2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Headlight switch & Brite Box

[rmrc]

After reading about some of the problems these headlight switches have handeling additional accessories, does anyone know if adding the Brite Box would put to heavy of a load possibly causing problems with the headlight switch?

 

[wtrenholm]

My understanding of the Brite Box is that it doesn't increase current through the light switch,

it just keeps the low beam filaments on when the high beams are on (I may be wrong).



Another take on this is to install relays for the actual ground of the lights, the circuit has ground side switches. I was playing around with my truck and I have almost 1. 25 volts used in the harness and switches (called voltage drop). By using jumper wires and eliminating the unwanted voltage drop in the ground side my lights got noticeably brighter, using a lightmeter that I have with the headlight aimers it was approximately and 5000 candle power improvement. Another plus is that you can run more lights or higher wattage bulbs with out damage to the harness/switches.



HTH

Wayne

 

[JCockrell]

Britebox

I have had the Britebox for almost a year. I have had no trouble, only happy with the added illumination.

 

[JTMcCracken]

wtrenholm, could you please be more specific. I and others I'm sure would be interested in what exactly you did, thanks, JTMcC.

 

[Matt42]

Originally posted by JTMcCracken

wtrenholm, could you please be more specific. I and others I'm sure would be interested in what exactly you did, thanks, JTMcC.

Ditto!

 

[Wiredawg]

Me Too!

I've been thinking of the same thing. I don't mind saving some engineering time.



Please enlighten (humor intended) us all!



Wiredawg

 

[EMDDIESEL]

I have had the brightbox in my truck now for about 4 months, it is GREAT its so much nicer driving at night. I had concerns too but i spoke with Joel (The owner and engineer of the company who makes the bright box) and he said the ONLY problems he has found is when people are using aftermarket headlight bulbs that are higher then normal wattages. I drove over 2 hours with my brights on 2 days ago and it was no problem.

 

[juicedcummins]

Another prob with the box that JOEL IS AWARE OF is, sometimes it will leave your lights on after shutdown. It will also make a buzzing sound.

As far as I know it only happens on trucks equipped with drl´s. He has a repair that requires hacking the factory harness to make the box work.



The bright box is a great add on.



Without a repair harness from the manufacture you are farther ahead to do it with relays since you be hacking the factory harness anyway!

 

[FDziurda]

Build your own?

I picked up a couple of 30A automotive relays and a small project box and built my own version of a Brite Box.



My version uses the 12V from the headlight switch to control the relays (both Hi & Lo Beams), so it actually reduces the current thru the truck's headlight switch.



My goal was to make a box that was "plug & play", so I went to the junkyard and removed a couple of headlight connectors from a wreck and wired them to the box. For the input side, I found an old headlight bulb and removed the glass envelope; then attached wires and filled it with epoxy. You just unplug the truck's headlight connectors and plug the home made unit's connectors onto the headlights. Then take one of the truck's original connectors and plug it into the new box so you can control it. Run a 10 ga lead to the battery and you're done.



The box takes 12V directly from the battery distribution for both Hi & Lo beams, which significantly reduces the voltage drop thru the truck's wiring.



Best thing about this arrangement is you don't have to hack into the truck's wiring. If the relay unit ever has a problem, you simply unplug it from the truck's harness and plug the OEM headlight connectors back into the headlight bulbs.



I then installed a set of the "Silverstar" bulbs, which are quite a bit better than many of the others out there. With both Hi & Lo filiments turned on itsd pretty respectable.



Good luck.



Frank

 

[wtrenholm]

I haven't done the relay thing to my truck yet, I've done it to almost every other car I've owned. But it is going to get done the the truck. I plan on posting better info when I'm done so you'll know where the easiest places are to splice into.



Newer trucks have ground side switching, and that's what I'll explain. The goal is to reduce voltage drop in the h-light circuit to allow more voltage to be available to the bulb for making light. The high beam circuit is RD/OR and the low beam circuit is VT/WT.



I go get ISO relays from the salvage yard with the connectors and some wire off the connector, you'll need two relays, one for the low beam circuit and one for the high beam circuit. Remember; a relay has two circuits A. High current circuit that is controlled by the contacts. B. Low current current circuit that goes through the coil in the relay to turn it off and on.



The procedure basically goes as this.



#ad




Using a typical ISO relay make the following four connections for each relay:



1. Take the existing 12V wire from the light bulb and cut. Wire the end from the light bulb to pin 30 on the relay. This will be the feed for the contacts in the relay.



2. Take the other end of the wire you just cut, that goes to the light switch, and connect it to pin 85; this will provide a ground for the control coil of the relay.



3. Add a wire from pin 87 to the battery negative terminal, a nice short path to ground. This is ground for the contacts. No need for a fuse as the bulb feeds are already fused.



4. Add a wire from a B+ power source (only flows about 500mA) to pin 86. Fuse installation is up to you on this one, not a bad idea though. This is the 12V feed for the control coil.



There you have it. The headlight switch and dimmer switch only have minimal current flow. The lights are brighter because almost all availble voltage is available to the bulb filament, instead of 1 volt or more being "dropped" in the harness.



The OE splice (S106)for joining the left and right high beam circuits together are in the area of the underhood relay center. The low beam splice is in some kind of "joint connector", I have no idea what that is. That's the areas where I intend to cut in and install my relays. There may be a better place but I'm not aware of it yet. I'll post my findings when I the the job done.



HTH, if you have more questions please ask, I don't check the board daily so there may be a delay.



Wayne

 

[Matt42]

What kinds of cars or trucks, and their years, would we look for to find ISO relays? Are all ISO relays the same? Perspiring minds want to know.



Thanks.

 

[wtrenholm]

Most any domestic car and a lot of pickups. ISO means that pin locations and numbers are uniform and the diagram I added will be accurate. These relays are used for stuff like AC clutches, cooling fans, fuel pumps, etc. Most any circuit that is controlled by the computer, the relay allows a high current circuit to be controlled by a low current circuit (the driver in the ECM).



An easy target is late 80's / early 90's FWD Mopars, there's relays under hood and individually wired so connectors and pig tails are a breeze to get. Plus the molded plug makes it nice to work with.



Another nice relay to score is a high blower relay found on a lot of GM cars, it's an excellent choice for a high current application (25-30 amps) like high wattage driving lights.



I buy relays by the bagful when I make a trip to the salvage yard.



Wayne

 

[Blakers]

I wonder how the Bright Box or a homemade substitution of it would work with a snowplow lighting harness? I have a Western plow for mine.



Thanks.