H4 wiring harness upgrade

[NightKids]

The kits which u mentioned seems quite expensive. Would there be any other kits from overseas that may be cheaper u rkn?

I'm looking to run osram 65w rallye bulbs, although with a relay would be considering te 80w version. My Civic is aus spec but it seems to have a plastic headlight casing and not a glass one so it may melt the inside?

[vinnY]

i'd be a bit weary running higher wattage bulbs in those plastic headlights

if you want cheap you have to make it yourself
like i said it's not complicated, just as long as you know someone that can solder and crimp wires

[NightKids]

Yeah i see what you mean. The Osram 65w should be ok cause it's only 10w more. But the 80w might melt some things, depends if i wanna go the safe side i guess...

[vinnY]

well stock bulbs are 55/60w anyway
wasn't aware they had an inbetween bulb
i've only seen 55/60w and the 100w rally bulbs

[dahondr98]

The kits which u mentioned seems quite expensive. Would there be any other kits from overseas that may be cheaper u rkn?

There are headlight wiring kits from overseas, mainly the USA, but after postage, I think they'd be a similar price, if not more. I checked out postage on one of the US rally light websites, and it was more than they wanted for the harness, putting the cost way over ANY of the Aussie harnesses, in Australian dollars! When you consider price, remember, based on my voltage testing (tertiary qualified in electrical engineering), and Hella's figures, the Aussie harnesses will double the brightness of any globes you have in your headlights, compared to the inadequate Honda wiring. That's TWICE as bright. And it's before you change any bulbs!

And as pointed out by Vinny, you can save plenty of money doing it yourself (making a wiring harness, that is).

I'm looking to run osram 65w rallye bulbs, although with a relay would be considering te 80w version. My Civic is aus spec but it seems to have a plastic headlight casing and not a glass one so it may melt the inside?

The 65W bulbs are OK for plastic headlights. 80W bulbs you may get away with, but personally, I wouldn't risk it (but then again, I'm a careful person!). 100W (and higher) is out of the question - it damages plastic lamps. If they are plastic and not glass, then don't risk higher than about 70W. Apparently Osram's 70/65W H4 rally bulbs work OK in plastic headlamps without damage, according to an overseas expert.

[02gzm]

You don't need to buy any expensive kits. All you need is the correctly rated normally open relays and wiring as previously stated.
In layman terms a relay is just a electronically controlled switch. You use your existing wiring to control the relay instead of the bulb. Then just run larger power wires to the relay, which are in turn connected to the higher watt bulb. So when you turn your headlights on you're actually turning the relay on. Once the relay has enabled the other circuit you get power to the bulbs.

[NightKids]

Alright cool thanks for the info guys. I've decided to go ahead & build my own. The thing is i'm a total n00b and wouldn't know what goes where and what to buy. I've tried to do some research online but there's nothing for EG Civics.

When u coming for holidays in MELB dahondr? I'll get you to build one and install it for me... lol

[SPO73D]

Hmm, a bit of a side note.

when running the relay kit you get with a Hi/low kit for H4's, Since there is only one connection to Positive battery(with grounding wires etc) , there seems to be a difference in intensity comparing the left and right lights.

Can we hook up a second relay kit and connect the other light to the positive battery outlet... Bit confusing, but basically instead of using 1 relay kit, use 2.

[vinnY]

you can make it complicated if you want, the different is probably negligible though

[NightKids]

2 relay kits equal more $$$ and would the difference be feasible?

[dahondr98]

When u coming for holidays in MELB dahondr? I'll get you to build one and install it for me... lol

Most auto-electricians should be able to help you - why not ask one for a quote? I won't be in Melbourne for a while, if at all! lol

If you DIY, here’s what you need.

2 x relay connectors (Hella or NAAuto part no. 4973, or Narva part no. 68084BL).

or

2 x relay sockets (Dick Smith cat no. P8036, or Jaycar cat no. SY4069)

2 x 40A 12V normally open diode-protected relays (Hella part no. 3053, 3055 or 3055BL, or Narva part no. 68032BL), or 2 x 12V 40A resistor protected relays (Narva part no. 68028BL or 68004BL).

Several metres of:
Red 6mm (10AWG) diameter wire
Black 6mm diameter wire
This is often sold as automotive 50A wire – it’s available on Ebay sold by the metre, as either 6mm wire, or 50A wire. Some auto sellers (eg Repco, Bursons, Autobarn, Supercheap) may have it, but many won’t. I’d say maybe 6 or 7m of red wire, and 3-5m of black.

OR

Several metres of:
Red 5mm (12AWG) wire (eg Dick Smith cat no. W2286, Jaycar cat no. WH3080)
Black 5mm wire (eg Dick Smith cat no. W2288, Jaycar cat no. WH3082).
Jaycar’s wire is more expensive than DSE’s, but is better quality, as it’s tin plated for use in marine environments. Most automotive places should also have 5mm wire, and will often label it as 25A or 30A wire. Because the 5mm wire is easier to crimp than the 6mm wire, I’d suggest using that between the headlights and relays, and 6mm wire from the relays to the battery.

Several (say 6) automotive crimp-on yellow 6mm ring terminals (eg Jaycar cat no. PT4714 or Altronics cat no. H2066A). You need one for the battery positive, and 2 for the headlight sockets to earth, and allow a few more in case of problems.

2 30A blade fuses

2 30A blade fuse holders (eg Dick Smith cat no. P7905, Jaycar cat no. SZ2045, Altronics cat no. S6036). You could also use the larger “Maxi Blade Fuse Holder” – they are sold on Ebay. One fuse is required for high beam, and one for low beam. Note that you don’t need to fuse the wires from the original headlight sockets that operate the relays – they will already be fused by the current headlight fuses. You DO need to fuse the heavy duty wiring from battery positive to the two relay switch terminals – if you don’t you could burn your car down, as 6mm wire will handle 30A, and it will get red hot, if it shorts to earth. You should have the fuses near to the battery positive terminal.

Convoluted split tubing (eg Jaycar 7mm x 2m loom tube cat HP1221 or 10mm x10m cat HP1225). All auto accessory stores, such as Autobarn, Bursons, Repco or Supercheap, should have convoluted tubing in a range of diameters – usually 7, 10, 13, 16 or 19mm, to cover the wiring.

An automotive crimping tool, for red, blue or yellow auto crimp terminals. The best ones are ratchet crimpers, which always produce a reliable crimp, but usually start at about $35. Many of the cheap ones don’t produce reliable crimps, so it pays to also solder any connectors after crimping.
The non-insulated crimp terminals, as used in the Hella and Narva relay connectors, can be crimped with pliers, but I usually also solder them if doing that, or use a dedicated non-insulated terminal crimper – available from Jaycar (cat TH1834) or Altronics (cat T1548).

Cable ties to secure the harness to other wiring (available at most hardware, electronic and auto stores – sometimes known as zip ties).

Black electrical tape (well, it could be any colour, really).

2 x H4 sockets. These are available on ebay.com.au (do a search on “H4 HEADLIGHT HIGH TEMP PLUG KIT” and you’ll find them – the same seller sells most auto electrical parts, including 5mm and 6mm wire by the metre. His Ebay store is known as AUTO ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS, and it’s in Qld). They are also available in NSW at http://www.naauto.biz/ , part no. H2783 (connector sealed beam).

You can follow the wiring instructions and circuit of the US car lighting expert Daniel Stern, available at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html , to put the loom together. He also supplies a chart showing how globe brightness in lumens falls off as voltage does. 80% headlight voltage equates to 44% headlight brightness. Wonder why your headlights are dim? Now you know! I was getting about 80% of full battery voltage across my headlights, when the car was brand new.

An excellent description of how to build a relay headlight wiring loom for a Holden Gemini is available at http://www.hotgemini.com/viewtopic.php?t=27106 - unfortunately his pics have disappeared, but the basics of how to do it are similar to the Civic. The same guide, with the pics, is at http://www.ozgemini.com/forums/tech/...pic.php?t=1524 , but you need to register and log in to see it (yes, I do need to fix a Gemini, so I've been doing some research!). A good photo of Piranha Offroad’s headlight “Superloom” is available at http://piranhaoffroad.com.au/index.p...uper-loom.html , to see what it should look like. You can expand their photos to get a closer look.

[NightKids]

Wow thanks for the info! I reckon you really should be in Melbourne, your like the relay expert...

I have found a pretty decent looking kit which i want to run past you as it may save me a lot of time and headache. If you approve this kit then I'll buy it straight away as I'm not a very technical person at all! This kit seems pretty simple to hook up so let me know what you think...

http://www.suvlights.com/product_inf...roducts_id=112