Daniel Stern Lighting Upgrade
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Right now the upgrade is exactly where the pics show it I haven't had time to finish it yet, all other problems have been solved. Did your high beams work before? The only ground recommended by DS is the battery negative and that's where mine are going to, maybe you should check the grounds and see if that's the problem... or one of the relays/or wiring to them has gone bad/loose (since one relay is for high beam and one for low)?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Actually why don't you just bypass the relays and hook the lights directly to the battery to see if they work. If you checked the relays and they are good then there must be a break somewhere in your stock wiring that the relays use to turn themselves on as I mentioned in your other post.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Mar 8, 2009 at 11:09 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I did all this a while back, just posted a new thread concerning high beams not working or driving lights.
I didn't read all of yours, but did you resolve issues? The square black pieces are relay bases so you can plug the relays in.
Where did you ground wires?
Do your brights and driving lights work? Does your driving light switch activate your brights?
I didn't read all of yours, but did you resolve issues? The square black pieces are relay bases so you can plug the relays in.
Where did you ground wires?
Do your brights and driving lights work? Does your driving light switch activate your brights?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Here's the update with pics...
This piece plugs in to the bulb, all the wiring is wrapped with tech flex,
Housing and Bulb
Wire is routed in the same place the original wire was... you can see the tech flex going around the housing.
Passenger side wiring is routed in the black plastic pouch thing under the Mobil 1 sign.
The wires meet at the brace where the hood strut is attached, it just runs underneath.
Then both wires come up next to the inner fender where the relay will be mounted (the high and low beam wires splice together and plug into the relay), the ground wires will continue along side the edge of the engine compartment to the negative battery terminal.
The relay also gets the original high/low beam wires and ground wire from the drivers side, the passenger side original wires are left disconnected. The power wires with inline fuses from the alternator plug into the relays.
This piece plugs in to the bulb, all the wiring is wrapped with tech flex,
Housing and Bulb
Wire is routed in the same place the original wire was... you can see the tech flex going around the housing.
Passenger side wiring is routed in the black plastic pouch thing under the Mobil 1 sign.
The wires meet at the brace where the hood strut is attached, it just runs underneath.
Then both wires come up next to the inner fender where the relay will be mounted (the high and low beam wires splice together and plug into the relay), the ground wires will continue along side the edge of the engine compartment to the negative battery terminal.
The relay also gets the original high/low beam wires and ground wire from the drivers side, the passenger side original wires are left disconnected. The power wires with inline fuses from the alternator plug into the relays.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Mar 10, 2009 at 12:11 PM.
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Cibie H4 Ecode headlamps, Osram Ultra High Efficiency 85/80W bulbs, 10 gauge wiring kit with fuses and relays. The bulbs are halogen and separate from the headlamp housing.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Mar 10, 2009 at 12:35 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
As I said I'll post pics of how the lights look after the upgrade but don't have any from before to compare. However I did find these pics from a guy with a Jeep. The before and after shots with stock vs. the same Cibie H4s and Osram 85/80W bulbs I have. His Jeep stock lighting looks alot better than my Vette, so the difference should be even greater.
Before
After
Before
After
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,634
Likes: 324
From: Greenville SC
Looks good. Let me know how those bulbs last. I went through 3 in about 18 months or less. Switched to the 130/90 Hellas recently to see if they would last longer, plus they are even brighter. This was a great upgrade for me, just wish I could get the brights and driving lights to work.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Looks good. Let me know how those bulbs last. I went through 3 in about 18 months or less. Switched to the 130/90 Hellas recently to see if they would last longer, plus they are even brighter. This was a great upgrade for me, just wish I could get the brights and driving lights to work.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Mar 11, 2009 at 09:25 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,634
Likes: 324
From: Greenville SC
Well i was getting tired of the expensive hard to find bulbs burning out in a short time. So I got the other kind, for less through Summit. We will see how long they last. 1 of the Osram actually had a large bubble in the glass when it failed! DS told me the same thing about the lighting pattern etc., but I cannot notice a difference except the 130 is brighter and I have 1 of each in now, so it is a good comparison.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 506
Likes: 12
From: Savannah GA
I did this upgrade about 5 years ago. Those lamps and high watt bulbs are at least as much as any HID system I've seen. The beam is pattern is excellent. The light is white not blue. The bulbs I've used 130/100w usually last over a year. Some of the newer bulbs have higher lumen output and draw less current, they might last longer.
If you read Daniel Sterns site the relay upgrade alone will improve your light since it will get rid of the voltage drop in the skinny factory wiring. I had over .5v drop in mine.
By the way put those bulbs in something without the wiring upgrade and you'll blow fuses and melt down the world. My 100w low beams draw 18amps total.
JS
If you read Daniel Sterns site the relay upgrade alone will improve your light since it will get rid of the voltage drop in the skinny factory wiring. I had over .5v drop in mine.
By the way put those bulbs in something without the wiring upgrade and you'll blow fuses and melt down the world. My 100w low beams draw 18amps total.
JS
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Just finished installing everything, the headlights work, both high and low beam work. It looks bright, but it's daylight so I won't be able to see the full effect until it gets dark, and I need to align them.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,280
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From: Jacksonville, FL
St. Jude Donor '08 thru '25
A Q if I may ask...
...sorry to barge in, but you guys seem to have this down pat!
It is possible to do just the wiring and relay upgrade with out changing the stock sealed beam head lights? I was thinking that I could do this in stages, wiring & relays first and then later do the work on the light assemblies for the swap to non-sealed beam lights later?
TIA
Tom
It is possible to do just the wiring and relay upgrade with out changing the stock sealed beam head lights? I was thinking that I could do this in stages, wiring & relays first and then later do the work on the light assemblies for the swap to non-sealed beam lights later?
TIA
Tom
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
...sorry to barge in, but you guys seem to have this down pat!
It is possible to do just the wiring and relay upgrade with out changing the stock sealed beam head lights? I was thinking that I could do this in stages, wiring & relays first and then later do the work on the light assemblies for the swap to non-sealed beam lights later?
TIA
Tom
It is possible to do just the wiring and relay upgrade with out changing the stock sealed beam head lights? I was thinking that I could do this in stages, wiring & relays first and then later do the work on the light assemblies for the swap to non-sealed beam lights later?
TIA
Tom
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Here are the pics of the finished installation... these are the fused power wires (disregard the big one, that's from my Big 3 upgrade and doesn't apply to the lighting upgrade).
Relay mounted...
Still need to cut off the tips of the screws so you don't poke yourself working around here.
Relay mounted...
Still need to cut off the tips of the screws so you don't poke yourself working around here.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Ok, there's a problem now the headlights will open/close fine when the car is not turned on, but when it's started the headlights take a long time to close and close erratically. I'm posting a new thread about the problem.