V8ster

Hey guys i finally managed to get my european headlamps installed into my V8 with some 100/130 watt h4's and some 100 h3's. And oh my GOD! These things are whiter and brighter than michael jackson's mugshot. I can honestly say that it was worth all the time and the effort. Not to mention the three hundred something dollars for the lamps, but once again it was worth every minute and penny. Now those little buggers who cut me off in the left hand lane to go slower have a little suprise waiting for them BWA HA HA HA HA! Oh time for my medication! ta ta!

icon73

I hope you used an upgraded wiring harness with relays or you'll fry your lights wiring harness in a week.

SteveAngry

Even with relays I had problems with the 100 watt bulbs melting the connectors on my euro's...

I finally got sick of it and went with a lower wattage bulb...

Nice lighting while it lasted :P

Steve
Michigan

RussB

For some reason, it's difficult to find heavy duty headlamp sockets that can carry the high currents that are drawn by high wattage bulbs. The guy at the URL below sells the best that I've seen: they're the only ones that I've seen that accept wire as large as 10 AWG. The socket body is made of ceramic (to resist heat, I guess). I think that they're made by Hella. I used 'em when I upgraded my car's headlight circuit with relays and 10 AWG wiring.<ul><li><a href="http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/relays/relays.html">http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/relays/relays.html</a</li></ul>

zsolt1

I have 4 20Amp wheather proof Hella relays right at front and heavy guage wiring.
Zsolt

SteveAngry

with a a Blau harness/relay kit on my H4's.

Every other month I had to replace the harness connector to the bulbs because they melted.

So, I know I installed the harness correctly.

I wonder if it was crap product?

Since putting in 65/55 bulbs and selling the car to my brother there have been no problems.

Steve
Michigan

SteveAngry

Nice, I'll have to check those out.

shortyq

I sure wouldn't install any light relay in the engine compartment. On euro light installs I always put the relay inside the car, out of the elements. I've replaced wiring/relays in the engine compartment more times than I can count. Inside the car, rarely. 10awg wire *to* the relay feed is good, but 12 is fine for relay to lights.

Another mod I make to quite a few 5ktq/200/v8/urq aero (H4/H3) is to use 55/65 H4, then use the city light tab to run the inner high beams (I use 100w inner highs) on a separate circuit to an extra fog light switch on the dash.

This allows you to run a "lower candlepower" highbeam (inners 'off') in rain/fog/snow, and add the high wattage innner highs when weather is clear.

Also, be careful running hi wattage H4/H3 in unison, the heat created from that can crack lenses, and really requires a minimum of better rear cover venting.

HTH

Scott Justusson
QSHIPQ Performance Tuning

shortyq

What did you do about the kostal connector to the lights, did your euros come with it? I have a set of euros for my v8, but haven't installed them yet (no connectors included). Also, did yours come with the cockpit height adjusters, did you hook them up?

Scott Justusson
'91 v8 mit euros2B

RussB

I use marine Type 3 stranded wire for important car wiring upgrades. It often allows me to use larger gauge wire in jobs such as headlight wiring because it's easier to work with. Normal automotive grade stranded wire is pretty crude stuff and difficult to bend when compared to marine Type 3 stranded wire. Marine Type 3 stranded wire, for a given AWG size, consists of finer strands (each individually tinned) and more of them, resulting in a more flexible wire. It's also easy to solder. Off hand, I'd guess that 10 AWG has twice as many strands as automotive wire. Another advantage is that it withstands vibration better.

The stuff that I use is spec'd for oil resistance and high temperature environments. I guess that it's used in engine compartments and bilges. I buy marine grade wire locally from marine electrical shops. Boat Owners Warehouse has a good selection of wire and terminals, and Wards Marine Electric has an even larger selection. Though their websites don't illustrate it, both vendors sell wire per foot. I guess that cost per foot is about twice that of automotive grade.

Vendors:
http://www.wardsmarine.com/contact/contact.html
http://www.boatownerswarehouse.com

Distributor:
http://www.ancorproducts.com/Products/products_list/wire_cable/wire_cable_home.html

HTH,
Russ Bellew

Another opinion:<ul><li><a href="http://www.mahonkin.com/~milktree/headlight-relay-harness/marine.html">http://www.mahonkin.com/~milktree/headlight-relay-harness/marine.html</a</li></ul>