Headlight Relay Kit: plug-and-play no-cut integrated w/Central Electric... interest?
#76
Three Wheelin'
This is not a dumb question.
Using the PP adapter (which I used for a year) means the factory wiring scheme with no relays remains. Porsche used relays for most high amp circuits but not the headlights. Stock, headlight power runs unfused from the battery to the ignition switch to the headlight switch to the fuse box to the headlight buckets, all using 1.5mm2 aka approx 16ga wiring. This means the full amperage of your headlights runs thru all those components and that the wiring is more or less at its limit and wattage can not be increased safely.
Common practice for high amp circuits is to use a relay thereby keeping current out of the switches, reducing the length of the wiring and allowing you to pick the size of the wire from the relay to the headlights. My kit adds relays and uses 14ga and 12ga wiring for low/high beams and a ceramic socket.
Net result is less stress on expensive switches and more safety margin should you choose to increase headlight wattage. I myself am running 80/100w H4s.
Using the PP adapter (which I used for a year) means the factory wiring scheme with no relays remains. Porsche used relays for most high amp circuits but not the headlights. Stock, headlight power runs unfused from the battery to the ignition switch to the headlight switch to the fuse box to the headlight buckets, all using 1.5mm2 aka approx 16ga wiring. This means the full amperage of your headlights runs thru all those components and that the wiring is more or less at its limit and wattage can not be increased safely.
Common practice for high amp circuits is to use a relay thereby keeping current out of the switches, reducing the length of the wiring and allowing you to pick the size of the wire from the relay to the headlights. My kit adds relays and uses 14ga and 12ga wiring for low/high beams and a ceramic socket.
Net result is less stress on expensive switches and more safety margin should you choose to increase headlight wattage. I myself am running 80/100w H4s.
All these switches can be taken apart to polish the contacts, but kind of a pain. I picked up a used 993 headlight switch to experiment with and the contacts were so bad that some circuits had no continuity.
As r-mm says above, this kit moves the high current from the headlight switch to 2x 30 amp relays. So your headlight switch will likely last forever, and those relays could probably take 1 million headlight clicks before wearing out
Last edited by -nick; 02-19-2021 at 04:46 PM.
#77
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Thanks for everyone's patience - Porsche finally got me the parts I needed from Germany, so after some assembly work I'll be ready to invoice then ship to everyone who has PM'd me. If I didn't say it before: the install instructions will be attached to the invoice which will come from "Ricambi Nutmeg LLC".
#78
Rennlist Member
Super nice kit, looking forward to getting it in the car. I even had the correct tool on hand. Thanks again Rus!
#79
Started putting the kit in.
I have quite some experience in 911 wiring, having redone the complete wiring in 2 cars, and extensively restored/modified it in a few others.
I had looked into exactly what r-mm has done and abandoned the idea as too time consuming in the planning phase.
All the above to say, the kit is a home run. Seriously good.
Bravo.
I have quite some experience in 911 wiring, having redone the complete wiring in 2 cars, and extensively restored/modified it in a few others.
I had looked into exactly what r-mm has done and abandoned the idea as too time consuming in the planning phase.
All the above to say, the kit is a home run. Seriously good.
Bravo.
#80
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Thanks all I'm pleased to hear you like it. I have contacted and shipped to everyone on my list. If you feel you contacted me and didn't get one, please speak up now as I have parts for three more but don't have plans for another run at the moment. There were a few who contacted me and I PM'd emailed invoiced but no response. The invoice comes from my company Ricambi Nutmeg, please check your spam etc.
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kos11-12 (01-09-2024)
#85
Rennlist Member
#86
Rennlist Member
I am also running the Hella 80/100 bulbs from Amazon. I've run Osram Rallye 90/100 bulbs before but they are harder to find and the difference isn't huge.
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kos11-12 (01-09-2024)
#87
Rennlist Member
My harness showed up today. Looks as great as everyone else has said. Still need to assemble my headlights with the French lenses, and score the pin tool for this. Hopefully will install next weekend.
#89
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
All spoken for - thanks guys this was a rewarding process!
I've been making some tools for the Alfa twin cam (TDC finder, Engine Stand Adapter) and compared to those, sourcing parts for this kit was a bit of a performance so I don't have immediate plans to run another batch but if I get deposits from maybe a half dozen others I'd be happy to consider it.
I've been making some tools for the Alfa twin cam (TDC finder, Engine Stand Adapter) and compared to those, sourcing parts for this kit was a bit of a performance so I don't have immediate plans to run another batch but if I get deposits from maybe a half dozen others I'd be happy to consider it.
#90
Rennlist Member
Finally got around to installing the kit with some minor revisions after gathering some extra pieces. My installation was a little different than the kit instructions because my car's CE had only one open position for the new relays. After conferring with Rus about this I decided to uninstall the daylight running light relay plug and stow it to free up another position in the CE box. So the headlight relays are in position 62 and 63 in my box. When I installed my H4's I had decided that I wanted to make the city lights functional. When these kits became available it seemed like a good time to incorporate this feature along with the headlight relays After some thought and research I purchased a euro headlight harness from Mike at Autobahn along with some euro reflectors. Due to my additions it took me a couple of days to complete my installation. Since I was hooking up the city lights I chose to remove my bumper cover and rout the the wires the same as the factory wire bundle. I also discovered that the euro turn signals use a different plug and bulb holder than the north American cars. Another order from Autobahn and as soon as I receive that I should be good to go. Currently the city lights, high and low beams and fog lights all work correctly, so I must have followed the instructions and I am pleased with the result.
Thanks to Rus for putting these kits together.
Thanks to Rus for putting these kits together.