Vtec Headlight Modification Revived

Out of the ashes the pheonix shall rise or in this case i'm rebuilding the Headlight Modification post for the Vtecs. To those who remember, or to those who are new, our member Fog tuned me onto this modification.

As factory the vtec uses only the low beam filament of the 2 filament lower bulbs whether the switch is in high beam or low beam. We change that.

Descrition of stock Vtec light operation.

With the switch in the low beam position the forward (low beam) filaments of the lower bulbs are illuminated. As you switch to the high beams, the upper 2 bulbs illuminate, while the 2 lower bulbs remain in the same state they were in during low beam operation (fwd filament on).

Descrition of operation after we modify it for greater output, while maintaining the same current draw (negligable extra load on the system)

With the switch in the low beam position the forward (low beam) filaments of the lower bulbs are illuminated. As you switch to the high beams the upper 2 bulbs illuminate and the lower bulbs forward (low beam) filaments go out. At the same time the aft (high beam) filaments of the lower bulbs illuminate.

The difference in light output by carrying the filament deeper into the reflector is amazing. A much wider, further beam is the result, all the while you place no more load on the system. Stock, on HI, you use 4 filaments, Modified you also only use 4. Some have modified their so that both of the filaments contained in the lower bulb illuminate at the same time while on high. that is basically running 6 bulbs on our Vtecs, which i believe would fry ground wires and burn fuses sooner or later.

Here is a list of parts that will be used....all garnered from a BMW car dealership.....(thank FOG for these P/N's)

BMW p/n's as follows....

5 Pole Relay 61 368 373 700 (called green relay. for 7 series fuel pumps i believe) 1 each

Housing 61 131 389 113 ( 1 each)

Connector 61 131 350 848 (2 each)

Connector 61 131 358 924 (3 each)

Connector 61 131 370 692 (2 each)

These are the P/N's according to Fog, but i changed the installation slightly to suit me. you basically need the 5 connectors for the relay base, and 2 "L" shaped connectors to plug into the factory Low beam plug at the bulb.

First here is the factory wiring diagram.


[image: user posted image]
Original

And now how it will be changed


[image: user posted image]
Modified


Now the installation.....First remove the upper fairing and this is what you'll see from the front

[image: user posted image]
Front View

And from the rear....Notice the Babe of the month gauge that only the faster Vtec's have

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Rear View

Looking from front to rear, you have the Hi relay on the left (rt side of bike) and the Low relay on the right (left side of bike). Next pull both relays out of their rubber booties.

[image: user posted image]
This is the Hi relay out of it's boot.

Next...using the purchased connectors and appropriate wire (thank you my job) we add a lead lead to the factory bulb harness. These are the lower bulbs as you hopefully know. The bulb plug snaps open and is set up for three prong bulb, except Honda only wired in 2 connectors (low and ground). Using the L shaped connectors we add a 3rd wire to each plug. make the wire long as you can shorten the other end later. once you squeeze the connector in you can go ahead and snap shut the bulb plug.


[image: user posted image]
Picture of added wire to factory bulb plug.


As I did not want to damage the factory wiring harness I made jumpers to connect the factory wires to the new relay.
Go ahead and pull the Hi relay from its base and youll see the connectors in the base. If you insert a piece of thin metal (I used a thin jewelers screw driver) into the small notch at each connector you will release its catch, and allow the connector to be pulled from the Hi relay base. When removed it basically leaves you a female blade connector. Using a male blade connector from a kit fom any auto parts store (AutoZone for me) i made 3 inch jumpers for the factory harness that i could then add the new BMW relay connectors to, then seat those connectors into the new housing. I will explain more in a moment.

[image: user posted image]
Here is where you stick in a thin screwdriver (THIN) to release the factory connectors from their relay base. You will see a small notch in the connector hole opposite the wire side. slip the thin blade down in that notch between the connector and the plastic base, and apply gentle pressure (gentle) pushing in. At the same tim pull the wire from the other side and out should come the connector.

now the fun... Wiring!

You now need to pull out the green control ground from the Low relay base. tape off that wire (i used shrink wrap) as it will no longer be needed. the low relay is now going to ground (remember its only a control ground) through one of the headlight bulbs.

Wires

Thin blue/white is the control power to the relay from the switch
Green is the control ground...grounds relay so that it may actuate
blue /red is main bulb power wire.
Outlet to high beam bulb should have two wires stuck into one connector, but i don't recall color. The Power lead will also because it T's off there to go to the low relay so watch colors and use a meter if you have one.

Now to start wiring you need to recognize the symbols on the relay. You should be able to decypher the diagram pretty easily. You'll see the main power input, see how and to which pins it seperates to make 2 power outputs, youll see the contol power pin and location, and finally the control ground location and pin.


Taking the 2 new wires we added to the lower bulb connector lace them up to where the relays where and leaving some slack, go ahead and cut them....twist the 2 together, and then attach one of the new relay base connector to them. I soldered all connections for durability. When done you can plug it into one of the outs of the new relay base. 1 Done! Next , take about a 6 inch or so piece of wire you aquired (i went up a gauge or two on all my jumpers for durability) attach a female end on one end. you now need to push that female end up into the LOW relay base where you pulled out the green control ground, and be sure it engauges the blade of the low relay. this is your new low relay control ground. (basically when you hit your high beams now , it puts a positive on ground from your high beam bulbs and the Low relay disengages. with high beams off the Low relay grounds through your HI beam bulb filament) . Next take one of the 3 " wires and add a new relay base connector on one end (again solder if you wish to ensure durability) this will be the output to the factory high beam bulb wires. go ahead and plug it into the other output of the new relay base. On the other end ....take that wire and the end of the wire you made for the low relay ground and twist them together. And then install a male blade connector (make sure the connectors work together blink.gif ). Then that gets plugged into the female connector (pulled from old base) that go to the high beam bulbs. now its just a matter of making jumpers (new connector for relay base on one end, male on other) for the green Hi control ground, the Main power, and finally the control power and plugging them all in. That all sounds so hard, yet all that will take you 45 minutes or so ( add time for soldering). I taped all the male/ female connections then applied heat shrink over it to seal it forever. This is what you should look like now.


[image: user posted image]
Pic of jumper wires going to new relay base and to factory wires. to the left the male / female connections have been taped and heat shrunked, the one on the right has yet to be done.

Next since this new relay will not fit the factory rubber bootie, I applied RTV (silicone) to the base where the wires enter to keep out moisture .


[image: user posted image]
Pic of relay base sealed with RTV. Also can be seen here where i took plastic spiral wrap and bundled the wires nicely together. its actually spiral wrapped all the way to the new base but is real evident where all the male / female connections are.

Here I found, after removing my fairing, that the throttle cables were chafing through their black sheath where they contacted the ignition switch assy. Spiral wrap to the rescue!


[image: user posted image]
Some more spiral wrap to prevent further wear.

Finally taped up junction of new relay to its base to prevent moisture. Then zip-tied it up to original Hi relay location. Also put Low relay back in its bottie and mounted it (you can put a dab of RTV to seal / retain new ground wire if you choose. i didnt bother as its up in its bootie.


[image: user posted image]
Taped up and mounted

Now put it all back together and admire your work!! Turn on key and test it out. Low beams come on..hit Hi and youll see uppers come on and the lower bulb will switch filaments .


[image: user posted image]
Low beams


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High beams on. you cant really tell from these pictures but output is greater...maybe not output, but definatley the pattern.

Its really hard to describe the difference this makes. Doing it in the daylight i didn't really see the net benefit till i rode it later that night. the side illumination and overall lighting on high beam is sooooo much better. Well worth the time spent figuring it out. AND....Seeing how i left all factory wires intact, its an easy change back to factory should warranty work be required.


Any questions feel free to ask. Seeing how im a "Bastage" ill likely ignore ya tongue.gif , but feel free to ask anyhow biggrin.gif

ohhhh. and my thanks to Tejas who luckily for me had printed out the old post so i had something to rebuild from. (insert old bowing emoticon here)

My favorite part about this mod is your killer temp gauge. Could you explain in great detail how to get one of those and how difficult it is to install. laugh.gif

Hurricane249, Jan 23 2005, 02:15 PMMy favorite part about this mod is your killer temp gauge.  Could you explain in great detail how to get one of those and how difficult it is to install. laugh.gif

installation is easy, its updating to the newest babe of the month that takes so much time. biggrin.gif

767fixer, Jan 23 2005, 03:59 PMinstallation is easy, its updating to the newest babe of the month that takes so much time. biggrin.gif

After looking closer at the install I was wondering if it was a tight fit? unsure.gif

767fixer, Jan 23 2005, 04:59 PMinstallation is easy, its updating to the newest babe of the month that takes so much time. biggrin.gif

*answer edited to protect the innocent*

Nice job 767fixer. biggrin.gif

In was tempted to edit your spelling slightly, and maybe divide it into paragraphs a bit more, since it's a useful reference post. But I'm feeling too lazy, and I don't want to be called the SpellingFixer. rolleyes.gif

Careful of that upgrade from girlfriend of the month 7.0 to wife 1.0. It's irreversible without great expense and pain. Oops too late. laugh.gif

yep...now its wife 2.0 ver a.

feel free to make grammatical corrections as i am in no means an english major (only a lieutenant). i usually go through it once in a while and make corrections. took about 2 hours to re do that post. plus another hour and a half to get pictures to work because imagestation.com decided to go on the fritz on me.

VFR4Lee, Jan 24 2005, 12:47 AMNice job 767fixer.  biggrin.gif

In was tempted to edit your spelling slightly, and maybe divide it into paragraphs a bit more, since it's a useful reference post. But I'm feeling too lazy, and I don't want to be called the SpellingFixer.  rolleyes.gif

Careful of that upgrade from girlfriend of the month 7.0 to wife 1.0. It's irreversible without great expense and pain. Oops too late.  laugh.gif

In that case, be VERY careful when updating to girlfriend of the month 8.0 (or any other version). If wife 1.0 (or any subsequent version) realizes there has been an unauthorized installation of ANY version of girlfriend of the month, the system will crash completely with very expensive implications.

vfrjim2002, Jan 23 2005, 08:26 PMIn that case, be VERY careful when updating to girlfriend of the month 8.0 (or any other version). If wife 1.0 (or any subsequent version) realizes there has been an unauthorized installation of ANY version of girlfriend of the month, the system will crash completely with very expensive implications.

Lmao!! so true. Gf ver 1 to 12, needs to run in the background. otherwise wife ver 1 or 2a causes crash.

767fixer, Jan 23 2005, 07:31 PMLmao!!    so true.  Gf ver 1 to 12, needs to run in the background.  otherwise wife ver 1 or 2a causes crash.

But be careful when running any GF version...a fatal error sucks!

Hurricane249, Jan 24 2005, 01:40 AMBut be careful when running any GF version...a fatal error sucks!

However, if you can get wife *.0 and a version of GF to handshake and run together in the same directory, you may hit upon nirvana. Post pics. blink.gif

vfrjim2002, Jan 23 2005, 08:45 PMHowever, if you can get wife *.0 and a version of GF to handshake and run together in the same directory, you may hit upon nirvana. Post pics.  blink.gif

yep...nothing like compressed versions saving space

vfrjim2002, Jan 23 2005, 07:45 PMHowever, if you can get wife *.0 and a version of GF to handshake and run together in the same directory, you may hit upon nirvana. Post pics.? blink.gif

(insert bowing emitcon) Too funny.

edited to close all tags before the Tag Nazi busted me again

Not to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Ciao!

pg


"The difference in light output by carrying the filament deeper into the reflector is amazing. A much wider, further beam is the result, all the while you place no more load on the system. "

pgeller, Sep 5 2005, 10:21 AMNot to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Well, your lower beams would always be on high instead of low. Possible legality issues there.
And, what you suggest it to easy. Where's the fun in that!? tongue.gif

Now, what would be cool would be the ability to switch your lower bulbs from high to low independently from the upper bulbs.

MFP-2241, Sep 6 2005, 03:31 PMWell, your lower beams would always be on high instead of low.? Possible legality issues there.
And, what you suggest it to easy.? Where's the fun in that!?? tongue.gif

Now, what would be cool would be the ability to switch your lower bulbs from high to low independently from the upper bulbs.

plus the fact you lose the wide pattern of the low beam..... plus how boring would it be to be so lazy?

vfrjim2002, Jan 23 2005, 06:45 PMHowever, if you can get wife *.0 and a version of GF to handshake and run together in the same directory, you may hit upon nirvana. Post pics.  blink.gif

Nirvana is wonderful...and no I won't post pics.. goofy.gif

As I explained in the PM to you yesterday, you would move the wire that currently powers the low-beam filament to the open socket on the bulb connectors, thereby powering the highbeam filament instead. Takes some mods to the connector housing as the flag terminal has to point the opposite direction.

The downside:

1. pattern may be too concentrated, as "767fixer" mentioned (although the pattern appears pretty wide still),

2. there is a lot more radiant energy above the horizon, so may bother oncoming cars, and

3. the high-beam filamnt of the H4 puts out 60% more luminous poop than the low-beam filament (according to the typical published specs 1600lm vs 1000 lm) and therefore burns a lot hotter. Filament life (when published) is as low as 50 hours, compared to 150 hours for the low-beam filament.

So the mod which uses a relay to intermittently run the high-beam filament could be the best way to go.

Boring, Lazy pg
03 VTEC

04asphalt, Oct 12 2005, 04:39 PMexplain more...

Pretty slick Fixy, nice mod !

Hey to anyone has been scared off from doing this mod b/c of the complexity, here it is in a much simpler form. same result except 1/3 of the wiring and no BMW parts nessecary. i used a standard 5-pin bosch relay available almost everywhere for $2 and about a foot and a half of misc wire i had, and a few female crimp connectors. Easy so far right!
Now unpin all 4 wires from the low beam relay.

cut the end off the bu/w wire it is not used any more but as it is still a 12vdc it must be protected from grounding out.

plug the bl/r into the bottom vertical pin on the new relay

plug the 2wire w/bu into the bottom horizontal pin on the new relay

plug the g wire into either of the side vertical pins on the new relay.

make your two pigtails to plug into the empty sockets on the low beam bulb connector

crimp both these wires into one female spade connector

plug the wire/s you just added to the top horizontal pin on the new relay

last splice a piece of misc wire from the bl/r wire coming out of the hi relay

crimp another female spade connector onto this wire and plug it into the other side vertical pin on the new relay(oppisite the original green wire).

DONE!!

not to fear i did all the testing with a DVOM before wiring it and posting this so, just do it and reap the benefits, i love it.

[image: IPB Image]

a bosch relay is what was basically used. it was just easy to locate as a BMW part # since i live across the street from a BMW employee. (well.... i used to)

Oke, this is great work by both parties and I love it.

But I'm a simpleton...what would be the downside of just jumpering the low filament over to the high and running both at all times on the lower set of bulbs?

Maybe cages would get overshined but a quick flip of the high button would show them the 'high beams' weren't really on smile.gif .

Rev Eric, Jan 16 2007, 09:26 AMOke, this is great work by both parties and I love it.

But I'm a simpleton...what would be the downside of just jumpering the low filament over to the high and running both at all times on the lower set of bulbs?

Maybe cages would get overshined but a quick flip of the high button would show them the 'high beams' weren't really on smile.gif .

The downsides include:

The bulbs may get too hot (running both sets of filaments) and that may greatly reduce the life of your bulbs. You may drive by a cop and piss him off with your "highs" (unluckily to happen, but there are a small handful of cops out there that have a real stiffy for sport-bikes). Or, you may be putting too much amperage though the lowbeam wires, with could lead to wire failure.

sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but is there a part number for the bosch relay or any other specs that distinguish it from other relays?

bobo69, Mar 30 2007, 10:03 PMsorry to bring this thread back from the dead but is there a part number for the bosch relay or any other specs that distinguish it from other relays?

all the part numbers are in the initial part of the how to...

5 Pole Relay 61 368 373 700 , its a lt green 5 pole multi purpose relay. any 5 pole high load relay can be used.

pgeller, Sep 5 2005, 12:21 PMNot to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Because sometimes the sun goes down and there are cars coming at you in the oncoming lane.

Lee 2002, Mar 31 2007, 08:47 PM

pgeller, Sep 5 2005, 12:21 PMNot to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Because sometimes the sun goes down and there are cars coming at you in the oncoming lane.

Lee, you're such a simpleton rolleyes.gif

Lee 2002, Mar 31 2007, 08:47 PM

pgeller, Sep 5 2005, 12:21 PMNot to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Because sometimes the sun goes down and there are cars coming at you in the oncoming lane.

is the exact reason why to do it this way. you arent blinding people on low beam.....plus the fact the mod would be wasted due to not being used!!

SEBSPEED, Mar 31 2007, 08:14 PM

Lee 2002, Mar 31 2007, 08:47 PM

pgeller, Sep 5 2005, 12:21 PMNot to be a spoilsport, but why not just switch the wires at the bulb plug so the rearward filament is used instead of the forward filament all the time?

Because sometimes the sun goes down and there are cars coming at you in the oncoming lane.

Lee, you're such a simpleton rolleyes.gif

I really am....

Crazy thing... before I found VFRD here on Al's internet, I had come up with pretty much the same thing as Fixer has here. Mine is just ever so slightly different because I had to deal with a Signal Dynamics headlight modulator in the mix. I thought, for a while, that I had came up with a teriffic idea and that I was the only one in the world to think of it. Then I got on VFRD and everyone had modded headlights. Sure would have saved me some thinkin' if I had found VFRD sooner.