

Me neither, vaseline isn't hand cream.

I'm off to cut down some trees then go to the pub and do other man stuff.

Ahem. yeah, of course. I'm off to fight a pit bull and snort a chicken vindaloo.

[Nj]

For now i’ve replaced the dody wire with a cable and 20 amp fuse from the alternator. So if nothing else, there’s no silly yellow wire running around the engine bay without a fuse. In the future I will remove all of the wiring and rewire the relay straight into the headlights with heavier wires, as I believe is the best solution. And do the high beams too.

[John.]

I've just checked the volts drop on my B3CQ. Wiring is standard.
Readings taken between battery and 3-pin plug at bulb;-
Dip- 1.3v
Main- 1.7v
Earth- 0.3v

Now at the TOP of the to-do list!!

[Nj]

Holy ****. Are you running a car battery or a single Duracell?

[John.]

Holy ****. Are you running a car battery or a single Duracell?

That's the voltage drop Noel, from positive battery terminal to supply to bulb, and from negative terminal to earth at bulb.

[Nj]

Sorry. that was my attempt at a joke because I thought the wording of your post made it look like you only had 1.5v at the headlight. I'll.. erm... get my coat..

[K Simmonds]

That's quite a voltage drop, I'm guessing my Coupe will be much the same so I think I should take advantage of the wiring diagram Noel has posted and do the job, there's no reason why it wouldn't work with ellipsoids.

The couple of time's I drove Noels car at night I noticed how much better the lights were compared to both my B4 cars.

Corrado headlight's are also pretty rubbish, so much so that there's a couple of sellers on eBay who provide plug and play kit's for them.

[newsh]

Yeah the bulbs usually only see about 10v on stock wiring. Means they last a long time though!

[Nj]

thought you might be interested to know that the bulbs I took out (which Kit noted were better than his standard lights) were 55w (obscure brand) so nothing special. The Osram Night Breakers are also 55w and are coping quite well with the Finnish winter darkness. I imagine they'll be even better when I sort out the beam on the right lens.

[John.]

The couple of time's I drove Noels car at night I noticed how much better the lights were compared to both my B4 cars.

That's the reason I've never checked the voltage drop, the lights are actually very good although I did get higher wattage bulbs when I got the car, just for why not?!
Now I'm thinking...how good they'll be with relays!!