Mutt's an 89 with the same quad setup.. I'm probably just gonna throw some silverstars and do the relays in it... the K5 had a beefed relay setup and the LMC conversion kits and they worked killer....
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
headlight brightness upgrade question
- Thread starter wazzabie
- Start date
I'm aware of what they are and how they work. I put one my ZRX. I love it in there! I think it made a dramatic improvement in looks and it, combined with an Osram 70/65W bulb; it lights up the night like the Eye of God.
New hotness...
Old busted...
It's big money to buy the h4 housings in the 150mm size the horizontal quad light trucks have. LMC gets $35 a piece for them, one other place I found gets $100 a pair for them. I'd like to keep this a $50-60 project. Ant quality issues with the LMC relay harness? They are only $30, and for thirty bucks I may just save my self the trouble of building the harness.
I know this isn't what you're talking about, but FYI, here's what I went with. Two sets of course.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/165mm-H4656...Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d00454da2&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/165mm-H4656...Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d00454da2&vxp=mtr
Anyone try these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x6-HALOGEN...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35c83a8133&vxp=mtr
Any reason they shouldn't work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x6-HALOGEN...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35c83a8133&vxp=mtr
Any reason they shouldn't work?
rampage
3/4 ton status
The application chart says it'll fit your 89 Blazer.
It's funny because I now have a '91 which is the same and the chart says it doesn't fit.
Like that the lenses are glass, but a bit concerned about the wattage, especially since the stock stuff is considered under-performing, and those look to exceed the wattage of the stock bulbs, particularly the lows at 55W.
Don't know new vehicles well, but 55/60 low/high seems awfully close, and perhaps awfully bright for oncoming drivers even on low.
Of course, the relay kit says this "THE STOCK HEADLIGHT SWITCH CANNOT HANDLE THE NECESSARY POWER NEEDED TO LIGHT THE HALOGEN BULBS SO THE HEADLIGHTS WILL EVENTUALLY OVERLOAD THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND END UP MAKING THE LIGHTS DIM, FLICKER, OR TURN OFF. THIS HARNESS BYPASSES THE POWER DRAW FROM THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND PULLS THE POWER DIRECTLY FROM THE CARS BATTERY, BUT STILL USES THE STOCK HEADLIGHT SWITCH TO ACTIVATE THE RELAYS TO TURN THE HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF. THE CERAMIC PLUGS WONT MELT LIKE STANDARD PLASTIC PLUGS WILL FROM THE HIGHER HEAT THAT HALOGEN BULBS PUT OUT."
That about doubles the price, and adds more work. Still, around $100 complete. Unless I read the headlight ad wrong, it seems to me that they are a bit misleading. It says the stock wiring will plug right up to the halogen bulbs, yet the relay ad says the headlight switch will fail, and the stock plugs will melt.
Don't know new vehicles well, but 55/60 low/high seems awfully close, and perhaps awfully bright for oncoming drivers even on low.
Of course, the relay kit says this "THE STOCK HEADLIGHT SWITCH CANNOT HANDLE THE NECESSARY POWER NEEDED TO LIGHT THE HALOGEN BULBS SO THE HEADLIGHTS WILL EVENTUALLY OVERLOAD THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND END UP MAKING THE LIGHTS DIM, FLICKER, OR TURN OFF. THIS HARNESS BYPASSES THE POWER DRAW FROM THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND PULLS THE POWER DIRECTLY FROM THE CARS BATTERY, BUT STILL USES THE STOCK HEADLIGHT SWITCH TO ACTIVATE THE RELAYS TO TURN THE HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF. THE CERAMIC PLUGS WONT MELT LIKE STANDARD PLASTIC PLUGS WILL FROM THE HIGHER HEAT THAT HALOGEN BULBS PUT OUT."
That about doubles the price, and adds more work. Still, around $100 complete. Unless I read the headlight ad wrong, it seems to me that they are a bit misleading. It says the stock wiring will plug right up to the halogen bulbs, yet the relay ad says the headlight switch will fail, and the stock plugs will melt.
I put in a relay kit from eBay for my headlamps. I would not recommend anyone buy a relay kit they cannot hold in their hand and look over. All the ones on ebay are the same chinese ****. the wires look like 12 guage wire, but it's all just insulation. The actual wire inside is closer to 16 gauge. The ceramic plugs looked nice, but I had to chop them off and put on the correct connectors for my small horizontal headlamps.
Here is what I bought. Don't buy this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/310887755695?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Here is what I bought. Don't buy this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/310887755695?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Thanks for the warning. Funny, piece to avoid you said is the one being sold by the headlight upgrade people, yet what you linked is almost half the price. Of course, if it's garbage at half the price, it's still garbage.
This is the relay kit i installed on my blazer many years ago. The nice thing about it is when you turn the high beams on now the low beams don't turn off like they would from the factory so now you have ALL 4 headlight shining bright. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-30802
Those ebay housings look interesting, the newer bulbs do seem to be much better in terms of brightness (but only when the plastic housings aren't clouded from UV!), as long as you used GOOD wiring with them, I would think they might work well.
Then again, at least on my car, the bulbs are almost water-tight due to the seals used, and as much water gets thrown around under the hood on these trucks, I'd probably want to see what the back of those housings looks like first. I'm assuming that water on the bulb would lead to instant failure? I know oil from skin will cause them to fail, guessing water would be bad when they were hot.
When modifying the existing wiring setup with relays, etc., any reason you didn't set them up to use the same bulbs on the bottom? 4 lows, 4 highs? That is my intent unless something changes my mind before I get around to it.
Then again, at least on my car, the bulbs are almost water-tight due to the seals used, and as much water gets thrown around under the hood on these trucks, I'd probably want to see what the back of those housings looks like first. I'm assuming that water on the bulb would lead to instant failure? I know oil from skin will cause them to fail, guessing water would be bad when they were hot.
When modifying the existing wiring setup with relays, etc., any reason you didn't set them up to use the same bulbs on the bottom? 4 lows, 4 highs? That is my intent unless something changes my mind before I get around to it.
Not sure if this was directed at me or not. On an 89 blazer there are 4 head lights and they are side by side style not top and bottom style. There is a low beam and a high beam light, when you turn the high beam lights on the low beam lights turn off. The relay kit I bought allows ALL 4 lights to be on at the same time when you hit the high beams.
I wired mine up with all 4 the same, and they are all on all the time, either all high or all low. So far so good, and way better than stock. Four headlights and two electric fans is rough on the charging system at idle though.
Yeah, was directed at you, but I think I was confusing myself.
At least on the earlier 4 light setups, best I can tell (now seeing spots from looking) the low beams are just two of the lights, the top ones. When high beams are on, all 4 are on high.
In that case, the only "improvement" would add 2 more lights on a low setting, high would be unaffected.
So the later ones like yours are just 2 high, 2 low, that's it?
At least on the earlier 4 light setups, best I can tell (now seeing spots from looking) the low beams are just two of the lights, the top ones. When high beams are on, all 4 are on high.
In that case, the only "improvement" would add 2 more lights on a low setting, high would be unaffected.
So the later ones like yours are just 2 high, 2 low, that's it?
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
2 low, 2 high, unless relayed and wired to run all 4, Which I also did on my '89.. Unless like our '05 Avalanche, if you hold back the high beam lever, all 4 stay on while holding it back, otherwise they also work the same way with cutting off the lows and running highs only.
Of course the newer vehicles have that newer switch with the momentary, flash setting.
Of course the newer vehicles have that newer switch with the momentary, flash setting.
Last edited:
It would be a lot more work to retrofit larger wire into the factory harnesses. First of all, you would need to do something to get stiffer power at the fuse block - like bigger wire. The up-side is that this would be a good general mod and help lots of stuff work better. Then you would have to rewire to the column and a couple of underhood harnesses. You would spend a lot of time tearing stuff apart. Assuming you could get new terminals for all the connectors that take larger wire (and that's not a safe assumption), some of the connectors cavities may be too small for the larger crimps and insulation.
The alternate method would be to strip some insulation an inch or two back from each connector and solder some wire in parallel to the existing wire. This would reduce voltage drop in the wiring, but would not affect the drop in each connector and the switch. Plus, again this could take lots of time gaining access to each connector and re-bundling the wires.
Adding relays is a relatively quick project if you buy the pre-made harness. Even building it all from scratch correctly would just take a few hours. And it basically maximizes the results.
You could also get more voltage to your lights by increasing voltage all over. You just add a diode in the alt sense line and get 0.6V more everywhere. Could be worse on your battery and all bulbs will have a slightly shorter life.
