Installed LMC's headlight relays in my 77 F-150 back in ~ 2017, ya they're from China and had to replace both relays since installing them. Purchased replacement relays from local NAPA which are from Twain. Replacement was my fault as I noticed both relay sockets were corroded and got wet when I washed the truck, caused by the position the relays were laying. Probably wash the truck two maybe three times a year and don't drive at night much, especially since November last year (2023). My son looked at the relays and then surprised me about week later with two Honda relays, they have a nice rubber seal around them to minimize water intrusion inside there connector. Son got them off a Honda at local junk yard, he's now 36 years old. Little back story, took son to junk yard with me at 1600 HRS (4:00 PM) when he was six years old, guy at counter told me minors aren't allowed inside the yard, I replied if that is the case, they'll be a generation growing up that isn't aware of the resources inside a JY, he said okay but be careful. Essentially why I waited an half hour before the yard closed, knowing there wouldn't be many customers in the yard. The LMC relays did improve my headlights brightness. After reading this thread, if I was to do this upgrade over, I would opt for the America Auto Wire product.

 

Ugh... Phone giving me fits today. I'll try to reply again...

I don't like the look of most LED replacements either, looks like they belong on a space ship in most cases

I ordered assemblies that accept H4 bulbs. They are glass and metal versus plastic like most I've seen. They still look like a sealed beam headlight. The H4 bulbs are LED made by Sealight. I found the assemblies and bulbs on Amazon.

The LED bulbs have a well defined beam pattern that I was able to aim easily. I'm not lighting up tree tops or blinding oncoming drivers. The lights are bright white rather than dim yellow or the annoying blue. The lights on my '79 are now better than my '11 F350 with silver star bulbs and I think I'll be installing that same type of bulb in my super duty now.

I've tried a few times uploading pics of before and after and some screen shots of what I ordered but my phone isn't playing very nice today. When I get home this evening and I'm front off my computer I'll get some pics and web links added.

You could try to search the following on Amazon and should be able to find them though.

SEALIGHT H4/9003/HB2 Bulbs

IPCW CWC-7005 7" x 6" Plain Rectangular Conversion Headlight

 

So I have the LMC wiring upgrade and I laid it out in the engine compartment just to see how to go about the install and to show me where to put everything. What I can't understand is that the wiring is short and will have run on the back side of the battery to reach the passenger headlight. I don't much like that. And then to reach the driver's side connection it will have to cross behind the radiator? or above it on the radiator support ? Is that correct?
Huh. Since I have to replace the cheap relays anyway, I may simply eat the cost of this LMC kit and go with another option.

 

When I installed the relays in mine, I ran into same issues. I ended up mounting the relays on radiator support inside engine bay. They're mounted between the horn and radiator. I unplugged the passenger headlight and plugged factory connector into the relay kit and put some electrical tape on the junction. At the same time I added a fuse panel next to voltage regulator and got my 12v constant hot from that, but that's because I needed more circuits than just the headlights when I was doing this. I could have connected the 12v constant directly to positive side of battery or battery side of solenoid.

To connect the drivers side headlight, I ran the harness through the radiator support and along the bottom in front of the radiator to drivers side headlight and secured the harness with some zip ties. I wrapped the original headlight connector on the driver's side with electrical tape since it is no longer used.

When I redo the wiring harness completely in the truck I'm going to extend the headlight harness so I can move the relays off the radiator support to the inner fender and integrate the wiring with the rest of the wiring harness so I don't have the wires running between the radiator and grill and won't have the unused factory headlight connector on drivers side

 

Sorry to hear that they're offering them for the full-size trucks, but using wires that are too short. Better to have a little extra than to have too little. Other than the cost to manufacture of course!
The relays are easy enough to find at the local parts stores, and if I remember, even mimic some of the later model relays that Ford has used since at least the mid-'80's. I could be wrong on the exact part numbers, but I've replaced several Ford relays over the years and they sure looked a lot like those in the kits.
Someone mentioned some water resistant versions awhile back though. Those would seem to be the best replacement in my mind, for living under the hood. The first relay to go bad on my '83 F150 was, of all things, the ECU power relay! Living there near the battery and not even remotely weather resistant. Not one of their better ideas.

If the LMC harness is that short, it sounds like a simple "universal" harness that they're buying from an overseas manufacturer "as-is" and not making them specifically for our trucks. I wonder, do they list them for a variety of vehicles? Might be the same one they use for the (much smaller) Early Broncos then. Even the one we sell for Broncos is just barely long enough to route it in any hidden manner. The one we were buying from a small US wiring manufacturer for awhile was pretty trick, but at one point they obviously had never worked on a Bronco and were trying to save some bucks. As the wires got shorter and shorter every time we placed a new order, we finally stopped buying from them and went with the much higher quality imported stuff.
We only sell it for the smaller rigs though, so no help for the larger trucks. If you need to route the wires the way you want, you may just have to make it yourself.
The good news is that your LMC harness probably has the easy to use interconnect plug(s) and so, along with the relays and connectors and some of the wire, can be utilized (cannibalized!) for parts. So not out the complete cost I'd say.

I wonder if Painless or AAW offer longer versions. The old Painless EFI harness for Fords was available in two lengths. The short one was long enough to put the ECU under the front seat. The long one was so long you could have hung the ECU out of the tailgate!

Paul

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback. I am going to lengthen the passenger side end of this LMC harness, and swap out the relays for water-proof ones. I also need a nice clean connection box so I don't have to go to the battery with all my hot ends. Can someone recommend one? Thanks.

 

I replaced the original headlights with halogens.
I took a couple of my friends for a ride here in the canyon one night and one of my friends said,
"wow!! I forgot just how yellow these old headlights were".

 

My parents, and all the other older people their age at the time, used to complain bitterly about the bright headlights when halogens first started appearing on American roads in the sixties. Then by the 70s, it was becoming a more regular complaint.
Combination of brighter bulbs, poor design on most, poor aiming, and tired old eyes.
Now I know how they felt!

 

Years back, when I worked in an autobody shop, the owner had a home made headlight target. He would stand in front of the vehicle about 15 feet away, place one end of the target on the ground, and would see where the headlight beam hit. Then he would adjust up or down, left or right to hit the target. That was high tech.

 

I guess your head lights are farther apart than the 80 - 86 trucks as I dont remember having issues of wires reaching anything on my 81 F100.
They do run between the battery and radiator support and between the top of radiator and support to the left side.
I also have my electric trailer brake wires run from battery along the same path over to the left side firewall and all of it is in split loom covering.
I just remembered my relay kit is about 20 years old as I bought 2 kits for other non-Ford projects that I still have not gotten on the road so wonder if they made wires shorter since then?
Dave ----

 

Just following up on this thread, I purchased the Toyota kit that Nutter3 posted in post #11. This is an OEM quality kit with quality glass H4 conversion lights, H4 bulbs, and a complete harness kit with relays and fuses included, shipped to my door for $27. Really can't go wrong. This entire kit might be cheaper than purchasing sealed beam replacements (don't know, it's been a while). It even includes a tube of electrical grease and a big package of zip ties. Here's some pictures.









Probably the only drawback that I can see with the kit is that the lenses of the bulbs are flatter than a standard sealed beam and they protrude from the mount a little, so the look will be a little different. I'll post more pics once I get them installed, currently have the whole front end tore apart on my truck.

 

It looks like a good kit. I like how the female plug for the lights has a covered back. The terminals are exposed on the LMC kit.

**I need a good fuse block. Can someone tell me where to find one. The cheapos on Amazon scare me. With my fans I have six wires going to my battery and each has an inline fuse. I'd really like to clean that up with a fuse block. Thanks.

 

Hello Ford 141: In your photos there appears to be 4 relays? I assume that means 2 (one for each headlight) for the low beams and 2 for the high beams? Is that correct?

 

I realized today that I had misunderstood the LMC harness. It did not need to be lengthened, but in order for it to be long enough, and JUST long enough, one has to mount the relays on the radiator support, and run the wires along that support as well. The photos of the Toyota harness show it to be a better quality harness. Oh well.
As I removed both existing headlights, I found that both retaining rings were broken and that each headlight was loose, jostling about. And yes, as one of the other members mentioned, I will have to enlarge the hole in each headlight perch where the wire goes through. I'm sure that LMC said "no splicing or cutting required." Yeah, not for the harness, but the round hole at the back of each headlight bucket needs to be 1" larger.

 

I just received both the Toyota kits I ordered. They do look like a quality item, for much cheaper than the LMC. Both kits shipped to me were $60.
There are 2 relays, and the harness coming off the batter positive has 2 fuses inline with it. One for each side.
I will try to get this installed in my 78 bronco soon. The other kit will be for my 75 highboy I'm restoring.