Headlight relay power and mounting

[chasio]

I've fitted an aftermarket single H4 headlight on the Freewind to replace the OEM twin bulb unit.

Right now, the power for the light is taken from a switched and fused terminal block looped from the battery. This also feeds my GPS, some auxiliary LED's and power for the Stebel, when fitted.

Gut feel is that I should probably put in a fused supply dedicated to the headlight, so will do this if I have time. Make sense so far?

The headlight power from the terminal block (not yet additionally fused, maybe should be) passes through a SPST 4-pin relay switched by the old low beam wiring. This then pases to an SPDT 5-pin relay that switches the H4 from low beam to high beam, controlled by the old high beam wiring.

It works and was tested for a decent ride last weekend, a fair bit of which was in Riverhead Forest.

Right now the relays and terminal block are wrapped around with insulating tape and stuffed into the bucket behind the light unit. I have some concerns over heat, vibration and possibly water in there. (Although I may have other issues if water gets in...)

Questions:
- What would be a better way to wrap and secure the relays and block?
- Am I asking for trouble with this setup and if so, how; and what would you suggest?

Thanks.


PS
I converted the headlight from the factory unit (H7 low & HB3 high) to a single H4 Xanadu 7" round job with a nice big bucket (not bad for NZ$99 from atvparts). This was somewhat enforced by me breaking things, but also gives me a light that turns with the bars, which is handy for adventuring, as well as somewhere to place the wiring now I don't have any fairings.

Incidentally, I have also lost the momentary "pass" light function when the dipped beam is off, but that is not usually the case so I'm not too worried about that right now.

[clint640]

I recently did a similar project on the 640, put on a 7" headlight & tidied up the wiring a bit. I now have a mini blade waterproof inline 30A fuse back at the battery feeding a good size wire up to the dash where the speedo unit now sits on an alu plate behind 3 micro relays ganged together in mounting blocks like this one: http://www.hella.co.nz/3-498-796/product/Micro-Relay-Connector


(Beware that the micro relay blocks as supplied by hella have no terminals & the 2 small lanced female spade ones are like rocking horse shit to find - local auto sparky managed to track some down for me)

So one of these relays has been wired in to take the place of the original aux start relay, the next 2 are fed by my new feed from the batt, 1st is switched by the park light then exits through another waterproof inline mini 15A fuse to feed the hot grips, gps etc, the other one is for high beam through another inline fuse. Low beam uses it's original feed.

Also, dunno what the light unit you have is made of, but if it's glass Narva now do a polycarbonate 7" headlight insert which is much lighter & tougher, 'bout $90 though. I used one for my setup.

Cheers
Clint

Disregard attachment below, it was a pic that doesn't work

[caseye]

Mate, go to Jaycar and get a tube of liquid insulation tape. follow instructions and use liberally, it sealed two holes in my carb diaphragms and is still holding hands.
Great stuff. Otherwise, yes you should run a dedicated power feed from the battery to the headlight, relay between the switch blocks and the light, not in the main feed wire.
Good luck with it mate, know what it's like chasing gremlins in wiring.
But boy is it worth it when you throw the switch and NZ lights up in front of you in full daylight 3 D.

[chasio]

I recently did a similar project on the 640, put on a 7" headlight & tidied up the wiring a bit. I now have a mini blade waterproof inline 30A fuse back at the battery feeding a good size wire up to the dash where the speedo unit now sits on an alu plate behind 3 micro relays ganged together in mounting blocks like this one: http://www.hella.co.nz/3-498-796/product/Micro-Relay-Connector


(Beware that the micro relay blocks as supplied by hella have no terminals & the 2 small lanced female spade ones are like rocking horse shit to find - local auto sparky managed to track some down for me)

So one of these relays has been wired in to take the place of the original aux start relay, the next 2 are fed by my new feed from the batt, 1st is switched by the park light then exits through another waterproof inline mini 15A fuse to feed the hot grips, gps etc, the other one is for high beam through another inline fuse. Low beam uses it's original feed.

Also, dunno what the light unit you have is made of, but if it's glass Narva now do a polycarbonate 7" headlight insert which is much lighter & tougher, 'bout $90 though. I used one for my setup.

Cheers
Clint


Thanks for the ideas. Those Hella micro relays look bloody good, barring connector issues. I'm making do with some of the standard big buggers and it's a struggle to get it all in.

The Xanadu light has a glass fronted insert, which I am treating as "free" with the rim and bucket at the price I paid for the unit. I have put a layer of the Altrex Skinz on it (that clear 4mm thick stuff) to try and preserve it or at least to keep it all together if I do manage to munt it.

The unit you're talking about is the 1058HD, I think, and I may well upgrade to that. How do you find the light throw?

I've whacked a Philips +60% bulb in (from Powerbulbs.com: cheap and with free 4 day delivery!) but cannot road-test the new bulb until I get my pegs back from Tjebbie :(


Mate, go to Jaycar and get a tube of liquid insulation tape. follow instructions and use liberally, it sealed two holes in my carb diaphragms and is still holding hands.
Great stuff. Otherwise, yes you should run a dedicated power feed from the battery to the headlight, relay between the switch blocks and the light, not in the main feed wire.
Good luck with it mate, know what it's like chasing gremlins in wiring.
But boy is it worth it when you throw the switch and NZ lights up in front of you in full daylight 3 D.

Thanks. I toddled off to Jaycar today and by the time I got home I had a tube of that liquid tape and some self-fusing silicon tape (rescue tape).

I've ditched most of the terminal block through better planning and any left is bogged with red plasticky goop! Weird stuff, eh?

For now 30A fused feed I just forked the within the bucket to (a) the headlight relays and (b) the auxiliaries via a 5A inline fuse. The hope is that if any of my auxiliaries have an issue, the 5A fuse will take one for the team before the headlight is affected.

I wrapped the rescue tape around the relays and the wiring going into them to stop them rattling, keep it all together and to provide some water resistance as well, while still being able to disassemble if I need to. I'd have needed a small pail of liquid tape for that job!!

[clint640]

The unit you're talking about is the 1058HD, I think, and I may well upgrade to that. How do you find the light throw?


Nope, Narva 72000: http://www.ozautoelectrics.com/automotive-lighting/headlights/sealed-beam-headlights/h4-headlamp-free-form-178mm-lamp-only-globe-not-included.html

Light throw is pretty good, it's a certainly a better beam than the old glass 7" semi-sealed beam unit that I had in the shed & compared it too (same bulb) & is massively better than the little old original light on the 640, again using the same H4 bulb. Probably should try a +whatever bulb but the local prices seem a bit ridiculous.

The good thing about the std 7" fitting is there is a huge range of inserts, LED, HID etc Might try an LED one when they get cheap enough. It's also nice to know that most any auto parts shop anywhere in the world will have a replacement that will fit in the event of breakage.

Cheers
Clint

[chasio]

Sorry - brain fade: Narva not Hella. It looks very good, does that.

Had a good shake-down ride yesterday with lots of rougher stuff and a few wee lie-downs. Tested the light last night and found that as I increased revs, the light output flickered and decreased. I assume I have a loose connection somewhere. The tail light is not affected, so must be my wiring :spanking:

Edit: that was easy. One of the straps for the soft panniers had dislodged the connector off the relay under the seat. Cleaned up, repositioned and covered with liquid electrical tape now. That should do it.