Headlight Rewire How-To 98+

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by crash @ PnRH

Funny you should ask. When I bought my truck it had one stock and silverstar, the silverstar was notably brighter and made my stock bulb look dull. Then I found one Nokia 80w in my garage so I replaced the stock one, the nokia was WAY brighter and had just a little bit more blueish color then the silverstar. A short time later it blew the fuse for the Nokia, tried to find something ells wrong but it was just too much bulb for the 10amp fuse. So I will be doing this upgrade (thanks to beandip's write up) and buying a pair of 80w Nokia bulbs.

i like the sounds of this

[beandip]

Yeah post some pics of the comparison between the bulbs.

[PurplDodge]

I'm gonna finnaly do this mod this weekend! Hopefully not having a grille will not affect the life of the relay. I might just mount it on the other side of the core support, and on the driver's side, so I can use the positive off the fusebox.

[old_skool_noma]

dont get power from your fuse box, you want it directly from your battery or you will have defeated the underlying purpose of the mod, to make as short of a connection from the battery to the headlights as possible

[fatphatboy88]

So I just found a bunch of 12awg wire that was given to me a while back and I was wondering if it would work or do I have to use 10awg wire?

this is the wire I was given http://www.cerrowire.com/default.aspx?id=3180
It is kinda stiff and has 19 strands in it.

Also if the 12awg is too small to run both left and right lights at one time, would it be safe if I wired each light individually with it to 4 relays? And hold up to the Nokya 80/100w lights too?

[old_skool_noma]

if you can make a run of 8 or 10 to the relay, the 12 ga will work fine, with 2 relays. you will be pulling about 10 amps, the wire is rated for about 30-35, you will be fine

the 8 or 10 will keep your voltage drop to a minimum to the relay

[beandip]

Quote: Originally Posted by old_skool_noma

the 8 or 10 will keep your voltage drop to a minimum to the relay

That is actually a good idea!

I need to redo mine, wire the relay inside the engine compartment instead of where it is and make the harness all fancy like the one you built in your thread.

[my_nightmare]

I got a 95 s10 with a newly accuired 98 blazer front end. You are my hero !!! I was searching for something like this for WEEKS now...
This week for me will be wiring this up during work !!
I got a dumb question though... is there a way to create DRL lighting using this as well?? OR do you know how to add DRL lighting the diagram above ?
my s10 did not come with DRL... not even a relay for it...(only had el-cheapo sealed beammers....bummer man)
Lastly.., I am going to add factory looking fog lights... I am wanting them to run on a relay as well.... can the above type wiring to the relay be used to power fog lights? (i got a factory fog light swith out of a blazer to use in my dash...it just a on/off type switch)

Thanks Beandip for the write-up !!!!!!!

[old_skool_noma]

got pics of the stage 2 nokya cosmic white low beams (80 watt, 5000k) versus plain old GE halogens (since my silverstars died about a week ago)

start off with the GE bulbs






the camera does make them look brigher than they really are, not bad output though for the cheapest bulbs walmart has

now on to the nokyas

bulbs are blue obviously to emulate hids at 5000K


seems fairly whiter from looking at them from the front, as well as the side




the biggest improvement i thought was the pattern over the silverstars, the silverstars and GEs had two bright focus points and then just some light around them, these have a strong band of focus clear across, the only thing i can compare it to is my dads colorado the light output is the only thing i like about that truck.





i am slightly disappointed about how little gain of brightness i got from them, but the pattern improvement makes me feel much better, and i feel like i can see the road better with these bulbs then any bulb ive tried yet.

[evanspears1]

those look pretty good... I wish my factory housings had that nice of an output... crystal lenses, and hids for christmas will fix that though....

[beandip]

Quote: Originally Posted by old_skool_noma

got pics of the stage 2 nokya cosmic white low beams (80 watt, 5000k) versus plain old GE halogens (since my silverstars died about a week ago)

HAHAHA

sorry but it reminded me of what happened to me last week

short story.

driver's side silverstar died so i go and try out the silverstar ultras and see what the big whoop is about them. well i installed the driver's side and went to go see the passenger side to compare them. i push in my ebrake just enough to stop rolling, start the truck by pushing the clutch in with my right foot (still sitting halfway on my seat) and start the truck then i dump the clutch thinking i was in neutral (short throw shifter so its hard to tell) well the jolt was soo violent that it killed my passenger side silverstar and i rolled 4 ft . i was surprised the truck didnt stall though.

also post #30 shows the last time i replaced my bulbs, with my new job driving at night for about 30 minutes then 20 more minutes to get back home, depending on how fast the sun sets/i drive. these bulbs lasted for 5 months, give or take. some may not see that is worth it but i think $80 a year for bulbs (at least with my driving habits and this just gives you a general idea.) is well worth the extra safety.

Quote:

i am slightly disappointed about how little gain of brightness i got from them, but the pattern improvement makes me feel much better, and i feel like i can see the road better with these bulbs then any bulb ive tried yet.

i would think the 80 watt bulbs would be a huge improvement over the stockers. unless they are not truly 80 watts.

think about it, these bulbs are sold to the public, to a great majority do not understand what will happen to your stock wiring if you do put a 80 watt bulb on an already crappy stock wiring harness. does the bulb actually say 80 watts on the bottom or in the packaging? i know i looked though some of those on ebay and it said "80 watts (51 watts actual)" or something like that.

either way at least it improved the light beam some more. btw how much $$ was it for the pair?

[old_skool_noma]

it says 80 watts right on the package and its available in a 51 watt version as well, and on the package it says to use a heavy duty harness with these bulbs, although i need to check the bulbs becasue they may have been incorrectly packaged, but i am very happy with the color it is nearly a pure white until you are back about 50 yards at an angle and then its is a light blue color, actually another reason i think they might not be as bright is the amount of blue tint on the bulb to get the 5000k color temp

[old_skool_noma]

and try buying your bulbs on ebay, theyre about half the price as in stores, i paid 23.50 shipped for the pair and i like them better than silverstars, i wish the camera would capture the full color of these things, its nice how white they are, but at the same time im starting ot feel like the yellowish tinge of normal bulbs almost gives you an advantage over the pure white light??? i always felt like even with my upgraded wireing and silverstars, i wasnt quite as bright as the guy in the car next to me just becasue of the color not showing up on the road as well

[Slammed83Mazda]

I'm about to do this mod on my 2001 blazer, I have the relays already. Probably going to take the DRL off as well.

[crash @ PnRH]

Here is a link to Nokia bulbs, stage 1 are standard watt, stage 2 are high watt.
http://www.nokyausa.com/headlights.html

[beandip]

Quote: Originally Posted by old_skool_noma

and try buying your bulbs on ebay, theyre about half the price as in stores, i paid 23.50 shipped for the pair and i like them better than silverstars, i wish the camera would capture the full color of these things, its nice how white they are, but at the same time im starting ot feel like the yellowish tinge of normal bulbs almost gives you an advantage over the pure white light??? i always felt like even with my upgraded wireing and silverstars, i wasnt quite as bright as the guy in the car next to me just becasue of the color not showing up on the road as well

I noticed this too and i believe the yellow does give you the advantage, that is why the stock ones are tinted soo much. white seems to reflect/absorb depending on the road color. also when it rains talk about not being able to tell if your headlights are on.

but when i drive highway or in town i can definitely tell my headlights are bright as hell and the other cars seem to fade away with the yellow tint of the street lights.

[old_skool_noma]

i almost want to try the Hyper Yellow bulbs, but i hate the look of yellow headlights

[old_skool_noma]

well since i rebuilt my harness today to clean it up and came in here to double check the plugs, i might as well post pics of the new harness, its safe to say my previous harness was a hack job, especially compared to what ive been building for other people. i think i had by far the worst one id ever built and i didnt use the relay sockets on my original.


















ive got everything color coded with zip ties, they also corespond with the wire colors i have to connect with the stock harness.

red = +12v
White = High beam
Yellow = Low beam
Green = High and low in the same bundle and my quad beam (i wish i had blue for these since my quad beam wire with the diode is blue)
Black is mostly where i had too big of bundle to use any of the color coded ties.

[monkeytruckin]

I am going to try this for my non dot rally yellow bulbs. I cannot remember brand. But since I put these bulbs in I have yet to use the brights. About a year so far. Doubt I need it just think my wiring needs it. Will post pix.

[beandip]

Quote: Originally Posted by old_skool_noma

well since i rebuilt my harness today to clean it up and came in here to double check the plugs, i might as well post pics of the new harness, its safe to say my previous harness was a hack job, especially compared to what ive been building for other people. i think i had by far the worst one id ever built and i didnt use the relay sockets on my original.


















ive got everything color coded with zip ties, they also corespond with the wire colors i have to connect with the stock harness.

red = +12v
White = High beam
Yellow = Low beam
Green = High and low in the same bundle and my quad beam (i wish i had blue for these since my quad beam wire with the diode is blue)
Black is mostly where i had too big of bundle to use any of the color coded ties.

Looks good. looking back at mine i should remake mine as a plug and play harness. i ordered some braided wire loom last Saturday and waiting for it to come in the mail so i can redo mine. though mine works fine, it could be better.

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by monkeytruckin

I am going to try this for my non dot rally yellow bulbs. I cannot remember brand. But since I put these bulbs in I have yet to use the brights. About a year so far. Doubt I need it just think my wiring needs it. Will post pix.

i would definately suggest using a relay socket, ive had my spade terminals bounce out before. if you get the pre wired ones from parts express, the terminals come out just like the head light terminals, you can get the wire out holding the terminal at the bare wire crimp with a pair of needle nose pliers and use another pair of pliers to pull the wire straight back and it will come out perfectly almost every time.

also you can only fit one 10 ga wire per socket terminal, i usually strip about an extra half inch to an inch outside the terminal to solder the second wire to, on my new ones i stripped about a one inch strip about 6 inches from the relay socket to have it less cluttered at the relays, i like the way this turned out better than taking both wires clear to the relay. obviously i tape and or heatshrink those connections when in done too.

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by beandip

Looks good. looking back at mine i should remake mine as a plug and play harness. i ordered some braided wire loom last Saturday and waiting for it to come in the mail so i can redo mine. though mine works fine, it could be better.

mine isnt a plug and play harness, but i used spade connectors so i can unhook the harness if needed. if you want my link for male (bulb side) and female (truck side) pigtails to disassemble, PM me, they have the best prices Ive seen unfortunately the shipping can be a little steep if you're not getting much.

[beandip]

Really i was just going to solder the stock headlight pigtails back on and use a female connector to plug into the stock wiring to trigger the relay, that is all pretty much it on the plug and play part. everything else will be the same but just nicer and if i were to remove the harness for any reason it would be very easy.

also going to wire up the high/low beams into 1 relay harness since right now i just have the lows.

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by beandip

Really i was just going to solder the stock headlight pigtails back on and use a female connector to plug into the stock wiring to trigger the relay, that is all pretty much it on the plug and play part. everything else will be the same but just nicer and if i were to remove the harness for any reason it would be very easy.

also going to wire up the high/low beams into 1 relay harness since right now i just have the lows.

that what i was saying, ive got a link for the plug and play stuff

[monkeytruckin]

Well I am having a problem finding the use for the other two relay's. They are for the bright's I am assuming? I ordered what I needed in on Bean's part's list, Plus the relay connector's. Just do my homework...

[beandip]

Sorry but i made a typo on the relay list.

1 relay for the low beams
1 relay for the high beams

so if you are planning to relay both high/low then you need to buy 2 relays. do the same for the high beams as for the low.

i really need to get a mod to change that

[monkeytruckin]

Damn lol. Well anyone need 2 relay's with those fancy relay plugs?

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by monkeytruckin

Damn lol. Well anyone need 2 relay's with those fancy relay plugs?

build a one relay per bulb headlight harness, id always thought about doing one, just didnt seem worth it, but it would make routing wires much easier to keep your relays on each side

[monkeytruckin]

Well Im not going to be wiring my brights. I have yet to use them in almost a yr. Plus the drl burnt em out a while back.

[monkeytruckin]

Here's a before picture. The guy I bought my spindle's off of wanted them also. So I figured I'd post here too. I know my driver's light is aimed to the center quite a bit. I kept getting ppl flashing their light's. I kept adjusting till they stopped lol.

[old_skool_noma]

Quote: Originally Posted by monkeytruckin

Here's a before picture. The guy I bought my spindle's off of wanted them also. So I figured I'd post here too. I know my driver's light is aimed to the center quite a bit. I kept getting ppl flashing their light's. I kept adjusting till they stopped lol.

from what i can tell, there is no way to adjust side to side, US DOT law prohibits it, you can only adjust up and down

and becasue of the cutoff patteren the diver side light will always be aimed more to the center

[monkeytruckin]

Yes you can. See that hole on top of the rad support? Control's side to side.

[beandip]

Yup you can. had to do it on a buddy of mines blazer. when he bought it one headlight was pointed 5 ft from the bumper on the ground and the other pointing directly in the middle.

[old_skool_noma]

ive messed with it and i didnt notice my pattern changing, just the lens moving in and out

[monkeytruckin]

Oh and my yellow bulb's are alot better than the blue bulb's. The blue's suck on wet road's. My yellow's have awesome visibility no matter what condition's. But you have to get the high temp socket's. They kinda melt the factory one's.

[monkeytruckin]

well I just noticed i bought 5 pin relay's. The fifth connector is labeled 87a. Today is a nice day so I decided to get it done. If I cannot use these relay's I will not be doing this. As the cost will be way above hid's. Any one know how to wire these up?

Hmm I just noticed the link pull's up 5 pin relay's and your pic show's a 4 pin relay....

[monkeytruckin]

I have been looking and I think I could use the 87a terminal for my other light?? And double up the ground?

[evanspears1]

if your not doing quadbeams, you COULD trigger the relay with you factory high beam wires, use 87a for lows, and 87 for highs, but I wouldnt reccommend that, b/c if that one relay fails you have absolutely no lights on your truck!

[monkeytruckin]

no the 87a is the normally closed loop pin. I'm just leaving that wire out. Called partsexpress.

[monkeytruckin]

Before:

After:

To be honest I might switch to a different bulb. The pix do not do it justice at all. IMO they are now way too bright.

[monkeytruckin]

I have a buddy bringing one of those rolling tape measure's tomorrow. So I will have a measurement of how far my light's shine.

[old_skool_noma]

too bright??? you crazy? and if youre getting flashed adjust them down a couple turns

[old_skool_noma]

i had some interest in the male headlight plugs (the ones that connect the relay to the factory harness) so here is where i get them and how to use your own wire to the relay.

http://discoverbulbs.com/connectors.htm

here is the heading for the section they are in
Headlight Pigtail Socket Receptacles 9" Long - 16 Gauge Wire Leads

you want one each of the 9005 and 9006 male, unless you have sealed beamand then you want the one H4 male, you will also need 2 each of the female plugs 9005/6 or just 2 of the H4 female, you you will be running higher wattage bulbs you may also consider getting ceramic female plugs, they're a dollar more and found a little further down the page.

if you choose to replace the wire on the male plugs, there are two small plastic clips that hold the terminals in, lift the clips with a small pick and pull on the pigtail lead to get the terminal out and replace it with your own wire to run to the relay.

EDIT: i forgot to mention that they also have good prices on the female plugs as well (the ones that go to the bulbs)

[old_skool_noma]

here is the schematic of how to build the plug and play harness with quad beam, im not sure about if the +/- going to the factory harness, so check your truck first

[evanspears1]

Quote: Originally Posted by old_skool_noma

here is the schematic of how to build the plug and play harness with quad beam, im not sure about if the +/- going to the factory harness, so check your truck first

Wow, very nice little draw up, even has a disclaimer....lol Great job!

[old_skool_noma]

thanks, i could see someone screwing something up and me ending up with the blame, so i threw that on there, I spent a lot of time yesterday making that instead of working on my paper that was due at midnight

[beandip]

Nice, with your wiring diagram and my how-to its stupid proof well almost...

[old_skool_noma]

we can hope anyway.