Thought I'd post this on this board to get some feedback from those of you who might have some knowledge on electrical stuff and wiring:

OK, I got my relay today, and will install tomorrow. I looked at your instructions, and also the instructions on the Eckler's site regarding installing the relay. I would like some clarification, though:

1) Both yours and Eckler's instructions mention tapping into either the left or right harness that goes to the left or right lights. Does that mean that you do NOT have to tap into BOTH sides, and that the lights for both sides are on the same circuit? I always thought the circuits were separate.

2) I noticed that the light green and the tan wires in the harness between the fuse block and the connector near the lights have a black stripe. Are those the wires I should tap into?

3) I also noticed that those wires are very small. They look like they're only 16 or 18 gauge. While I will run a 12 guage power wire to the relay, as you instructed, is it ok for me to use only 16 or 18 gauge to the green and tan and black wires?

4) I'm also going to put an in-line fuse between the relay and the power tap at the fusebox. Since the relay is 30 amps, should I use a 30 amp fuse? 30 amps seems kind of high considering that the headlight wires are so small. I would think there's a lot less current going down those wires and a 30 amp fuse seems like it might not provide the appropriate protection.

Sorry for all the questions.

 

1) Both harnesses are connected together, so you only need to do one side. I chose the passenger side because it is closer to the fuse box.

2) Use the side of the harness closest to the headlight. You will see three wires under one black tube. These are for the lights. The two wires are for the headlight motor. See pics.

http://members.***.net/kcrocker/relay1.jpg
http://members.***.net/kcrocker/relay2.jpg

3) I used #16. That is about the same size as the factory wiring. I only used a #12 for the power feed since that is what I had on hand.

4) The relay contacts will handle 30 amps. The total draw for both lights will be 130 watts, or about 10 amps. I would use a 15 just to be sure.

 

You might want to put a current limiting diode in the circuit somewhere. I have a circuit close to this in my hid kits.
The problem with the corvette system is nothing goes to absolute 0v and if it does the computer wants it that way.
So a current limiting diode will prevent feedback thru the system.
I could build a harness so you wouldn't have to splice anything.
I have been thinking about putting it on our site and make it available for purchase.

 

Makes sense to me.

Thanks for the pics. That helps alot!

Ahhhhh, I see. I thought it was a safety issue.
Wouldn't that be double that wattage since all 4 lights will be on, or does the relay only draw from the highs, and simply trigger the lows to come on with no additional draw?

 

I bet if you had a reasonably priced kit with a harness, it would sell. The stuff Nitro Junkie pointed me to on Eckler's site was too expensive. Must be the corvette tax, or something because even paying Radio Shack's retail prices is much less expensive.

For example:

1 Relay $6.29
1 In-line Fuse box $2.59
1 Fuse $.50
6 Blade Connectors $1.13
3 splice connectors $1.20
10ft. of 14 gauge wire $1.50

That totals $13.21. The Eckler's kit is $47.99! That's nearly 391% of what it would cost in RETAIL parts!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but buying the individual parts that make up almost any kit usually costs MORE, not LESS than a kit.

And, that's not even considering how much those parts are wholesale. Let's say those parts really cost $7. Throw in the convenience factor and a kit should really cost no more than $21 retail, don't you think? OK, now let's add your stuff. Now the kit should be, what, $25 - $27? And that's with your harness and diode. C5 owners that don't want to go HID or Euro would be all over that.

If you want, you could even add some PIAA 9005s for the highs and modified PIAA 9005s for the lows (or the Japan 9006 version which is almost as bright as the US 9005s, but fit in the 9006 slot without modification), and you have an all-in-one plug 'n' play kit. Sell that for $110 -$120 and you have a winner for C5 (and more) owners who prefer not to modify their lighting with HIDs or Euros.

Wait, I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. I'll put all the stuff in within the next few days and report back as to whether these combined mods are worth it. From what I've seen on the reports of the individual mods alone, I'm expecting quite an improvement.

I better include a Non-disclosure Agreement with my report, just in case... and maybe we'll become venture partners.

 

The right and left side have separate fuses.There are in essence not the same circuit even though they are tied together for motor operation .The safer route would be to use two relays one for each side to Keep the circuit integrity.
If you are going to put better bulbs in do it right consider the HIR1 Bulbs
A harness adapter could be made to make it fit in the plug for the low beam slot.
Also you could do a few other things to make swap easy.
I am Also working on a non relay system for what you are doing.
I have to put some more math down and make sure in event of short the system will act as designed from gm. I have a test harness built and will try and test it next week.

Stock Corvette C5 low beam bulb: 9006. Produces 1000 lumens.
Stock Corvette C5 high beam bulb: 9005. Produces 1700 lumens.
New bulb: HIR1 9011. Produces 2500 lumens.

 

Interestingly, all the 4 -bulbs-on-with-high-beam kits kits I've seen, including the Eckler's, Painless Wiring, etc., only include 1 relay, and are all installed the same way Nitro Junkie and others have done. Even the kits made for trucks have only one relay. I would think there would be a kit out there with two relays by now, if was a problem.

Not saying that you are wrong, just sharing.

(Ok, so now you have a deluxe kit you can sell for $135! )

 

see edited post above
Just because they sell it that way doesn't mean it is right.
I might be wrong but the corvette lighting circuit is a 4 fuse system 2 per side .Ill look up prints tomorrow,

 

In you pricing you have to think of this
Weather pack connectors $5 each with pins. 4 needed
Seals another 2.00
Then the time involved to produce it and test.
Diode maybe $0.20
Then you have to hope you do not get sued

 

Wait, I thought I saw a post on the 9011s, but they would NOT fit. If they did, I would've looked for those.
I saw that in another post, too, but I just didn't want to wait any more. I don't drive alot at night, but when I do I wish I had slightly better lighting.
And what do you mean:
Just like many others on this forum, I figured I'd try what I'm trying first. If it serves MY purpose, great. If it doesn't, and I determine the extra expense is worth it, maybe I'll end up with your HIDs down the road (no pun intended), too.

 

True. Since this is your area of expertise, I leave that call to you.
ok, thanks for the info.

 

I thought I read that somewhere, too. If the PIAA 9005s put out at least that much (no info can be found anywhere on PIAA's lumens, but from what I've read and heard from other, it's at least "brighter" to a certain extent), then that would be a 70% increase on my lows, which should help, because I've always wished my lows were as bright as my highs. I've also always said I the lights were whiter, so even if the PIAAs are only as good as OEM, I think the 9005s in the 9006s slots should do me. (I bet you've heard that statement 1,000,000 times or two, in your line of business, huh?)

Incidentally, ever since I owned a C4, I've always wished that the lows would stay on when the highs were on, thus my wanting to do the relay mod.

 

I like how you think. It's no wonder that the other members that have purchased your HIDs are full of praise. And, your statement pertaining to doing things right, or not at all, should've been GM's mission statement. Maybe, just maybe, they would've had more success in the long run so that their pensions problems, and the like, wouldn't be driving them toward BK. (On an aside, it's interesting how their stock actually went up $1.11 today. Maybe they're rev'ing their headlight packages, or something.)

 

I'm working on something for the 9011 you would have to remove the headlight housing once to change something. Then anything will go into the slot later and Lock in.The adapter harness I have will already accept the high beam bulb without modification and is completely reversible.

 

Experimenting is what make things work or not work most people would even think of trying.
I have a plan but I want to make sure it is right before it is released to public. I am not willing to risk everything on something that was not thought thru completely.

 

The two lights (left and right) are tied together somewhere internally, because you only have to power one or the other for both to light.

 

I stated that earlier but each side and beam is fused by itself.
The common is the headlight module and the relay.

Fuse #8 Low beam right
Fuse #9 High bean right
Fuse #10 Low beam left
Fuse #12 High beam left

So in essence you actually have 4 individual circuits.
Sp no matter what you do with a single relay system. You are still straining the electrical circuit and defeating the safety feature of the electrical circuit.

 

I call Since we are adding a new power feed through the relay, the factory fuses are bypassed and have no function in the circuit.

BTW - I am an electrical engineer.

 

OK, I did both, the 4 high-beam mod, and the 4 bulbs on with highs using the relay. Everything went well, except one of the PIAA 9005s was DOA. I modded my stock 9005, and have it in place for the time being until I can get with the vendor on the issue.

I mounted the relay in the battery compartment next to my Home Depot catch-can, instead of on the fender well. I also grounded to an existing frame ground for good measure. I installed an in-line 20 amp fuse, because I thought that since the lights were on 10 amps (did not know about 4 fuses), I was doubling the draw. Someone let me know if I need a lower amp fuse. ! have 15s around, so I can substiitute one of those instead.

I used 14 gauge for power an ground, and 18 gauge on the tap into the harness. I was going to use 14 all around, but found the factory wires were smaller. In the end, I noticed that the factory wires were really 20 gauge. That's so weird, because although the harness is 20 gauge, the wires to the plugs at the bulbs are 12 gauge. I guess GM figured that there would be more stress on the bulb connector wires, since they're moving around when the lights go up and down, and are moved when bulbs are changed.

It's still light out here on the West Coast, so I cannot report the results, yet. However, even with the one stock high beam bulb in place, even in full daylight the lights look whiter. No hint of blue shows at all, not even when the lights are up, but not on. So far, so good.

Now, if only I could find duplicate male and female connectors for my hood light, I can wire in a manual switch, instead of leaving the harness disconnected all the time, because I hate connecting and disconnecting the harness. I ususally just leave it disconnected all the time, since I'm undere the hoos so often. But, that's another story.

 

<<<<<<<---Is a electrical engineer
Think about it You are powering Both sides with one sides circuit.
The only reason the other side is powered is because you are pushing electricity backwards thru the circuit to the other side.