Brighter Headlight question

[83kid]

Hi,
So theres this article which is in the first thread on the electrical and audio page:
http://madelectrical.com/electricaltech/brighter-headlights.shtml

As this seems like such a simple thing to do, im thinking of trying it.

They sell kits for it, but ive had enough electrical experience and experience with relays i think i can find my own way.

So basically how your going to do this would be to(For low beam, and then the same thing to be replicated for high beam):
1. Connect the power going to the low beam headlight to the low voltage switching wire coming from the relay
2. Connect power to one side of the relay load circuit (I forget the numbers on relays at the moment), where would this power come from? Straight from the battery?
3. Connect the wire coming from the headlight to the other side of the relays load bearing circuit
4. Ground the relay

So, is this pretty much how you'd do it most simply?
Is there anything wrong with how i said this could be done, would the 4 steps i put correctly work?

Thanks!

 

[theblindchicken]

Typically, there are only 4 pins on relays (sometimes 5).

One pin has +12v coming from headlight switch. Pin opposite that is grounded.

Another pin recieves +12v straight from battery. Pin opposite that goes to headlights. Ground the headlight to chassis.

You'll need two relays. One for low beams, second for high beams.

 

[77 K20]

And sometimes you can help out your headlights/off road lights/or big stereo system just by putting in a better ground.

Typically the main ground just goes from your battery to the alternator bracket. But most things ground out to the body. To check how well your truck is grounded put a meter from a front fender/radiator support/frame to the alternator bracket. How many ohms are you reading? A lot?

The ground has to go thru the cast iron engine and go out the small ground strap at the back then to the firewall. Sometimes that is broken or missing. What I learned years ago was just an old section of battery cable or whatever somewhat large wire you have and run another ground wire from the alternator bracket to the frame. Make sure the metal on both surfaces is nice and clean. That made a big difference in my last several squares.

But yeah, the relay idea makes a big difference. Keeps the headlight switch cool also. Even though I've been in electronics for 20 years I just bought a new harness. It was cheaper than my time (been too busy lately).

 

[89Suburban]

Between the relay mod and just putting in new bulbs it makes a HUGE difference. Seems like 20 year old headlight bulbs loose or fade that chrome reflector color inside. You don't notice it until you compare a brand new one next to it.

 

[SlickGTP]

Between the relay mod and just putting in new bulbs it makes a HUGE difference. Seems like 20 year old headlight bulbs loose or fade that chrome reflector color inside. You don't notice it until you compare a brand new one next to it.

What @89Suburban said! I put in new bulbs and that was a huge improvement, but then I did the relay modification and Holy Cow... Started wondering how I saw the road at night when I was driving my first square in high school.

 

[hinkv10]

If you are lazy (me sometimes) you can buy a kit ready to go from lmc for like $35. Plug in a couple things and you are done. With the Silverstars it is a BIG improvement.

 

[83kid]

I got a couple relays to work with, probably adding them in tomorrow, seems so simple to do i didnt feel like buying a kit
Will this brighten the dash gauges aswell? In the article it mentions it, if you wire in the relays up by the fender will it still work the same to the guage cluster lights?

And 77 k20, i think ill try adding a wire from the alternator bracket right to the frame, thanks for the advice!

 

[83kid]

Also, when doing this, what guage wire should i use to go into the load bearing circuit of the relay and come out to power the headlights? Relays always have small connectors on them but id assume youd need a larger gauge to not have a significant power loss from the battery on the passenger side to the relay on the drivers side.


Thanks!

 

[77 K20]

Part of it depends on what wattage headlights you are going to run. Think mine are 55W/100W. Most say use at least 14 gauge wire (if not 12 gauge). The stock wiring is smaller than that.