Dave T-S

SS
Nice tidy installation. Worth noting that if you have a new shape car, particularly if it has Morettes, or an STi7, there is nowhere near enough room to fit relays where you have.

If using a single relay, there is a handily placed lug as per photo below can be used.




PS - I would advise against placing bits on top of the battery - sooner or later they end up on top of the undertray and you end up cursing yourself

[Edited by Dave T-S - 11/7/2002 9:19:39 AM]

SilverSmith

I know what you mean about the battery top, soooo tempting though ! At least it doesnt bend the intercooler fins

Edited to say that's scuppered my plan of moving the loom and lights to my STI7/8/9 when i sell the car

[Edited by SilverSmith - 11/7/2002 6:09:53 PM]

SilverSmith

I recently bought a pair of second-hand Cibie Oscar SC driving lamps; the kit did not come with a loom so I needed to make one. The object of the exercise was to build a loom and relay installation that would not require any holes to be drilled in the bodywork, would position the relays in the best position to avoid long cable runs, would not compromise the existing wiring and could be removed and the original lights reinstalled without further modification. Incidentally you can get replacement lenses for the Oscar SC’s from Classic and Rally Spares for around £30 each (see http://www.cars.u-net.com/cibie.htm) which is not too bad if you damage one.

The first problem was to find a suitable location for the relays in a pretty crowded engine bay. I identified a location in the engine bay between the battery and headlight which could utilise the existing horn bolt hole with a custom made bracket to mount the relays.



The bracket is shown below, the top three holes are for mounting the relays and fuse holder, the middle two holes are for securing the loom emerging from the relays with cable ties, the bottom two holes are for mounting and clearing the existing cable clip above the bolt hole.



The picture below shows the bracket during a trial fix.



The loom was built up using components readily available from Vehicle Wiring Products (see http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk) this included relay housings for mounting the relays, splash proof fuse holder and mounting, 30 Amp 5 blade relay for switching the driving lamps (a five blade relay has two output blades so each lamp can have a separate feed from the relay) and a 20 Amp trigger relay for triggering the main relay when the headlight main beam is on and the fog light switch is in the on position, note this is a personal preference so I can choose to have the driving lamps on or off with the main beam. If you did not want the ability to override the driving lamps with the fog light switch this second relay can be omitted. The wires were covered in heat shrink sleaving to provide protection and to neaten up the installation. The pictures below show the mounting bracket and the built up loom ready for installation.





A schematic showing the relay connections and pin layout is shown below.



Trigger relay (20 Amp 4 blade type)
-------------
Terminal 85 (trigger) to headlamp main beam (see notes below for connection details)
Terminal 86 (trigger earth) to earth mounting on bracket bolt
Terminal 30 (switched input) to existing fog lamp socket (see notes below for connection details)
Terminal 87 (switched output) to terminal 85 of main relay

Main relay (30 Amp 5 blade twin make and break type)
----------
Terminal 85 (trigger) to terminal 87 of trigger relay
Terminal 86 (trigger earth) to earth mounting on bracket bolt
Terminal 30 (switched input) to splash proof fuse holder output
Terminal 87 (switched output) to right driving lamp
Terminal 87 (switched output) to left driving lamp

The relay bracket is mounted by removing the existing horn bracket mounting bolt and refitting through the relay bracket mounting hole as shown below.



Some more detail on the wiring connections. The connection to the existing fog light wiring is done by putting a 2.8mm spade connection on the end of the wire which pushed into the existing nearside fog light socket on the vehicle wiring loom.



The connector is then wrapped in self-amalgamating tape to keep out any water and protect the connection. The unused offside fog light socket is also wrapped in the tape to protect it from the elements. The original lights can always be installed if you want to remove the driving lights.



The connection to the headlamp main beam wire can be made with a Scotchlok type connector or as I did by taking the existing plug apart, soldering on a wire to the back of the main beam connector then putting the connector back together. Getting the rubber boot of is a bit fiddly but it can be done. Clip the wire to the existing loom behind the bumper using cable ties as shown below.

]

Run an earth wire back from the driving lamp connector to the battery negative terminal to ensure a good earth connection. The finished installation looks like this.



The power wires (battery to fuse, fuse to relay, relay to lights, lights to earth) are 2.5mm2 wire rated at a continuous 21.8amp, this will ensure you can use 130 watt bulbs, which consume 10.8amp each, the trigger wires (main beam trigger, fog lamp trigger, relay trigger earths) carry very little current so can be 1mm2 wire rated at 8.75 amp.

I hope you find this useful, I have no connection with any of the supplier mentioned and the information here is provided in good faith for information purposes.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

This is top stuff mate. I can see people posting links to this thread in the future for others to see. Well done.
BTW;( To be said in a Blackadder type voice),
You utter barstard! Now I'll have to go and redo all mine PROPERLY!
: Alcazar

SilverSmith

Thanks Alcazar
If I have inspired you to sort yours out my life has not been wasted (well not in that way )

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Mutter.......mumble......."Now, where's the sodding Wiring Products catalogue got put? Might as well do the earthing thingy while I'm at it. Fekkin Scoobynet! Fekkin Silversmith!.......Moan........muttter......grumbl e
Alcazar :

SilverSmith

he he he
At least it give you the excuse to do the earthing mod - interested to see if the effect is real or a placebo

Sbradley

S'funny - Alcazar just beat me to it. I'll be going out and getting all the bits to do my wiring better now as well...

Top job, though, and thanks for the very useful post

S(imon)B

Big Goon

Very nice work indeed , but watch out for water ingress in those relay positions, my nearside relay was water-logged within a few days of fitting them.

Got them both sealed up with sealant now and then wrapped up in those clear press fit bag things.

Chelspeed

I had relays behind the spot lights (in the old fog light holes). Within a few winter days both relays got waterlogged and failed. As this was a temporary bodge I didn't want to move them to somewhere less vulnerable. I checked the problem and it wasn't corrosion of the terminals or anything like that, water had actually got inside the relay and corroded the inside. Vehicle Wiring products do a "moisture sealed relay" for a few quid more than normal relays. This solved it completely and I'm ashamed to say that 18 months later the relays are still down behind the spots.

Dave T-S

BG
It may not show from the camera angle, but my relay is behind the slam panel and protected by it.

Never had a relay problem in that position with five Imprezas over two and a bit years