Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Headlight Relay Wiring - GTSparkplugs
Headlight Relay Wiring - GTSparkplugs
Headlight Relay Wiring - GTSparkplugs
Home Projects Cars Media Calculators Reference Library Tools Links FLog About
If you have an older car or are doing a new wiring job yourself here is a simple circuit that will give you full voltage to
your headlights. In many older cars, or cars where you have replaced the headlights with higher power bulbs you
run the risk of over loading the wiring as the current draw for these higher power lights can exceed the what the
original harness may have been designed for.
Even if you are using stock sealed beam bulbs you will find that most auto manufacturers didn't do a good job with
the wiring to the bulbs due to the long run from the light switch in conjunction with typically too small a gauge of
wire. The result can be lower voltage to your headlights, which ultimately results in dim bulbs.
With a couple of parts and some thicker wire you can get the high power lights working properly. It's import to say
that you should always fuse all circuits. If you are using your existing headlamp wiring they are fused and you
should do the same, otherwise expect a meltdown and accompanying fireball under your hood.
To learn more about Relays check out the Introduction to Relays page as well as the Electric Fan Wiring page as
they may also help with understanding some of the basics of wiring.
Use the proper sized wire for your systems current draw
Fuses or circuit breakers must be used to keep your car (or truck) from burning to the ground in the
event of a short circuit
Keep wires from getting into moving parts of the fan or engine.
Keep wires from rubbing and shorting out (see above comment on fuses)
Ensure all electrical connections are soild, clean and tight and dry
Some basics first, then the schematic. Let's get busy as they say...
Left Most Relay - Waterproof relay with connector. A good choice for under hood or where things may get wet
www.gtsparkplugs.com/headlight-relays.html 1/4
3/11/2021 Headlight Relay Wiring | GTSparkplugs
Center Relay - The common ice cube Bosch/DIN relay. Easy to get, lots of mounting options (built in mount shown)
Right Most Relay - The micro relay. These can be useful in tight spaces but make sure that you use a minimum of
20amp models.
Don't forget the socket for your relays too. Micro relays use a smaller socket then the cube. In a pinch you
can use regular slide connectors for the cube relay. The micro relay uses 2 different size connectors are the
smaller are less common to have. In most cases a socket is a better and cleaner way to do the installation
The assumptions :
Car Battery Voltage is approx. 12 Volts (not exactly but a safe number)
Each Bulb is 100W and I have 2
So how much Current is being Drawn by all 2 bulbs at 12 Volts? That's Easy, each bulb draws 8.34 Amps at 12 Volts, and I have 2
bulbs each running at 12 Volts, so that's right at 16.7Amps. Wait, how is the magic accomplished. By this simple formula -
I = P / V
Where :
I = Current in Amps
P = Power in Watts
V = Force in Volts
Now that I have 2 bulbs that's about 16.7 Amps total and that will tell me that I am going to need at least plan for a 20 amp circuit.
For more information on how to calculate all this look at the Ohms Law Calculator (it has a similar example)
www.gtsparkplugs.com/headlight-relays.html 2/4
3/11/2021 Headlight Relay Wiring | GTSparkplugs
Wire Capacity
While talking about fuses it's also important to ensure you use a thick enough wire for your high power connection
to the relays and bulbs. Relays take very little current, but the bulbs can use a bunch. Use the Wire Size Calculator
to get you a rough size. For the relay control 18 Gauge wire is fine, they draw only a little current, but for the main
power and headlights they need to be much thicker. For the main feed I would try to use 10 or 12 Gauge from the
battery to fuse to relays, then from each relay which should be close to the headlights nothing smaller then 14
gauge for the shortest of runs, better would be 12 gauge. Why the extra thick wires? Voltage drop. The thicker the
wire the less drop and that's what we are after.
www.gtsparkplugs.com/headlight-relays.html 3/4
3/11/2021 Headlight Relay Wiring | GTSparkplugs
high beams and one for low beams. If a new installation the relays can be activated by some simple switches such
as a turn stalk switch or a foot switch.
If you are not familliar with wiring diagrams a few things to note :
The green upside down 'christmas tree' is the GROUND. This typically will be a wire that is connected to the
chassis of the vehicle. Ensure a clean rust free connection.
Some vehicles use 2 headlights instead of one on each side. If you have the 2 on each side style, the wiring is
almost the same except their are 2 bulbs and one contact of each bulb will go to the ground. If you need a specific
picture of it, shoot me an email by clicking the little spark plug at the very top right of the page.
Conclusion
This project is generally done on older cars with dim headlights or when replacing your old stock lamps with some
high output flame throwers that draw too much current for your stock wiring to handle.
Just like James Brown said in the Blues Brothers - "Can you see the light..."
Happy motoring!
Copyright (C) 2013 - 2019 Sandy Ganz, GTSparkplugs. All Rights Reserved. Content May NOT be used without written permission. Use at your own risk
www.gtsparkplugs.com/headlight-relays.html 4/4