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Topic: Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps (Read 4592 times) previous topic - next topic

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Relay mod purpose
to remove heat from the ignition switch and main headlamp switch.

ok,,
got the relay bank built... the metal brace you see all the stuff mounted on comes from directly below your steering wheel under the cover.
A few things im doing a little different.
I am using the 80A cb to feed a 100A rated buss fuse block
IGN sw RUN will e managed by a 30A fuse / 40A relay(I hope this is enough)
IGN sw ACCY will be managed by a 30A fuse / 40A relay (i hope this is enough)
Marker lamps will be managed by a 15A fuse / 30A relay
Headlamp Hi & Low will be managed by a 30A fuse / 40A relay x 2
**i forgot to jumper out the headlamp stuff to do "thefoeyouknow" opiton and will fix my screw up tomorrow.

I have some overhead in this design so i can power my remote power strip for things we use in the car, as well a spare realy , maybe two depending on how i go about it.

so , here is the build, in this condition each relay has its own dedicated fuse and relay but that will change tomorrow slightly.

This mod is going to be really nice.
i need to talk to you **TOM** about the redundunt layout,, i tried like hell to figure out what you mean,,, sorry,,, i just dont get it.

[COLOR="red"]Update 18 jan 2013~[/COLOR]
explaination of various mods
-ignition switch mod rev2
Removes heat off the ignition swtich, add one relay for the run and one relay for the accy ckt as shown.  tested well and works fine as drawn
It may be your preference to not have a second relay for the ACCY circuit, i decided to add this because the accy ckt does involve a generous amount of load depending on what you are doing with the ign key switch turned back.

-exterior lamp relay mod rev0
The exterior lamps cause much heat on the headlamp switch from my tests and mostly during "manual mode" instead of "auto lamp" mode.
I measured temps along the spiral coil wire looking thing to be in excess of 140degF with just the cluster illumination and exterior lamps on.
Follow the instructions i show and pay attention to "which brown wire you relocate.
the end result will be that you have defeated the "auto lamps" such that when you are in manual or auto lamp mode, all things work perfectly.. however, I have one small flaw while in auto lamp mode.  When you are in auto lamp mode you will not have radio or "PRND" illumination, however the all other dash things light up like EQ if you have it on down to general lighting.  I need to figure this out but I am going to put it off for now so if someone else does dig into "why" this is happening, pls update this thread.

Headlamp relay mod- there are three
~Headlamp relay mod OPTION1  Rev1- This eliminates all possible heat from both the main light switch and the multi function switch by triggering your relays downstream of the multifunction switch.  It separates the High and low beams by two relays.  I was unable to figure out a way to trigger a single relay at this point of the wiring archetecture so if anyone comes up with a design, pls update the thread.. i would be very interested.

~Headlamp relay mod OPTION2 rev0- this is the mod i did on my son's bird, works fine and does remove heat from the main light switch.  it does not remove heat off the multi function switch.  this also allows you the opportunity to switch from hi or low on a single relay. 

~Headlamp relay mod OPTION3 rev3 by "thefoeyouknow"  !!!! only if you have existing auto lamp option built into your car !!!!!
-Passes all tests and by far is the simplest path to reducing headlamp heat.  Following the suggestion to replace relay1 to a 5pin would be a perfect transparent solution.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #1 –
a fewm more pics

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #2 –
up above and below are documents to do your headlamps and marker lamps along with ignition switch
Headlamps have 3 options ,one using two relays one for hi and one for low.
The other option by Thefoeyouknow offers one fuse to power dual relays so you can run hi and low beam at the same time while in "HIGH" beam mode.
I was unable to get this mod to work on my car with auto lamps and im not really certain exactly why.  in any event, i have made many notes and comments to each drawing per my experience.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #3 –
just a comment,, could use some advice on this.......
one thing that is still defeating me,,,,,,,,,,,  same happened with my son's bird,, auto lamps seem to have a redundunt circuit built in such that even when the auto lamps are not on at all, ***and*** when you extract the primary yellow and primary red/blk, from the vehicle connectors and let them flop in the wind,,, ***YOU STILL HAVE HEADLAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!
I may have my answer to this,, its in the other thread where i did it for my sons bird and totally forgot now what i did to cure it... worse part is that i also forgot to update the drawing.
The end result here guys is that you still have heat going through your headlamp switch until this part is solved.... stay tuned.


here are some updates with pics
had to make my relay trigger wires and color code them to the same color as the relocated primary power output wire.
just find the right color primary wire, then put a dab of paint on a towel and pull the wire through it to make the tracer color.

had to do several wiring tricks to keep from cutting up the factory wiring so "if" need be, all wiring can simply snap back into its original locations.
I prepared the conductors in the car by extracting them from thier connectors and sliding on a rubber boot over the exposed metal.  this way when they plug into the relay post 87, they will be insulated but the boot can be pushed back incase i have to safely back out and hook things back to stock again.

if any questions or comments, just reply with the picture you have a question about.,, best to include the pic in your post.


I like this but,,,,,
somehow it is causing the mod by "THEFOEYOUKNOW" to not work.  I can not get hi to work with low at the same time and that was the mod i was shooting for.
the tiny wires on the relay bank will hook up in place of thier larger wire.
basically your color coding and how you go about it will help you later.
again, use the same color relay trigger wire as your wire your connecting to the relay output.
example,,
I removed the black/gn wire from the ign sw , this large wire will connect to the relay output pin 87.
the tiny black/gn is terminated to the k1 pin 85, the other end will plug into the ignition switch in place of the large black/gn.

Lable your fuses and relays as well, with as much information as you think needs to be there.  what i did below is good enough for me or any mechanic to make sense of.



anyhoo.....
here is a peek into the wiring layout with thefoeyouknow relay mod option built in,,, it wasnt all that tricky

hope to wrap up tomorrow.

the pics are rather random but do show important things that later will be useful for someone else.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #4 –
and a few more pics

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #5 –
i just noticed i have a lable error with the view of the relays,

K4 should show its power source is F3,, easy enough to fix for now.,, just a lable error.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #6 –
nice work on design

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #7 –
i personally as of just now hate it because  (joking only but still).........................

i just noiced i cant remove the relays easy.

and,,
for the record if anyone is interested,
just behind your center dash behind the radio is an adaptor that holds six relays.  well that adaptor is usually occupied by relays depending on your cars features or appication.

well, the good news is that there is a second one located directly above your steering shaft,, in my case this adaptor is very empty minus cornering lamp relays.

that being said, i would have c00ched up an adaptor and fixed it to the metal bracket so the relays would be removeable.

lessons learned i suppose.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #8 –
WOW never seen so many crimp connectors in my life on a single car !!!! :flame:

Jay they make adapters that you can gang together and make as many 5 pr0ng relay sockets as you want. And they have pig tails.
I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #9 –
i was thinking about that too, but i dont have one.
a receptical that would accept several relays would be nice, preferably in a straight line like i have these arranged now.
got a pn?
i would really like to have blank 5pr0ng relay sockets and the terminals that will snap lock into them,, got a pn on that as well?
I appreciate it!  that special automotive crimper now, adds a crimp band around the wire insulation as well as the bands over the conductors.

also, i really wouldnt use the pig tails, then you would have to but splice or use butt disconnects to meld to the pigtails.

i noticed on the relay sockets you sent me that the pig tail wiring was not removeable, it was like they melted the plastic around the wire ends,, and when i looked a the size of the physical conductors , it appeared the relay socket pigtails had 80% insulation and 20% wire,, like the pig tail wires were nearly 18awg , maybe 16awg.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #10 –
Jay if memory serves me i think the 5 pr0ngs i sent you were the type you can remove the spade female connector??? I do it all the time. Look inside and use a tiny flat blade screwdriver to release the connector. Thy have heavier ones as well. I talked to my vendor and he said they were rated at 25Amps
I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #11 –
5jan2012~ completed full relay mod to remove heat off critical devices such as the ignition switch and headlamp switch.
I want to explain the various mods as they are titled.
I have removed and replaced all schematics effected with testing done over the past few days so pls look back to see the new drawings.
My main back drop objective was to install these relays such that i would not sacrafice any factory operation of original equipment.  I wanted to inject these slave relays into the wiring such that they were fairly trasparent to me and that all the onboard factory equipment still functioned normal.  I did the best i could with what time i had to make this happen. 

-ignition switch mod rev2
Removes heat off the ignition swtich, add one relay for the run and one relay for the accy ckt as shown.  tested well and works fine as drawn
It may be your preference to not have a second relay for the ACCY circuit, i decided to add this because the accy ckt does involve a generous amount of load depending on what you are doing with the ign key switch turned back.

-exterior lamp relay mod rev0
The exterior lamps cause much heat on the headlamp switch from my tests and mostly during "manual mode" instead of "auto lamp" mode.
I measured temps along the spiral coil wire looking thing to be in excess of 140degF with just the cluster illumination and exterior lamps on.
Follow the instructions i show and pay attention to "which brown wire you relocate.
the end result will be that you have defeated the "auto lamps" such that when you are in manual or auto lamp mode, all things work perfectly.. however, I have one small flaw while in auto lamp mode.  When you are in auto lamp mode you will not have radio or "PRND" illumination, however the all other dash things light up like EQ if you have it on down to general lighting.  I need to figure this out but I am going to put it off for now so if someone else does dig into "why" this is happening, pls update this thread.

Headlamp relay mod- there are three
~Headlamp relay mod OPTION1  Rev1- This eliminates all possible heat from both the main light switch and the multi function switch by triggering your relays downstream of the multifunction switch.  It separates the High and low beams by two relays.  I was unable to figure out a way to trigger a single relay at this point of the wiring archetecture so if anyone comes up with a design, pls update the thread.. i would be very interested.

~Headlamp relay mod OPTION2 rev0- this is the mod i did on my son's bird, works fine and does remove heat from the main light switch.  it does not remove heat off the multi function switch.  this also allows you the opportunity to switch from hi or low on a single relay. 

~Headlamp relay mod OPTION3 by "thefoeyouknow"-
-Passes all tests and by far is the simplest path to reducing headlamp heat.  Following the suggestion to replace relay1 to a 5pin would be a perfect transparent solution.

so there it is,, comments or updates welcome and thanks to softtouch, Trinom, tom, foe and everyone else who muddled through drawings and such to nail this down.  I appreciate you all.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #12 –
updates to all drawings moved to page 1 post 1 for quick access as of 18jan2013.

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #13 –
ttt

Relay bank mod COMPLETE for IGN switch, Headlamp and Marker lamps

Reply #14 –
a month ago my marker lamps failed with my mods i performed.

the cause was one of the two diodes i installed pertaining to the drawing named this........................

~Headlamp relay mod OPTION3 rev3 by "thefoeyouknow" ~for people with existing auto lamps



the diode for the marker lamps burned open.  i certainly used too low of a wattage diode.
my original diode for marker lamps was about about as thick as an ink pen insert.... not sure what wattage it is.
even after i originally put it in, i noticed significant heat but it would not fail.

my replacement is much thicker , about three times more thhck.
now there is very little heat.

just fyi, dont go small on the diodes.