Flashing Headlights.... just read it.

[Mavericke]

well, it would depend on if you still wanted to use any power from the headlight switch or use all new lines and battery power direct. if all you wanted to do was just for the high beams, you could get away with one, maybe one each side for highs, being they only like around 30 amps for the big ones. im thinking about doing all the lights through relays, however ill also have two less lights, and most likely use HIDs since i sell them now H4 high/low kit, eurolite conversion housings, and concorde grille for one light each side.

Dude... wtf??? I have two concord grills and Ive been looking for "the rest" forever.... gah...

I would love to just run new wiring, but I wouldn't know how to hook them up in the switch.... wait a sec.. I could use the existing connector couldn't I? The only thing I'm worried about is the "hi/lo" switch.... if I use the same connector, and just run fresh new wires - then nothing should change with the switch in the steering column right?

Duh... it's like a light bulb just kicked on in my head, lol... I'm going to take some pictures to show you what I did, then Ill be abe to ask my questions easier but I think I've got it. As for the Relay.... could I just get a thick 8g wire like you'd use for an amp and then run it to a dist block? i can't imagine having 15 wires coming off for all these freaking relays... unless I popped them on the nuts on the solenoid... that should work right?

Sorry mostly thinking out loud. If you have any pictures that would help... that would be greatly appreciated.

I always thought the HID was something different.... I've upgraded several vehicles, but now that Im learning more... Im finding that i didnt upgrade crap and I probably set them up to have issues down the road. See, I had HID bulbs and projector lenses... and I trashed the bulbs thinking they were the problem, when really the old wiring just couldn't handle them. A couple relays and some fresh wiring and I'd have probably doubled the birhgtness of these bulbs and extended the life termendously.... it took a 30 year old car to teach me how to make the new cars work right.

Cant wait to fix Shelly's Jeep now.

[amcinstaller]

wow, lots to comprehend, lol. ok, from the top:

i have a mockup picture on my pathetic build thread, with the grille im talking about, its the two square headlight one. i got it from the pick and pull by EM, Mechanic and Whuntmore (and others)

yes, you can use the existing connector to fire your relay(s), and itll all work normal

i doubt you need somethin as huge as 8, even our HID kits use 12 at most. yes, the run is high power, but unlike an amp kit at 17 feet, this is more like 4. and you could add a wire to the solenoid and itd be fine. think of it as running a (cant believe im about to say this i hate these things) cap for you subs. you can use the cap as a distro, and itll be fine. i should get a pic of the one in my honda. two 4 awg running one to each batt, and two 8 awg, one to each amp, for a total of 4 wires on each post lol and im only using it because its a stinger, its chrome and it has lights and a voltage display, and i won it at a convention! (thats my story and im stickin to it, those things are bandaids)

thinkin out loud is fine, unless its with or about our lady friends, those thought are best left up there. ill draw a diagram tomorrow, its late here.

HIDs arent the devil alot of (no offense anyone) older purist guys make them out to be. yes, they are effin bright, yes they CAN be blue, but not always. and yes, they "should" for DOT be behind a projector. but if you aim them right, no blinfing oncoming traffic. but, the life of a real HID is actualler WAY longer than a standard halogen bulb. and if you get a 4300K kit, they are actually white, not blue. no need to pigeonhole ourselves into the OEM equipment just because it keeps the car "original"

[vangremlin]

Its really not too complicated.  Just think of it as interrupting the existing wires with the relays. Pretty simple.

[Mavericke]

sounds easy enough but whats your beef with using a cap? I run one and it made a world of difference. No more dimming or anything funky.

[amcinstaller]

i'd do it like this, but i like to complicate things apparently (somethin said at work, not here)


my big beef with caps is actually in their design and main goal. their main design and function is that they charge REALLY fast, and discharge equally fast, as needed. when you have huge power, around 1000 plus, your amp needs upwards of 100 amps to make that power. if you listen to somethin like slipknot or some others with double kick drums, and other quick tap tap tap bass, caps can be awesome. their output is quick and its gone. on the other hand, if you listen to say, eminem, busta rhymes, or some of the newer "rap" (nothing like old school if you ask me) with longer bass notes, the cap will discharge quickly like its made to, and then you have two draws on your battery/alternator: the amp, and now the cap too. and take it one step further, spl guys like me, i need all the power i can stuff into that amp. anything that can draw power away from the amp could be dangerous to my power supply in the amp.

same can actually be said for adding extra batteries. with two batteries you have no dimming for the first while, while both batteries are full charge, after they both get down to the point of dimming lights, now your poor alternator is charging two batteries AND running the stereo with that crazy bass head at the volume control.

that being said, im a culprit of all these things in my honda, but it does look pretty cool when you pop my trunk, even if the stereo does NOT warrant it at all thats all sitting on a false floor and the little strap in the middle at the bottom of the picture opens the middle panel where the amps sit and i can still get out the spare

[Mavericke]

Dude, thanks! That's going to help alot!

As for the cap, I listen to rock and I like it bassy... IE Slipknot, Rob Zombie and stuff like... I'm running some dinky Massive RW series 12's and a 1000W amp. Orion 3 way 5" door speakers, Orion 3x5 3 ways in the back. Volt booster between the deck and the amp. 50w cap and an Orion Cobalt (old school) 250w amp powering the interior speakers. I run nothing but hi's and some mids off of them and nothing but bass and low mids from the subs. It's a nice mixture. I'm running about 5v from the booster to the amp and it almost doubles the power. I can't stand these $500 decks out there with 1.2v that do nothing.

Anyways, back to the lights... I will try that asap. Thanks man!

[amcinstaller]

I can't stand these $500 decks out there with 1.2v that do nothing.

yea, theres a pheonix gold bass cube at my shop ive been eyeing for a while and nice choice of equipment. i used to sell new orion (made by directed electronics) still pretty good stuff

no problem on the lights, hope it works for ya

[Venosho]

i'd do it like this, but i like to complicate things apparently (somethin said at work, not here)



There is one thing to remember here with this diagram to note that not everyone here may have noticed this but with that setup you will have daytime running lights. if you do not want to have daytime running lights on your system you would need to run separately operated relays one for the low beams activated by the low beam power wire and then the one for the high beam activated by the high beam wire. Here is how I would wire it as to not have daytime running lights. The input wires from the light switch are the harness wires behind the head lights. Just cut and crimp on the new connector to plug onto the relay.

[thereverendbill]

side note, daytime running lights are cheaper on the insurance bill.  i have no clue how to prove it to the money hungry insurance company but if you can you should have cheaper rates

[Mavericke]

I can't stand these $500 decks out there with 1.2v that do nothing.

yea, theres a pheonix gold bass cube at my shop ive been eyeing for a while and nice choice of equipment. i used to sell new orion (made by directed electronics) still pretty good stuff

no problem on the lights, hope it works for ya

This EQ/Volt Booster is old school Orion... in fact, all the lettering has been rubbed off, but it's tough and I love it! I just can't find anything like it anywhere else.

I really dig the Orion stuff... those old cobalts were the toughest there is man, I can't believe they ever quit making them. The new Cobalts are decent from what I've heard, but I haven't had the chance to check them out. I did buy a 15" Xtreme sub made by the same company... it has a low RMS, like 400w or something like that, but it was perfect for the wifes Grandam and I was really impressed with the sound it put off.

The Massives, I have never been a huge fan off, but it was all that I could find locally at the time... I didn't want to order anything online and deal with shipping if I had any issues. But I have to say that the subs and amp are 5 years old now and they are still kicking total @ss for what they are. I mean, in a hatchback vehicle like my old Blazer and now the Wagon... they sound amazing.

Still... the next setup will be all of the new Orion stuff. I'm going to go one step above the street grade stuff which is (I think) the Cobalt XTR series... I've heard nothing but good things from them, so we'll see.

As for the headlights... I had relays and just noticed today when I started the project that they were 4-pull boxes... so I had to pick up the 5-pulls on my way into town. I will install them tomorrow and let you know.

Can you draw me up a diagram for a 4-poll for my foglights???

And Bill... I know what daytime running lights are, but what the heck are you talking about??? My Eagle doesnt have daytime running lights, lol

[amcinstaller]

sure, but im a procrastinator and you will have daytime running lights if you wire it the way i would. low beams would come on full power (normal lows) with ignition.

funny you should mention xtreme, im actually rockin a pair of 12s in my honda now, and i had another mounted (no, im NOT making this up) in my couch. also mounted a subwoofer panel amp on the back to run it. sounded awesome, great impact with not much sound required, not that that ever stopped me from turning it up. nice thing about those woofers is that they dont require a huge box. i also had four orion C2 10s in the wifes cavvy for a soundoff once, ill have to grab that picture after supper (im cookin right now)

[thereverendbill]

sorry gotta point this out cause i think it's kinda funny ..... I'm reply # 26 on a post that is titled read only  thank you I'll be here all week

[Mavericke]

First off...

sorry gotta point this out cause i think it's kinda funny ..... I'm reply # 26 on a post that is titled read only  thank you I'll be here all week

You ever play online video games where you can make your online character do certain things by typing out emotes? For example if you wanted your toon (or character) to smile, you would simply type -

/smile

And you can expand on this as well for a single smooth line of commands to make it seem more realistic... example 2 -

/smile; /wave; /beckon; /say Hey, come hang out with us!";

Your toon, would smile... then wave to whomever you targeted and then motion for them to come to you while speaking out loud, "Hey, come hang out with us!"

Techie dorks also use this type of lingo for chat rooms and "other" places that probably have an "R" rating. Now, I only explain all of this so that you can better understand what would happen if you and I were standing in the same room when you posted #26.

/blankstare; /beckon Bill; /slap Bill; /blankstare; /walkaway;

Just an FYI.
/lol;

sure, but im a procrastinator and you will have daytime running lights if you wire it the way i would. low beams would come on full power (normal lows) with ignition.

funny you should mention xtreme, im actually rockin a pair of 12s in my honda now, and i had another mounted (no, im NOT making this up) in my couch. also mounted a subwoofer panel amp on the back to run it. sounded awesome, great impact with not much sound required, not that that ever stopped me from turning it up. nice thing about those woofers is that they dont require a huge box. i also had four orion C2 10s in the wifes cavvy for a soundoff once, ill have to grab that picture after supper (im cookin right now)

I didn't catch the daytime running lights thing... hmm, not sure I want that. I'd still like to be able to shut them off. Now you've got me back to square one and I am totally lost again. /sigh;

A sub in a couch... oh the possibilities that I never thought of... /evilgrins;

[thereverendbill]

chas, funny you should say that ...... for the last 3 years i have been playing the online game World of Warcraft, I know it's a little underground and they don't advertise much

[Mavericke]

chas, funny you should say that ...... for the last 3 years i have been playing the online game World of Warcraft, I know it's a little underground and they don't advertise much

WoW is for boyscouts!

I'm still stuck on SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) and I beta tested Lord Of The Rings and Stargate Worlds.. both ok, but what I'm REALLY looking forward to is "Star Wars - The Old Republic" online... look it up, you will love it even if you're not a Star Wars fan...