Headlight Lens

[Old Rider]

That wire looks small to me.....possibly a 14 gauge?
For a headlight relay circuit I would use *no less* than a 12 gauge (AWG) or the equivalent 2.0mm wire.
To give me some headroom in case I wanted to use a high wattage halogen bulb, I used a 10 gauge (2.6mm) wire on my dedicated circuit.
The 2 relays I used were rated for 30 amps.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Pat you are definitely right that the cables is to small ,because i went out to buy the stuff i needed but then i found a premade light enhancement cable set and the cables
is much thicker. The price was only 20 usd .But not sure if i can use it because it is made for cars sitting here scratching my head .It is intended for bulbs up to 160w
the relays is 40A and had 30w fuses.

[FJ_Hooligan]

A stock 55/60W bulb pulls approximately 4.6 amps on low beam and 5 amps on high beam.  If you move the FJ headlight switch slowly, it's possible to light up both filaments which would be about 10 amps total.

If you use higher wattage bulbs then the current draw goes up proportionally. 

A 14 gauge wire will safely carry 15 amps, which is why I used 12 gauge wire for my relay setup.  :-)

Your main concern is the size of the wire from the battery that supplies power to the 2 relays.  This is the wire that needs to be protected with an appropriate size fuse,

The wires from the relays to the headlight connector can safely be 14 or 16 gauge, assuming you're using bulbs of less than 100w.  Keep in mind if you use a higher wattage bulb it will produce more heat (watts is heat) and typically have a shorter bulb life.  I used to run 100/80w bulbs but after blowing several I went back to 55/60w after installing the relays.

I would avoid using those blue "vampire" connectors.  They can compromise the wire and make the connection unreliable. 

[Old Rider]

A stock 55/60W bulb pulls approximately 4.6 amps on low beam and 5 amps on high beam.  If you move the FJ headlight switch slowly, it's possible to light up both filaments which would be about 10 amps total.

If you use higher wattage bulbs then the current draw goes up proportionally.  

A 14 gauge wire will safely carry 15 amps, which is why I used 12 gauge wire for my relay setup.  :-)

Your main concern is the size of the wire from the battery that supplies power to the 2 relays.  This is the wire that needs to be protected with an appropriate size fuse,

Thanks David for informing me about that i checked the cable set and there is a 30A fuse on the wire from the battery to the relays
By the way did you notice any increase in the brightness of the headlight ?
The wires from the relays to the headlight connector can safely be 14 or 16 gauge, assuming you're using bulbs of less than 100w.  Keep in mind if you use a higher wattage bulb it will produce more heat (watts is heat) and typically have a shorter bulb life.  I used to run 100/80w bulbs but after blowing several I went back to 55/60w after installing the relays.

I would avoid using those blue "vampire" connectors.  They can compromise the wire and make the connection unreliable.  

I will not be using those since i bought the cable set .
Now after some head scratching about if i can use the cable set that is made for cars i think it just so simple that i can connect one part of the set going to one headlight and just leave the other part unconnected .

Rolf

[ribbert]

I like the extra lights you have fitted i think i will do the same if they dont cost a million. are they foglights or high beam lights? I also have to check if they are legal here in Norway so i dont have to take them off again .

Rolf

It would be strange if they weren't but a fairly standard requirement is that they are switched separately and through high beam. That is, they turn on an off with high beam or can turned off entirely with a separate switch.

Having a relay up front is a great idea, the lights, horn and coils all benefit from full voltage but don't expect miracles from the headlight, the improvement is only relative and still inadequate. Depending on your riding, it might be enough but if you ride beyond street lighting or highways, even at modest speeds, the standard light is woeful.

Noel

[Waiex191]

Ride a 1981 Suzuki GN400 with a 6 volt system for a while.  Then the stock FJ headlight will seem awesome.

[Old Rider]

Rolf

It would be strange if they weren't but a fairly standard requirement is that they are switched separately and through high beam. That is, they turn on an off with high beam or can turned off entirely with a separate switch.

Having a relay up front is a great idea, the lights, horn and coils all benefit from full voltage but don't expect miracles from the headlight, the improvement is only relative and still inadequate. Depending on your riding, it might be enough but if you ride beyond street lighting or highways, even at modest speeds, the standard light is woeful.

Noel

I checked and in March 2020 it became legal to add 2 extra highbeam lights placed like you have done  on your bike so maybe i will get some. Did the relay mod today and it was
a noticeable improvement see my next post.

Rolf

[Old Rider]

Ride a 1981 Suzuki GN400 with a 6 volt system for a while.  Then the stock FJ headlight will seem awesome.

I believe you !

[Old Rider]

Today i installed the cablekit first i thought it will be a fast 20 minutes job but ending up using 2 hours because i had to modify the wires because the relays
ended up right at the cylinders and they don't like heat written in the instructions. The kit is made for cars so i cut off one of the wires going to the unused
headlight that was stupid and had to splice cables also cut one of the wires from battery and that was also stupid because then only low beam worked.
Everything works now, but one thing i think is wrong and need to be confirmed is that i earthed the black wire to the bracket for the horn.The lower triple clamp
is made of aluminium so don't know if that is good enough ??.
I measured the voltage at the bulbconnector before and after i started the work and before it was 11.5V  and after it was 12.6v .
it is still daylight but i could see the light was better and did a before and after test in a parking house see pics .Will take more compare pics and try the
100w /90w bulb later

[Pat Conlon]

.....Will take more compare pics and try the 100w /90w bulb later

Be sure to use a ceramic plug with that hot bulb....

[X-Ray]

That is actually a nice difference with standard bulb and relay. I still have to do this, although I rarely do any night riding, (too many things that want to jump out in front of you where I live). 

[Old Rider]

.....Will take more compare pics and try the 100w /90w bulb later

Be sure to use a ceramic plug with that hot bulb....

I replaced the bulbholder to ceramic when i got the bike and find the plastic bulbconnector had melted because of the 100w bulb that was in there.Now that connector was used
to connect the cablekit .The plastic bulb connectors in the kit looks low quality but they claim they can be used with up to 160w bulbs  .
I will replace with a ceramic anyway

Rolf

[Old Rider]

That is actually a nice difference with standard bulb and relay. I still have to do this, although I rarely do any night riding, (too many things that want to jump out in front of you where I live).  

Yes it was a good upgrade i think but  have not done a night test yet.It also was a good upgrade when i cleaned the inside of the lamp first.  Here in Norway there is also some animals to watch out for. My neighbor riding a BMW f800gs hit a moose in the middle of the highway doing 90 mph lucky to survive, but hospitalised for 8 weeks.He is about 65yrs and said he newer will ride again.All he remember is a shadow came from side and he looked right into the eyeball of the moose.I had some almost moments my self with deer's.

Rolf

[Old Rider]

So now i wonder if i did ground the earthcable good enough ??
the cable was only a few inches long so i grounded it in the bracket for braklinesplitter and horn because i was in a hurry and had not time to splice it and attach it another place in the frame.

[Old Rider]

After Noel told me that it is not a good place to ground/earth into the lower
triple clamp because current will go thru the stearinghead bearings and can make a premature wear out of the bearings.  I decided to move it
Thank Noel!
So i  spliced the groundwire to make it longer and found a better place for it to be attached  to the frame see pick
I have now done a compare test of the old 100/90w bulb named world light that i kept since it was replaced because of a melted bulb connector some years ago.
   and the Phillips racing vision 60/55w i recently put in.
I think i just keep the Phillips bulb in since the light did not get any better with the old 100w. the test is 10 meters from the wall. last test was 5 meters from
wall. The low beam on the old 100w was also very diffuse see pick so it is maybe broken.

[Old Rider]

Later when it got dark outside i took a ride to test and i could instantly see that the light now is much better .Took a test in the parkinghouse again and now it was
total darkness in there also took some  picks in the dark at a deserted parkingplace .Did not test the 100/90w bulb in the dark only Philips racing vision 60/55w bulb is used in these picks