Boomslang Harness Headlight Fail

[nobber]

Hadn't noticed that. It's easier to see on the picture, but I haven't really looked at the picture much. Just directly at the relay socket and it's not so obvious like that.
Presumably that's due to the poor connection due to the rust.

Aye, been meaning to put them in something
To busy focussing on the turbo issue I suppose.

Thats a fire waiting to happen right there. Anything switched on for long periods of time needs to be properly fused and weather sealed.

 

[Al2O3]

Thats a fire waiting to happen right there. Anything switched on for long periods of time needs to be properly fused and weather sealed.

It is fused. Can you recommend a make of relay box?

EDIT
Or do I need a component box to house the relays in?

 

[nobber]

Have a look for weather proof sealed fused relay boxes, what amp fuse are you using?

 

[Al2O3]

Have a look for weather proof sealed fused relay boxes, what amp fuse are you using?

The harness came fused - 40amp

 

[nobber]

The harness came fused - 40amp

40 amp! Seriously? is that for both headlamps?

 

[Al2O3]

40 amp! Seriously? is that for both headlamps?

Yes, it's in the main live feed.

 

[nobber]

So tops you will have two full beam lamps on, thats nowhere near 40 amps, what is the cable rated at?

 

[Al2O3]

So tops you will have two full beam lamps on, thats nowhere near 40 amps, what is the cable rated at?

It's a boomslang harness. What would you recommend for the fuse?

 

[nobber]

It's a boomslang harness. What would you recommend for the fuse?

The idea of a fuse is to protect the wiring and not the accessory it powers, so basically you want the fuse to blow before the wiring melts, so , you take the amps the accessory will draw, over spec the wiring then get the fuse rating below the wiring spec but above the amps drawn by the accessory, if that makes sense?
Also, you dont want all your lamps on one fuse, if a fuse blows you still want to be able to drive home, so , four fuses , left full , left dip, right full and right dip.
Then you build your wiring harness specs to suit, you should only need an 8 amp fuse for each of the four.
I think what Boomslang have done is assumed dip and full are on at the same time!

 

[Al2O3]

The idea of a fuse is to protect the wiring and not the accessory it powers, so basically you want the fuse to blow before the wiring melts, so , you take the amps the accessory will draw, over spec the wiring then get the fuse rating below the wiring spec but above the amps drawn by the accessory, if that makes sense?
Also, you dont want all your lamps on one fuse, if a fuse blows you still want to be able to drive home, so , four fuses , left full , left dip, right full and right dip.
Then you build your wiring harness specs to suit, you should only need an 8 amp fuse for each of the four.
I think what Boomslang have done is assumed dip and full are on at the same time!

That does make sense. Presumably the standard LR system is set up like that?
Here's a link to the harness where one of the listed features is 'fitted 40A fuse in waterproof housing for maximum electronic protection'.
https://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html

 

[nobber]

That does make sense. Presumably the standard LR system is set up like that?
Here's a link to the harness where one of the listed features is 'fitted 40A fuse in waterproof housing for maximum electronic protection'.
https://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html

Id like to see a diagram for one of those, it looks like two relays? and is that one or two fuse holders? What I can see is two earths from the 3 pin head lamp plugs that look to earth to the vehicles body? One of the biggest issues with defender headlamps is the earths, they dont seem to have addressed this. At least they have kept the fuses close to the battery connections.

On mine I have kept the original wiring but ran a fly lead from the earthing points back to the battery. If I were to rewire it all I would use Land Rovers 4 fuse method but with relays as well. Currently my headlamps are brighter than my VW's Xenon lamps.

 

[Al2O3]

Id like to see a diagram for one of those, it looks like two relays? and is that one or two fuse holders? What I can see is two earths from the 3 pin head lamp plugs that look to earth to the vehicles body? One of the biggest issues with defender headlamps is the earths, they dont seem to have addressed this. At least they have kept the fuses close to the battery connections.

On mine I have kept the original wiring but ran a fly lead from the earthing points back to the battery. If I were to rewire it all I would use Land Rovers 4 fuse method but with relays as well. Currently my headlamps are brighter than my VW's Xenon lamps.

Yes, two relays. One switches the headlights the other the main beam - I've discovered today. Only one fuse on mine. Mine has black plastic relays, ie can't see through them as in the paddocks picture, so slightly different. Might just be the plastic used for the relays though.

 

[nobber]

They probably use whatever relays they can source.
If I were to design a loom for headlamps I would use 4 micro relays and a proper micro relay box, 4 blade fuses and the correct wire gauge. 55 watts full beam will pull around 4 amps , 8 amps on both bulbs , so nothing has to be made to withstand a nuclear war! The live feed to the fuse box would have to be a bit more robust but if everything is in the battery box it doesnt really matter too much, earths would run back to the battery.. Having one fuse for full and dip on both sides is madness, if that blew while you were driving on a dark windy road at any kind of speed and you could be in a bit of trouble!

 

[Al2O3]

They probably use whatever relays they can source.
If I were to design a loom for headlamps I would use 4 micro relays and a proper micro relay box, 4 blade fuses and the correct wire gauge. 55 watts full beam will pull around 4 amps , 8 amps on both bulbs , so nothing has to be made to withstand a nuclear war! The live feed to the fuse box would have to be a bit more robust but if everything is in the battery box it doesnt really matter too much, earths would run back to the battery.. Having one fuse for full and dip on both sides is madness, if that blew while you were driving on a dark windy road at any kind of speed and you could be in a bit of trouble!

Cheers, nobber. I'll have to have a closer investigation of the boomslang set up. Seems like a bit of a cock up for a company like that

 

[nobber]

Cheers, nobber. I'll have to have a closer investigation of the boomslang set up. Seems like a bit of a cock up for a company like that

It seems a cheap and nasty way to try and solve a problem that isnt really a problem, there is nothing wrong with the Land Rover set up, you still get the correct voltage at the bulbs, the switches are rated at way more amps that the system pulls, they are built like tanks! The problem is people just assume land rover lights are crap, when you put 12+ volts into a headlamp bulb it doesnt matter what vehicle its attached to, so if you are not getting 12+ volts at the bulbs you have a problem that needs fixing, clean the switch, clean the connections, get a good earth, make sure the battery is in good health and the live and earth connections to and from it.
Ripping it all out and replacing it with a different system is akin to ripping an engine out because the fan belt snapped.

 

[nobber]

Who makes them , do you know? I only know of Boomslang in America who make harnesses for engine management systems.

 

[Al2O3]

It seems a cheap and nasty way to try and solve a problem that isnt really a problem, there is nothing wrong with the Land Rover set up, you still get the correct voltage at the bulbs, the switches are rated at way more amps that the system pulls, they are built like tanks! The problem is people just assume land rover lights are crap, when you put 12+ volts into a headlamp bulb it doesnt matter what vehicle its attached to, so if you are not getting 12+ volts at the bulbs you have a problem that needs fixing, clean the switch, clean the connections, get a good earth, make sure the battery is in good health and the live and earth connections to and from it.
Ripping it all out and replacing it with a different system is akin to ripping an engine out because the fan belt snapped.

You don't rip anything out, they're fairly easy to fit. The switches have a tendency to melt with the current going through them.

 

[Al2O3]

Who makes them , do you know? I only know of Boomslang in America who make harnesses for engine management systems.

I presume Boomslang make them

 

[nobber]

You don't rip anything out, they're fairly easy to fit. The switches have a tendency to melt with the current going through them.

The current is measured in amps, think of it this way, a water pipe, volts is water pressure, current is flow rate and resistance is the size of pipe, if the switch contacts are dirty they cause resistance, if any of the connections are dirty they also cause resistance, so the flow rate increases, this causes things to get hot, the switches have a tendency to melt because they dont get serviced or more specifically, cleaned. Just like your connection got hot and melted due to dirty contacts. Electrical systems need servicing just as any other part of the vehicle do, and when installing new systems they need to be done correctly , or they will fail , just as yours did.

I reckon you have three options, return the system back to factory and give it a right good service, repair and put the harness back in service, or, modify the harness to make it safer, I would probably modify it if it were me, its already in there , you know how it works and you know what to do to make it better.

 

[Al2O3]

The current is measured in amps, think of it this way, a water pipe, volts is water pressure, current is flow rate and resistance is the size of pipe, if the switch contacts are dirty they cause resistance, if any of the connections are dirty they also cause resistance, so the flow rate increases, this causes things to get hot, the switches have a tendency to melt because they dont get serviced or more specifically, cleaned. Just like your connection got hot and melted due to dirty contacts. Electrical systems need servicing just as any other part of the vehicle do, and when installing new systems they need to be done correctly , or they will fail , just as yours did.

I reckon you have three options, return the system back to factory and give it a right good service, repair and put the harness back in service, or, modify the harness to make it safer, I would probably modify it if it were me, its already in there , you know how it works and you know what to do to make it better.

I'll have to modify it.
If both headlights on main beam pull 8 amps why have they put a 40amp fuse in it?
Im off to bed nobber, I'm falling asleep here