Headlight wiring

[TomoHawk]

ZedRally's comment has a little sense to it, BUT, as everyone knows...

current flows along the Negative (-) leg of a circuit, so I resist switching that side.

[Daniel]

Zed is correct. The switch will last longer when placed AFTER the load. Tomo as for the direction of flow in a DC circuit,Thats just like the which came first the chicken or the egg. Its been an ongoing discussion for years by those that electro brains. Which came first the acceptor or the donor on the atom. Therefore the discussion does DC flow pos to neg or neg to pos,,The chicken or the egg.

[mperdue]

Zed is correct. The switch will last longer when placed AFTER the load. Tomo as for the direction of flow in a DC circuit,Thats just like the which came first the chicken or the egg. Its been an ongoing discussion for years by those that electro brains. Which came first the acceptor or the donor on the atom. Therefore the discussion does DC flow pos to neg or neg to pos,,The chicken or the egg.

Umm... current flow is the movement of charge from one place to another. There are 2 sources of charge, electrons or protons - and I can tell you right now the protons aren't going anywhere. So obviously the electrons are "flowing" and last time I checked the tend to move toward the positive side of a field. Before this was really understood electrical engineers or whoever had already chosen a "direction" of current flow in drawings etc, which is from + to -. So unfortunately conventional current flow in electrical drawings and analyses is opposite the actual direction of electron flow which is - to +.

[Zs-ondabrain]

if this new programing that mike has goin on here would just allow me to download the relay scematic that I drew up for you guys on my PAINT program, you could all have it, for free.

why cant I upload a PAINT Program picture??????????

[TomoHawk]

You need to upload pictures of a certain type, like jpg. Check the requirements for the Gallery upload sysytem.

[gundee]

In paint when you click Save As you will get picture folder. Click on the drop down arrow to choose file type. Click JPEG. Then try to upload.

[Mike]

why cant I upload a PAINT Program picture??????????

What format is it? BMP, JPG, GIF, TGA, TIFF, or ???

[CoastGuardZ]

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents...

As an electronics tech of 8 years I assure you that current "flow" is negative to positive. Mperdue was dead on on that one, engineer or tech I assume?

Up until every car had like 3 fuse boxes there was only one, which had probably 10' of wire between it and the battery... hence fusible links onthe high draw circuits, ie: the starter AND the lines feeding the fuse box.

just my 2 cents,

Nate

[Zs-ondabrain]

O.K. I think I did it right. I converted it from a bmp. to a jpeg file.

here it goes

[rusty260z]

thanks , for diagrams

if anyone has used relays, where have the physically placed them and how, my sparky was talking about removing my dash to relay the headlights, is that required.

laters

[Zedrally]

I would question the "sparkies" judgement on this!

I've mounted mine on the radiator support panel. The smaller the wire run the less voltage drop, this is important if you intend on using Halogen inserts.

HIH

MOM

[Zs-ondabrain]

I personally think you need a new "sparky."

I've never heard of pulling a dash for a relay upgrade. If you are interested, you can use the diagram I uploaded earlier or..........

Purchase a new headlight relay upgrade harness that I am in the proccess of manufacturing for use on the 240Z. I'm not sure of the compatibility of the harness with the 260 or 280 Z's.

But I'm still in the research and developement stages of this little project of mine.

They are made w/ 12 gauge wires, all connections are soldered w/ anti-corrosive silver filled solder for strengh, heat shrink and split loom are used to make it more weather resistant and appear stock, heavy gauge weather resistant fuse holders and stock molex plugs for a perfect integration into

your Z without cutting wires or needless drilling of new holes.

1) The current draw on your fuse box is aproximately 20+amps.

2) If you are thinking of upgrading your lights to the new H-4 style lights, the draw on your system will increase by as much as 20% or more. dramaticly increasing your chances of a fuse box meltdown or even worse, a possible fire

3) If you own an early 240Z, (like me) your wiring is up to 35 years old.

4) The preset price of the harness that I'm manufacturing will be $44.95.+S/H Every thing you need for the upgrade comes with the price. A new fusebox will cost as much as $150.00. A new Z will cost much, much more than that. You decide which is the better investment.

A New 30/40 relay for high beams and 20/30 relay for lowbeam. all ground wires are place in the harness to reach stock bolt and screw holes (no drilling neccessary)

let me know if you're interested.

Dave in Marysville, WA. U.S.A.

zip code 98270

the picture below is from my car, I also have KATS (high wattage) driving lights. Thats why there are three relays together.