What relays to use for Head light relays

[Phil Payne]

> I have 2 ratcheting crimpers from Home Depot (one for solderless
> terminals and one for RJ) and - I consider them marginal, at best. They
> also cost, as I recall, around 40+ bucks apiece. They also only do a
> competent crimp about 1/2 the time.

I use FACOM 450.6 crimpers - every single crimp is PERFECT.

For those in the area - Bardwell's in Abbeydale Road, Sheffield is the place to buy butt
joints, male/female bullets and spades.

Their counter is just bins - I open my SortaCase on top of them and just pile in 50 of this,
50 of that, and so on.  The proprietor just watches me count.  "Those are 8 pence each."  So I
take 50.  "OK - we're down to 6 pence each." So I take 50 of something else.  "OK - we're down
to 5 pence each."

And so it goes on.  I usually leave with 300 or 400 items at 3 pence each.

I've pretty much stopped soldering and heat shrinking - I get as good or better results with
crimped butt joints in a tiny fraction of the time.

> For those not in the group above, by the time you buy the tools and
> parts needed to properly construct a harness you'll pay 3 to 4 times
> what a professionally assembled one will cost.

I think I paid around $50 for the FACOM crimper.  I also got an expensive FACOM stripper, but
Radio Shack does a very good one for pennies.

>> I do like those connectors that they use on the ready made harness. The lamp
>> connector you can get at most auto parts stores. But where do you find the
>> connector that duplicates what is at the lamp itself? Having this connector
>> would eliminate cutting into the existing harness.

Cut a connector off a wreck and insert copper "blades" - turning a female into a male.  You
just need a sheet of thin copper and some tin snips.  Then plug that into the existing
harness - no need to damage it.

>> I noticed the purchased harness had no protection for the relays. My relays
>> are protected with a 1 1/2" diameter ABS plastic pipe with end caps . .
>>.sealed from the weather.

I came across a building site where a number of new houses were being built.  The plumbers had
obviously changed their minds about something, and had dumped three smallish PVC water tanks
in a skip.  I cut the lower corners out and had 12 PVC "shields" to mount behind, above and in
front of the relays.

I'd caution also that standard in-line fuse holders aren't up to the job - get some heavy duty
ones.

If you can find a car with a dealer-fit aircon system in a junkyard, there is an almost ideal
three-relay bracket mounted inboard of the left headlight.

--
  Phil Payne
  http://www.isham-research.com/quattro
  +44 7785 302 803