Headlamp Relay Issues?

[akrish2479]

Hi All,

About 8 months ago, I got tired of driving my Swift VDi on the highway with the stock headlamps. I really struggled with the lighting when I travelled to Badrinath in Sep 2011 and had to drive in the hills at night time. There were landslides and the headlamps offered me very poor visibility.

Then in Oct 2011, I got the headlamps upgraded to 100/90 Osrams, with a Minda 30 A Relay.

Since then, I have had to replace my headlamps at least 5 times, and bulb holders twice on one side.

I was told by the Maruti Authorized Service Station that I have to upgrade to a higher power relay. But when I ask either at the auto-accessories shops or the spare parts shops, they all give me the same relay and tell me no higher powered alternatives are available. I have however been reading on Team-BHP and other sites about people who have installed 200 A relays.

Question- are there higher power relays available for the Swift? If yes, where in Delhi/ NCR can I lay my hands on such a relay. I really want to have a higher power relay to avoid this issue of burnt out bulbs, which is becoming a pain for me, since, almost after each highway trip (I travel about once a month somewhere or the other and have extended night drives during these trips), I have had to change either the bulb or the holder.

Any guidance you can give me would be highly appreciated.

[007]

each 100W headlamp will draw 10A max [assuming battery voltage of 10V in the worst case].
2 such bulbs will draw 20A max. a 30A relay should be more than sufficient. I think something else is wrong in your case. maybe a faulty relay.

did you upgrade to ceramic holders too?

[shyamhegde]

Since then, I have had to replace my headlamps at least 5 times, and bulb holders twice on one side.

Why you had to replace the bulbs (obviously it should have fused, but telling which filament, what circumstances could help) and especially holders ?

[555]

try the Philips Heavy duty wiring kit..it comes with ceramic holder and is compatible with 130/100w.it is 33A which i think is more than sufficient.

[yzfrj]

I'm not exactly sure the problem you are facing here.

I've had no problem with 130/100 in my Zen ran for around 5 yrs.
I've had the same setup in my OHC for 2 years.

1 fused bulb, one blown fuse and lot of loose contacts.
It seems the bottom of the fuse carrier gives way in one such case.
Once it was a faulty bulb holder.

30A fuse should be more than enough.

Couple of days back there was some loose connection and High beam refused to work.
I might end up replacing the whole wiring kit soon.

Thankfully never had any problems on-the-go even on long drives (night, 8-9 hrs)

[Beasta1.6S]

I have separate relays for the left and right side bulb in my Zen.

I use Philips Rally 130/100.

I have been using this setup since three years now and there has been no problem.
Try it. I also faced the same issue of not finding branded relays so I bought two, each for the LHS and RHS Bulb just to be safe.

[yzfrj]

separate relays

Strange setup.

May I know why ?

I think its normal to have separate fuses for low and high.

[shyamhegde]

Strange setup.

May I know why ?

Because it is not H4 bulb. Fiesta is a double barrel type headlight.

[yzfrj]

Because it is not H4 bulb. Fiesta is a double barrel type headlight.

Aha...!
Beasta1.6S

Can you please provide details please.

I think WildWeasel would be interested.

[Beasta1.6S]

Well, a single relay that was available with the shops here could not have handled the total power exerted by the TWO 130/100 bulbs, so, I got one for each bulb (H4 in my ZEN, my FIESTA still uses the stock setup, which is wonderful, I haven;t felt the need to upgrade) to play safe.