83' CL Headlights Relay

[N. Dinis]

Hi guys, I bought a 131 Series 3 1400 CL and I'm replacing the engine. Other problem on the car was that the headlight relay, near the battery, was plugged off..... Can anyone tell me in a basic way, how to turn that thing on?

Thanks, Nelson

[N. Dinis]

No one?

[Thotos]

I thought headlight relays were only used on twin headlamp versions for the high beam only. A 1400CL should not have a headlight relay I believe   

[mirafiori76]

A relay near the battery? The relay from headlights should be located in the fusebox.

[N. Dinis]

I'll take photos and post them here I believe that is not original...

[N. Dinis]

Here is the pic of it... I don't know the history of this car, I only know that the previous owner is gone :S

[N. Dinis]

This is not working properly... I have no medium lights nor maxiums... what is the logics of this relays? I'm too noob about this..

[Thotos]

That's certainly not original.
Looks like the relays just have 3 wires on them which are not enough. You need to have wires connected to all 4 of the relay contacts. See typical relay wiring below for headlights and auxiliary lights.

[mirafiori76]

The logics of realays is the following:

Due to the power needed by the headlights a relay is fitted to boost the Amps. That's why there is always a relay needed for extra foglights or beamlights. Same counts for rear window heating.

[mirafioriman]

A relay allows a low current to switch a high(er) current. In some situations such as Fiat 131 headlamps and Citroen Xantia blower motors the circuits did not have relays, meaning the power went through the switch. The high current used in circuits like headlamps and blower motors damages the switch over time and it eventually leads to failure.

Looks like someone has added relays for the headlights as a modification.

Use Theo's helpful diagram to check the wiring and see what's up. I'm guessing there is a wire missing or detached.

 

[N. Dinis]

what means HID and FF50's in the diagram?

[mirafioriman]

I think Theos diagram has come from an installation of High Intensity Discharge headlamps.

Basically the original live wire to the headlights goes through the smaller terminals on the relay to earth and then a fused 12v source goes through the larger relay terminals to the headlight.

On some smaller relays all four pins are the same size in which case there might be a diagram on the top of the relay or you need to identify which pin is which from the pin numbers.

I can't remember off the top of my head which number is which sorry.

[Thotos]

what means HID and FF50's in the diagram?

HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. In your case this will be the normal feed wire for the low beam lights. Feed this wire to terminal 86 of the relay for the low beam lights.

"OEM high beam lead" is the normal feed wire for the high beam lights. Feed this wire to terminal 86 of the relay for the high beam light.

Use a multi-meter to find which wire has 12 volts when the low beam light switch is on and also which wire has 12 volts when the high beam switch is on. Maybe someone with a wiring diagram can have a look and let you know which colour the wires are likely to be.

FF50s are driving lights made by Hella. I simply picked the diagram off the internet as a 'typical' light relay installation diagram.

Connect 12V from the battery through a suitable fuse (10A - 15A depending on the wattage of your bulbs) to terminal 30 of the relays. If you are going to have one relay for low beams, and one for high beams then use a separate feed with a separate fuse for each relay to terminal 30.

Connect terminal 85 of the relays to ground.

Run wires from terminal 87 of the relays to the bulbs and let there be light 

Ignore the wire from terminal 87A of one relay to terminal 30 of the other relay. That's to ensure that the driving lights go off when the high beam is switched on.

[N. Dinis]

Ok, thanks for the help. I'll try that tomorrow as I'm not at home right now. Later I'll let you know how this went