Head Lamp Issue, Please Help

[Alex Abreu]

Well, I have this connected to my headlamps on the recent 1602 I bought. Seems like a GM relay. The promblem is, I have intermitent Dipped Beams.

 

How do I go about troubleshooting? Maybe I should eliminate this old relay and make new wiring, yes? 

 

Pls help. Thanks!

[jgerock]

Perhaps that relay is being used for your driving lights.

[Alex Abreu]

No idea, can it be the switch?

[Alex Abreu]

As far as I know, the original instalation does not have a relay for the high beam, am I correct? My ride is a 72.

[Sam_in_VA]

That definitely looks like an add-on.  You'll have to track the wiring to see where it goes.  The batterly cable terminal clamp to which this relay is connected looks like the "pinch cable" type used as a stop-gap fix for a broken original terminal clamp.  If that is the case, I'd be suspicious of all the connections under the pinch... at the very least, undo the screws to release all of the cables, clean all the wires, and reattach (disconnect from battery first).  A relay is a good idea on any headlamp or driving lamp that doesn't have one originally, it takes the load off the switch.  Add-ons are common.

[jgerock]

73 and older cars don’t have relays for the headlights. It is highly recommended to add a high and low beam relay.

[slowbert]

I have a 72 as well - and am adding relays to the lights in my restoration.

 

Your relay is for the high beams and it is not stock.

 

The three white wires that are bundled together in the connector hanging to the left of the relay is for the high beams.  The white wire from the battery to the relay probably feeds the high beams when the relay is closed.  There should be a white wire from the firewall (it originates at the high/low beam switch) to the relay which trips the relay.

 

The 72s had a separate relay for the low beams, which should be next to the voltage regulator on the left side of the picture.  There should be yellow/green and yellow/black output wires that go to the low beams on the headlights.  Check those connections if you have problems on low beams. 

 

The 72 did *not* have a relay for the high beams, but did for the low beams, which is odd.

 

The Bosch automotive relays (or their Chinese replacements) are cheap and readily available, maybe $3/ea, and all have the same labeling on the terminals.  Easy to find and easy to replace if you are troubleshooting.

[Alex Abreu]

How about the 72 cars, are they relayed?

 

Is it worth removing the old relays and using new generic ones?

I saw a Hella harness kit, what do you feel abou this?

[Alex Abreu]

Thanks guys!

[Alex Abreu]

I plan to use the car as a driver.

[slowbert]

This is the current state for me. I bought a cheap relay box off of Amazon and used it for high beams, low beams, horn, fuel pump, and an electric fan (if I get one later). 
 

I’m getting everything connected and tested, then going to clean up the wiring and tape it up with friction tape. 

My goal is reliability and, to the extent I can achieve it, simplicity. 
 

I bought a printer for shrink wrap so I can label all the wires as well. 

 

[Alex Abreu]

Gorgeous sight. I hope my electrician is able to sort it out. So the pointers for me to give him is to feed the light relays in the lighting system? I'm clueless in terms of electricity. I read people also use electronic relays for the turn signals, and it seems sencible enough for a trained electrician.


But, will that fix my lights issue? Or could it be the switch is also not ok?

[Mike Self]

I wrote a column for the BMW Club (USA) magazine some years ago on how to wire up a relay for the high beams on a roundie (pre 1974 car) that doesn't have relays for the headlights...and also did another column on wiring up driving lights.  PM me if you'd like a copy of one or both.  

 

Not terribly difficult once you've figured out what the previous owner has done.  

 

mike

 

PS  Count your blessings--02s with six fuse wiring don't even have fuses for the headlights!

[Alex Abreu]

💗

Gimme gimme. 

[Alex Abreu]

I plan to keep the old instalation, will that prove to be a challenge with multiple failures?