

| Subject: | Re: Birthdays and Busses |
| From: | Larry Alofs |
| Date: | Wed, 4 Jul 2018 11:53:57 -0400 |
If you understand relays you can build your own "system" which will be the best possible. Mount two relays behind the grill, as near to the headlights as possible, one for low beams, one for high beams. Use the 12V signals that previously powered the lights to operate the relay coils. Bring 12V power to that location using a hefty wire that comes directly from the positive terminal of your battery. Use a 30A in-line fuse holder at the battery connection. This 12V connects to one of the contact terminals in each relay. The other contacts of the relays go to the pairs of high and low beam filaments respectively. Any ground connections for the relays and lights should be made to the body sheet metal as close by as practical; apply silicone grease to reduce corrosion at the contacts. When mounting the relays, plan ahead, thinking about how to protect them from the weather. This approach made a very noticeable improvement in the brightness of the lights on my '91 GL, measurable with a light meter. Of course it also reduces the load on the headlite switch and presumably extends it's life. And you don't have to mess with the fuse/relay assembly under the dash! Larry A. On Wed, Jul 4, 2018 at 11:05 AM ddbjorkman@verizon.net < ddbjorkman@verizon.net> wrote: > First off. Happy Birthday United States Of America. Sometimes is/been a > rocky road, but still we keep on trying. > > > Now for Vanagon content. With all the recent relay talk, I think I will > finally install headlight relays. But I have a question. My Westy (the > Bus) is an '87, but I changed to the '84 2 headlight system due to the > crappy light I was getting from the original 4 light system. Not knowing > how far back wiring changes are for the different models, I wonder which > relay system I would use, and the best setup. I heard someone's name > mentioned as opposed to the usual vendors. Next, how do I determine the > date of manufacture of my current generation Golf engine? > > > Thanks for all, and enjoy the Holiday if you have one. > > > Dave B. >
Have something to add on this topic today? Revive this thread in the forum »