I just ordered my relays and fuse holders from PartsExpress and have collected the other items I'll need to do the headlight relay conversion from the Tech Article:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...er_lights.html

Is there anything else I should consider that isn't covered in the article? It looks pretty complete to me, but I know others have done this already and figured you might have come up with something extra that wasn't mentioned.

I can't wait to be able to see at night. Once I get this finished I'll probably do an H4 conversion too.

 

Instead of fuses I would use breakers. Headlights should always have breakers for safety.

Solder your wire connections if possible. Crmping is OK if done properly but I always solder the connectors on high reliability circuits, -like headlights. If you have to crimp the terminals on, dip the end of the wire in silicone dielectric compound b4 crimping. Use a high quality crimp tool also, not one of those stamped sheet metal jobs. Always coat the connectors with silicone b4 you plug them on the relays etc. Use heat shrink tubing to insulate and seal your connections.

 

I wish I had thought about that breaker tip before I ordered from Parts Express yesterday. Looks like they're less than 4 bucks in parts express. I'll bet they're 15 bucks each locally. The good news with the way it'll be wired is that highbeam/lowbeam will each be on a seperate fuse so if I lose one I should still have the other.

I do plan on soldering, using dielectrc on everything, and using heat-shrink on my connections.

 

It had been suggested in the past to leave the old wiring completely intact. Instead of cutting headlight wires, just unplug it from the headlight and use spade terminals and stick them into the headlight plugs. That way you could just unplug the relay wiring if you wanted/needed to return to stock wiring.

Just a thought.

Marty

 

I hope you ordered the Bosch relay's and not cheapo's.

 

Yes Dennis, I did order the genuine Bosch. They were only $1 more and that was part of what drove my decision to order from PartsExpress and pay shipping instead of buying them for a few dollars more locally. No one local had real Bosch relays and I hated to pay 6-10 bucks each for generic ones.

 

I've been an electrical tech for many a year, and in my opinion, crimped connectors work great IF you use the right size, proper crimping tool, and only use them on stranded wire. Problem with solder on large guage wire is that the heat it takes to make the solder flow properly will usually melt back some insulation, and it takes a BIG soldering gun or a torch to get enough heat. Just my humble opinion. As far as silicone, it IS an insulator, so it can cause connection problems. Biggest thing to remember: Low resistance equals higher current which equals brighter lights. Shortest wiring runs possible for the power circuit, #10 wire at least, good connections and quality relays that are rated for double the expected current.

 

Yes, it takes a big soldering iron. It's nice to have a 250/300 watt for the big jobs.

I like to solder, but I crimp stuff, too. GOOD crimpers don't cost that much and are worth the money and time looking for. I like to crimp uninsulated butt connectors and solder. Finishing up with heat shrink. I always solder crimped spade and one hole connectors, esp. if it's for a ground and use a star washer between the connector and the sheet metal.

If I just crimp and the connections going to be outside, a little dab of grease on either side of the butt connector is cheap insurance.

Another trick with heat shrink is to squeeze a bit of silicon into the open end before you heat. Excess will squeeze out and you can just wipe it off.

Tapping into a wire for a, "T" is always a problem, too. It's about the only time I use tape. Tricks with tape: Get good tape, Like Scotch Super 88. UV resistant and stays flexible. When you're finishing the wrap, don't stretch the tape till it breaks. Gently pull out a 1 inch tail, cut with a sharp knife and gently wrap and smooth. Takes care of that problem of the tail flapping in the breeze after a couple months.

A good product to have trouble areas like trailer light splices is butyl rubber, (duct butter, vapor wrap, etc), like what they used to use around windshields. It's now used for connections on the cell towers you see everywhere, (of course, it's multiple layers of tape and butter..lol..kind of unsightly on your truck, but if you don't want it to leak and you can't see it....)

 

The silicone is used to keep contaminants out of the connection. The biggest problem with the joints on an automotive application is the exposure to temperature extremes and moisture as well as road salt etc. Pure crimped connections in this environment WILL NOT LAST. They will corrode and go bad. Trust me, I have been doing automotive wiring for over 30 years.

I usually don't have problems with my soldering iron melting insulation but then I have been soldering for 40 years and have the proper equipment and know how to use it. You will melt the insulation off if you are soldering #12 wire with a 30W soldering iron.

Crimping with the right tool squeezes the metal together to form a gas tight seal. It squeezes the silicone out also. The problem with the crimped connection is that while it is great for a while, corrosion products form right outside the area where the metal is in direct contact and literally force the metal apart like ice freezing in a pipe. The silicone dielectric keeps the moisture and salts away from the joint.

Silicone does the same thing where two connectors are mated together. The sliding contact when the connectors are pushed together scrapes away surface contaminants down to bare metal. The spring tension of the metal holds these surfaces together. Silicone dielectric keeps the air and moisture away from the contact patch.

There are specific compounds to be used on various combinations of metals that work better than generic silicon dielectric grease but you have to know the types of metal involved in the connector to get that increased performance. For general automotive applications use the generic silicone dielectric available for any auto parts or electronics store.

 

I've used butyl on wiring before. Really makes a nice, weather proof seal. I worked in the cell field (building sites) for over 3 years, so I had access to it. Also, pre-taping the wires makes it easier to get all the butyl off if you ever need to.

 

For the laymen out there,

The argument to solder or crimp has been out there a long time.

Those leaning toward crimp usually have stronger A/C electrical experience. You never want to solder A/C stuff, like your stranded house wiring or dryer pigtails. The 60Hz freq. will cause the joint to break, over time. So they learn to crimp everything, (well, maybe Cadweld is like solder, but I won't get into that.)

Those leaning toward DC like to solder-everything! There's nothing better than a soldered connection on a truck because of all the vibration, moisture, etc. I like soldering over crimp most of the time. I can solder faster than I can crimp and I don't have to guess if it was done right. I like crimps, just because I've made money replacing bad ones over the years.

However, a poor solder joint is worse than a crimp. Just takes a little practice. I can solder small stuff with a big iron, but I can't solder big stuff with a small one. Instead of a 30 or 60 Watt iron I would probably buy a 150-200 Watt gun. It's a lot easier to learn on a hotter iron. For most general jobs on your truck and around the house it would be the one to get.

I think dielectric grease is the best stuff since, well, since Vaseline !

 

I would agree...

Crimp works great on AC stuff inside protected from moisture etc and/or when you have a high voltage to break down the oxide layers etc.

But Automotive is low voltage DC, and outside where water condenses out of the air on your cold wiring, -so you solder, or use crimp with dielectric.

 

Always nice to learn. My philosophy is that when you have nothing else to learn, you soon become really stupid.