Horn/Headlight Relays

[Bill_Reid]

Where might I be able to obtain horn and headlight relays for my '60 Sprite?

 

[Boink]

There are lots of them "out there"... eBay, local auto parts suppliers. And here's a nice page on the matter: https://www.rattlebars.com/avalanche/relay_basics.html The so-called Bosch (5-prong) type works well and they are cheap.

 

[drooartz]

Local auto parts store should have some generic relays for you. Bugeyes never had any relays, so you can go with whatever will work.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Google: Parts Express - The sell the 5 pin Bosch Type Relays and Relay Sockets along with a nice handout for wiring headlight relays. Nice folks located between Dayton and Cincinnati. They also sell Heat Shrink Tubing in all colors by 3 foot pieces along with heavy duty inline fuse holders and fuses. I always stock up ok goodies when I get by there.

There is a nice place to install the relays right where the harness splits on the PS of the car and you can mount the relays to the clutch/brake pedal cover plate. You can pull out the I think if IIRC the Blue /White and Blue/Red wires right there along with the ground wire. I ran a fused power wire tie wrapped to the harness up and around and used a large lug to tie to the always on power stud on the solenoid. Again be sure and fuse it. The headlights draw a lot of current. I've be happy to provide pics if needed.


A huge difference in headlight brightness. I upgraded to halogen beams and Bugsy can find his way through the darkest nights. Higher current draw vs. standard can't see 10 feet in front of me at night standard headlamps. This is one upgrade that may not be exactly period correct/concours correct is definitely a safety factor to consider. And the placement really does not look out of place. Go for it.

 

[Coastalman]

Bill, bought mine in New Bern. Check with me at home and I'll show you what you need.
Charlie

 

[smaceng]

Bill, I installed extra fuses and relays under the dash of my BE to help cure the prince of darkness evils. If you are interested let me know and I can email you the information.
Scott in CA

 

[Bill_Reid]

Jim, I would appreciate pics if not too much trouble.

Scott, I am also interested in your method of wiring extra fuses and relays.

Thanks all....

 

[Sarastro]

Here's what I did:

https://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/electrical/

It's probably more than you want to do, but perhaps there are parts that might be helpful.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Steve, you've obviously looked at this for a long, long time. One of the issues I have with Bugsy my '68 Sprite is if undriven for 4-6 weeks battery is not sufficient to crank him over and get started. The only thing that should be drawing power is the keep alive for the radio memory. Is this enough load to drain a battety in 4-6 weeks. Now battery is 2-3 years old but I would think there should be enough power in the battery to support only the keep alive circuit. I should pull the keep alive off of the + solenoid terminal and measure to see if there is any other current draw. I'm just about 100% certain and that keep alive wire is fused just in case. I am running halogen headlights with relays, XM, and AM/FM CD player with a generator. It may be load is such that the battery really takes a dive running those short errands at night to the grocery store and never really gets recharged. A short session on the battery charger takes care of the issue and I'm sure if Bugsy was driven with more regularity the issue would go away. Your thoughts on other than upgrading to an alternator which is on the "roundtoit" list.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Oh and I will try to post a pictire of my headlight relay install this weekend. Again on the "roundtoit" list.

 

[Bayless]

Jim, several years ago I bought Battery Tenders for everything that does not get driven regularly. I have not had any battery problems since. Well worth the investment.

 

[Tim_C]

Here's the wiring diagram for my '66 Sprite after I added relays to my lights, horn, and heater fan.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12702006@N07/7544413876/in/set-72157632239346268

 

[Sarastro]

Jim, the keep-alive for the radio really shouldn't kill a well charged battery in any length of time. A battery has a certain amount of "self discharge"--that is, it just loses charge sitting around, and of course if it doesn't get completely charged up, the situation will be worse. I suspect that's all that's going on. When my cars sit around a long time, I put them on the charger for a while. A battery tender probably is a good idea, too, although I haven't ever used one.

 

[RickB]

Jim, "6 weeks" - really???
I can't imagine mine going without driving half that long.
:chuncky: