In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

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Fiatcatapult
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 5:06 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Fiat 124 Spider

In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by Fiatcatapult »

I own 4 wired relays sitting on the shelf that I would like to utilize on the spider.

Especially using 2 of them on the headlight relay modification.. is there a schematic that will show me how to do it? Most of the posts I've read point to purchasing the set up already but i have these the relays already , just need the directions.

Thanks
gchocevar
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:40 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina 2000
Location: Cleveland Ohio USA

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by gchocevar »

Hi,
I can send you a schematic of the mods I made on my 1979. Everything was done around the fuse box under the dash. If you are interested I can scan these in and send them to you.
Greg
Fiatcatapult
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 5:06 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Fiat 124 Spider

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by Fiatcatapult »

Greg,

Yes, please do, i would appreciate it.

Thank you
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Odoyle
Posts: 440
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1983 Pinafarina Spider
Location: CA

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by Odoyle »

+1 looking for headlight relay diagram
gchocevar
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:40 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Pininfarina 2000
Location: Cleveland Ohio USA

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by gchocevar »

Hi,

I edited the link. It's pretty easy because you are working in one area under the dash and reusing the fuses already there. The link isn't very clear. I can send you the original.

Image

Have fun,
Greg
Last edited by gchocevar on Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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dinghyguy
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Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:41 pm
Your car is a: 1981 spider
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by dinghyguy »

Hi,

I did it the easy way, not having to invert myself under the dash. I put the relays on the front fender in the engine compartment on the left side.

Connected the power to the starter through a fuse, ground to the rosette on the fender, and put connectors on the wires so I could just unplug the headlights on the fender, plug one end into the wiring leading to the headlight and one end into the wiring leading from the original fiat supply. I don't have any photos but the schematic is shown below ( I took the bradley artigue PDF's transferred them into a CAD program and have revised them to reflect my car, Thanks Bradley!)

Image

I hope it helps.

I also did something similar for the wipers, look for one of my other posts in restorations for that schematic.
cheers
dinghyguy
1981 Red Spider "Redbob"
1972 blue Volvo 1800ES "Bob"
1998 Red Ford Ranger
spider2081
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Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Wallingford,CT

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by spider2081 »

dinghyguy
Thank you for posting your wire diagram. Wish I knew had the knowledge to make diagrams like this. I agree with mounting the relays in the engine bay on the fender well.
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dinghyguy
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Your car is a: 1981 spider
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by dinghyguy »

One modification that I was just reminded about by Dave, another member, is to use two fuses. One on the low beam relay and one for the high beam relay. That way if the fuse blows you still have the other beam. That is an excellent suggestion and improvement.

I ordered a plug and play kit from Vicks and it came with only one fuse and did not plug with the bullet connectors on my 1979, plus I was on an adventure driving across the continent with the fiat when I picked the kit up, so I was more concerned about having bright lights than thinking!

So my new improved suggestion is to do exactly as I did EXCEPT use two fuses, one for each circuit. That way it is still plug and play, can be easily removed if you want "original" and you don't have to perform dashboard yoga to install.

However if you have the dash apart and are doing major work to the car I would suggest mounting the relays on the relay panel under the glovebox, assuming you don't have FI and power windows etc and thus the room.

cheers
dinghyguy
1981 Red Spider "Redbob"
1972 blue Volvo 1800ES "Bob"
1998 Red Ford Ranger
DieselSpider
Posts: 2130
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2014 10:21 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider with Isuzu Turbo Diesel

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by DieselSpider »

The added plus of putting the relays under the hood is that you have access to the main battery cable there and won't be putting the load right back onto the feed coming into the fuse box or ignition switch. I also put separate fuses on every relays main power feed so one blown fuse does not kill all.
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kilrwail
Posts: 1100
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:49 am
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Sport Spider
Location: Perth, Ontario

Re: In search of headlight relay mod. schematic

Post by kilrwail »

I also did all of the wiring under the hood, with a relay for each of four lights and a 10 amp fuse on the output of each relay. It can all be undone easily (although I don't know why I would). I got all of the parts on Amazon. I have since dressed all of the exposed wires with black sheathing, so it looks much tidier.

Image
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Peter Brownhill

1978 Fiat 124 Sport Spider - original owner
1977 Porsche 911S - track car
2022 Ram 4 x 4 - hauler
PCA National Instructor and Motorsport Safety Foundation Level 2 Instructor
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