im collecting parts to install relays on my truck and im looking for the diagram to do it. ive seached and all i can find is the diagrams for the sport headlight conversion which is out of my budget right now. all im looking for is a diagram to install relays for the regular headlight setup. thanks

 

Go here -> www.danielsternlighting.com

There is a good diagram there.

Basically you will need two relays. One for low beam, one for high beam.

You will need a male pin light socket (looks like back of bulb) to connect to your existing headlamp socket I got mine here -> http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#HOrelays (9007/4 male light socket). It is kind of cheap, I would not suggest it. If you have a 9007 in your headlamp now, do not use the light socket wiring he shows, it is wrong (backwards). Use the one below.

From your existing lamp socket (driver side), you have low beam, high beam and ground. Ground goes to battery ground or frame not your relay, high beam goes to your high beam relay pin 86, and low to your low beam relay pin 86. Use 14 gage wire here.

On your relays, you have power from your battery (with an in line 20 Amp fuse) that goes to pin 30. Use separate feed for each relay. Use 10 gage wire here

Ground for your relays go to pin 85. Use 12 gage wire here

Power to the headlight comes out of pin 87. Two wires off of each relay. High beam relay has driver side high beam/passenger side high beam and Low beam relay has driver side low/passenger side low. Use 12 gage wire here.

Not sure what your existing bulbs are but here are pin descriptions for 9007 and 9004.

9004 headlamp socket- As you look at the sockets with the slots facing you and the wires facing away from you,
the slots are:

Lower left: High beam
Upper center: Low beam
Lower right: Common

9007 Bulb - As you look at the back of the 9007 bulb, with the flat part facing the
sky and the glass pointing away from you, the terminal pins are:

Lower left: Low beam
Upper center: Common
Lower right: High beam

9004 Bulb - the 9004 bulb's terminal pins are the mirror image of
the socket that connects to them:

Lower left: Common
Upper center: Low beam
Lower right: High beam

I used red 10 gauge, red 12 ga for low beams, blue 12 ga for high beams, green 12 ga for grounds, white and yellow 14 ga for trigger wires from existing headlamp socket.

I would highly suggest that you get your components from Daniel Stern. He uses VERY high quality stuff and it is about the same price as everything I found out there. he sends you all the pieces and you use your own wire. I think his kit (RIK-RAM) is 79 bucks, and worth every penny. It has everything you need for a sport headlamp set up, if you decide in the future to upgrade your headlamps, you'll have the extra sockets.

There is also a very good write up here with step by step instructions if you need. Jim Lane did it and it is one of the most comprehensive write ups I have seen -> https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=176263

If you have a switched ground system (doubtful) there is a diagram here -> https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=229263

hope this helps.

 

i thought that all these trucks were negativlely switched on the ground side for the headlights. i might look into ordering his kit. thanks.

 

You will not be sorry if you do get the kit from danielsternlighting.com. It is far superior to any other kits, IMO. As far as the negatively switched part, I am not sure which ones are and which are not. Either way it is not a big deal to wire them. Just make sure you check it before you begin your assembly of the harness. It saves allot of hassles. Also, after you get it built, hook up the battery and the grounds and check for operation before you do your final install, I didn't and had to take the **** thing out!!! Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any quirks or question. Good Luck!!!

 

Are you sure your truck doesn't already have relays for the headlights?

 

Not the ones were talking about. He's talking about using relays to send full battery, or alternator power to your headlights. We use the factory wiring as a trigger for the relays. Very Cool system, way better lighting, saves your in cab switch, takes stress off of your factory wiring harness, lots of benefits. One of the best mods for the dollar IMO. Check out this post if you want more info...

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=176263

Lots of good info here too -> www.damielsternlighting.com.

Have Fun!!!!!

I am not sure which year they started, or if it is part of an option package. But there is a description of how to check on this site -> http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#HarnessTypes

Sounds like you know about it already, but it might be helpful for others.

 

My FSM shows at least some '02s already have relays for the headlights. It's a bit cryptic in its terminology sometimes, so I'm not sure exactly what it's getting at by "high line CTM," but I'd check under the hood to see if there were any headlight relays in the PDC before I went to the trouble and expense of all this wiring.

 

The point of the relay system is to bypass the completely inadequate factory wiring which causes voltage drop at your headlamps. With the relay kit we are discussing we are taking FULL power from the batteries and delivering as close to 100 percent of it to the headlamps as possible. Our relay kits use 10 and 12 gauge wiring. The factory wiring is at best 18.

Read This -> www.danielsternlighting.com

 

thanks for all the info. im hoping to do some kind of a conversion sometime soon. im thinking about breaking down and converting to sport headlights.

 

You're talking about 9004 headlights, right? 55w on low beam, 60 watts on high? That's ~5 amps or less at 12 volts. Well within the ampacity of the factory wiring and the desired voltage drop given the short run from the PDC to the lights.

You're not going to hurt anything (as long as everything's hooked up right, anyway), and yeah, I over-wire if at all possible when I have to wire something, too, but I don't think you're going to see much real difference.

The guy you linked to earlier was a 1st Gen truck, they might be wired as mentioned in that Stern article, and in that case I suspect he did see a pretty good improvement.

 

I made my own relay system for my 96 Dodge and a 60 Chevy and did a friends 61 Pontiac. All three of them there was a visible difference and if you have the trucks w/the weak headlight switch you remove most of the load on them.

Floyd

 

I in fact did see a significant difference in lighting. With my factory wiring I measured an 11% voltage drop at the headlamps. According to the chart www.danielsternlighting.com, an 11% voltage decrease relates to a 33% decrease in light bulb output. That is significant. Coupled with the original single bulb housing, the factory lighting system was severely limited. The factory wiring is inadequate at best.

In my opinion, given the original single bulb headlamp system, this is one of the best modifications for the money in terms of overall improvement, drivability, and safety. Not to mention tertiary advantages of removing the single largest draw of electricity and therefore heat from the headlight switch, which could possibly increase it's life.

 

I too am interested in this mod. is this the only fix besides building your own kit?

 

You can buy a pre-made harness. I think they are about the same price as if you get the RIK-RAM kit from www.DanielSternloighting.com but far inferior in quality. By building it yourself, it is SIGNIFICANTLY better quality and guaranteed to fit.

Besides the harness, for your truck, you should also get new sport headlamp housings (2 bulbs per side instead of 1). Unfortunately for us, it is a more expensive mod, but the factory lighting on our (non-sport) trucks is pathetic. I have been trying to fix mine since I bought the damm thing new. Thank God for Jim Lane and this site!!!

You truck is also negatively switched, read above to see how to check so you don't have to redo it like I did.

I am not sure if this answers your question.

 

I can't afford to buy the sport conversion just now but I would like to improve what I've got. Will this relay upgrade work on my 2000 truck or is it just for the 12 valves?