Some Headlight questions.. and Covkid Q

Post by **joshb** » 10 Nov 2008, 22:31

does anyone know how many amps the the headlight draw? I have wiki'd and searched..i was going to do the relay upgrade on my '88 camper but i couldnt find the relay referred to with the 56b connector on my fuse box.. i can clearly see the fuses for the dip and main beam but no relay i am supposed to disconnect wires from in order to new relays to.. any help greatly appreciated,, thanks

Covkid- when i searched I read you had installed a headlight booster, have you/could you put a multimeter on the output to see how many volts it supplies to the bulb ( I may have a cunning plan)

Post by **ELVIS** » 10 Nov 2008, 23:03

before we start , i am NO electrician - all i know about electickery is it hurts if you lick it.

I followed what appears to be the most common route on thesamba. Very easy , costs less than a tenner and takes less than half an hour.

You need 2 x boggo standard spotlight type relays (they have 85/86/87/30 terminals) . open the glovebox up and find main wiring loom. seperate it and identify the biggest/fattest white wire and also a yellow one. they are obvious when you find em.

Break into these and wire as per following thread

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

No fiddling with fuse box involved.

Difference is HOOOOOOGE . I have also fitted some of these +50% xenon/halogen bulb things that made it even better!

Post by **joshb** » 10 Nov 2008, 23:09

thanks Elvis.. I take it it is the post by fuzzymath i need to follow.. i was driving home last night and it was so crap in the p1ssing rain and dark quite scary down the back roads

Post by **ELVIS** » 10 Nov 2008, 23:15

thats the one . im proper thick and managed it ok. the first pic (with the black background) on the thread helps if you picture it in your mind. (the post by Waldemar Sikorski )

Website · Post by **CovKid** » 11 Nov 2008, 09:15

Someone call? I'll put a meter on them today for you. Had this booster on for over a year now, not had a bulb blow and the light output is THE biz!

The 'whiteness' is significantly better than most modern vehicles out there, noticeable when I pass reflective signs in the road. Mine always stands out compared to other cars and I have no need whatsover for driving lamps or even twin headlights - they seriously light up the road compared to the old candle power I used to rely on. I spent a week in Wales earlier in the year and they really came into their own.

Also, swapping the sidelight bulbs for my own 10mm high-output LEDs (I soldered them to original bulb cases after smashing glass and filament) adds a slight bluey tinge to the look.

Of all the mods I've done, the booster was the most impressive by far. It comes with relays but clearly does something more than just relays on their own. Theres a pic of it in the forums somewhere. Now and again they come up on ebay - worth keeping your eyes peeled.

Post by **joshb** » 11 Nov 2008, 09:38

the booster is basicly a stabilised dc-dc inverter from what i have read. so it will be interesting to know how many volts it supplies, I suspect it will be about 14-15v

Post by **Syncro G** » 11 Nov 2008, 15:21

Headlamps are about 5A a bulb if they are around 55-60W (standard legal wattage). That of course means on a standard square lamp van you've got 10A a side on main beam (each side has seperate feeds).

Personly I fitted relays to the feed between the dipswitch and fusebox. (relays mounted on the proper aux relay brackets above fusebox of course). Headlamps still work through the original fuses, main beam and dimdip still work as they should. Having the fusebox in the way won't add any significant losses, not like the switches do. I can still upgrade the front loom if I want to and is much tidyer than having the relays after and needing another set of fuses. Best location too as relays/terminals don't corode much inside the vehicle.

Interested to see what these boosters output. The lights on my landy certainly got powerful when the reg broke in the altinator so it put out 18V Surprised the bulbs survived!

Website · Post by **CovKid** » 11 Nov 2008, 16:30

Unfortunately it blew fuse in meter today when I went to test - for whatever reason, so unable to give you figures but I suppose if you hunt on line long enough you could find specs. I don't think the 'OK' brand (as seen in photo below) will help searching for it online - the unit is rebranded all over the shop. Easier to find on ebay sites in other countries. Does the job for sure though.

http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/images/Booster.jpg - this is my own one. About £35 if I remember. Well worth it.

Its about 4" x 3" x 1" if that helps. Was definite improvement over just relays.

Heres one: http://cgi.ebay.ph/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... &indexURL=

Post by **joshb** » 11 Nov 2008, 17:13

shame you couldnt test it, i didnt find any site that said what the output voltage was..

I was thinking you could make a booster from some 12v laptop chargers, you can get em for about £5-£10 each (ebay) and they can output a stabilised 15v (or higher) and are about 8-10 amps 80-150 watts.

Website · Post by **CovKid** » 11 Nov 2008, 17:41

This has one heck of a heatsink on it to be honest. I'd be surprised if a laptop charger could handle it. I'll retest asap though. Plus by the time you've bought all the heavy duty cable, you might just as well buy one designed for the purpose. At £35 they come with all wiring and they're a lot lot cheaper than HID and side by side I think you'd be hard pressed to tell difference between mine and HID anyway - ask any cats in my neighbourhood

Post by **android** » 11 Nov 2008, 18:53

I've upgraded the brightness of my headlamps today using the link supplied by Elvis.
Picked up the relays and bits needed for the job for under a fiver and WOW!! what a difference!!
took me about 1/2 an hour to do the job following the guide by fuzzymath and was fairly easy to do.(I'm no electrician)
I am no longer frightened to drive down some of the darker roads around here any more

This is by far the best mod I have done to my van and makes me feel alot safer driving at night!
Thanks Elvis for the link!
And thanks Club 80-90...
What a great site this is

Post by **Cruz** » 11 Nov 2008, 19:18

Samba pic is just a rip of my wiki pic http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/VW ... dlight_kit

Post by **ELVIS** » 11 Nov 2008, 19:31

didnt look at your pic so i dont feel guilty! (wayyyyyy to tech looking)

the simple one is easier for , well , simpletons

Post by **joshb** » 11 Nov 2008, 19:43

did mine Elvis taa!

This has one heck of a heatsink

if you mean the big white thinggies, they are large wattage resistors i think

Post by **Syncro G** » 12 Nov 2008, 18:16

CovKid wrote:This has one heck of a heatsink on it to be honest. I'd be surprised if a laptop charger could handle it. I'll retest asap though. Plus by the time you've bought all the heavy duty cable, you might just as well buy one designed for the purpose. At £35 they come with all wiring and they're a lot lot cheaper than HID and side by side I think you'd be hard pressed to tell difference between mine and HID anyway - ask any cats in my neighbourhood

I bet you can tell the difference, the HID will be putting out a desturbing emount of light where its not surposed to as the lamp capsules are not designed for halogen lenses. You can spot them a mile off, really anoying. A high powered Halogen will be nice and bright but still have the right pattern if the bulbs are good.