Brian
Having been down the same road as you, I would highly recommend the fitment
of the relays.
Those new lights are drawing loads more current than the old, placing all
the electrical components under a load that they are unaccustomed to. Also,
remember that there are two switches (on/off and dip/main), wiring and
several connectors on the way, and all of these will be contributing to a
loss of current and also subject to failure.
With the relays, a relatively short and probably heavier gauge wire to the
relays and equally heavy gauge from the relay to the lights is all the
working current would travel through. Much less room for losses. Also
remember to check out the earth connections from the lights.
The result is yet better light and peace of mind that the wiring loom is not
being fried...
David Greed
1974 Stag Man O/D
1979 2500S Man O/D
Email: Home: greed@wave.co.nz
Work: david.greed@telecom.co.nz
.
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Sanborn <sanborn@net1plus.com>
To: Triumph List <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, 9 May 1999 11:57
Subject: TR4 Headlight Switch with New Sealed Beams
>
> As part of the on-going the re-assemble, I installed the restored grille,
> parking and turn signal lights and the headlight buckets today and checked
> out all the all the cars electrical functions with the new harness. I
> installed these new Sylvania X-travision halogen sealed beams. They are
> modern 55/60 watt units instead of the original 30 or 35 watt ones. I
> found that when I drove at night I could not see well enough for safe
> driving. It was a combination of old low wattage (and old guy) and dirty
> contacts and grounds.
>
> I was concerned about whether the old electrical components would carry
the
> load of the new sealed beams. I tested them by running the lights with a
> separate battery using the new harness wires and tested for any signs of
> warmth in the wires. Absolutely no reaction after 5 minutes on the high
> setting. I had purchased two relays to rewire the circuit but I am so
> sure I need them now.
>
> I hooked everything up through the dash switch this time and still no
> problem. Although I noticed the headlight-on position of the switch was
> loose and intermittent. So without regard for good sense I decided to
take
> apart the light switch to see if I could fix it and to see if there was
any
> damage from the new stronger lights causing the problem.
>
> WELL... 3 hours later I was still trying to figure the sucker out and how
> to reassemble it. I cleaned all the contacts and finally got it back
> together after at least 20 runs and it is working fine. It has this
> elaborate setup that depends on these little springs that flop the
contacts
> back and forth. But... I would strongly recommend not going down this
> path unless you have a spare switch or one on order. It would be very
> easy to be caught in the "I can't get it back together" mode.
>
> Do I need to wire in the relays or will the old switch and the new harness
> carry the load.
>
> Brian Sanborn
> 62 TR4 CT16260L - Groton, MA
>
> My TR4 Restoration Web Site
> http://www.net1plus.com/users/sanborn/Triumph.html (under construction)
> E-Mail: sanborn@net1plus.com
>
>
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