30 replies to this topic

[Clubby1275GT]

right then, fitted my angel eyes last night (which are superb, recommend to anyone) and since was driving around and stuff all was fine.
parked up, went away for a couple of hours, came back and turned the lights on, nothing!!
everything else worked, so elimated all problems except rocker switch
Turns out thats what it was, but the plasticconnector that the wires go into is all melted, still plugged the switch back on and they fired up, i noticed though after it happened again that it was real warm, not the switch the plastic connector that holds the wires and it started to smell like burning!!

what can cause this? could it be the new high power halfords own h4 bulbs??
dont partcularly want flames inside the car!

[Jimmyarm]

I think you are supposed to use a relay to switch on halogen lights when you install them as the current is too high (or higher than they were designed for) for the standard switches & wiring.

From what I remember reading on here, the headlamps are not fused either which is why bits start melting !

[Dan]

The switch starts melting because it isn't rated highly enough for the circuit quite simply. Even if it was fused, if the fuse was rated high enough to run the circuit the switch would still melt. The rocker switches in Minis are rated at 16 amps. The total load of the lighting system with 55/60 H4 headlamps fitted is about 14.7 amps. Once there is any corrosion in the wiring the corroded bits start to draw a bit of extra power and the current drawn by the total circuit slowly increases as the corrosion spreads along the wires. The upshot of this is that as the wiring gets older, the switch can't support the circuit any more.
If you are running double sidelights (standard Clubman sidelights and the Angel Eyes) then you will have added a bit more load still. And if you are using any of the (illegal) H4 bulbs available rated at over 55/60 watts then you will have made it even worse.

As said above, running the dip and main beam lighting through relays instead of directly off the switch will completely fix the situation.

Use two relays, one for dip and one for main. If you mount them under the slam panel you can use the break in the wires where the bullet connectors are to provide all the connections into the circuit you need. Then you need to provide an earth for the relay coils and a new supply to run each group of lamps from the starter solenoid battery terminal. It would be a good idea to fuse the lamps as well.

[Clubby1275GT]

cheers for the quick replies guys but i no nada about wiring or electrics! i no basics but ient got a clue what a relay is or how to fix this problem!
the bulbs in the headlights are only 55/60w h4's, not any higher!
can i not buy a higher amped rocker switch?
whats a relay then, and how does it work in relation to stopping things setting on fire!
can anyone do me a diagram or any instructions!!?!

[Dan]

A relay is an electrically operated, remote controlled switch which isolates one circuit from another. I'll do you some instructions and a parts list. Back later......

[Clubby1275GT]

Dan your an absolute legend, the last thing i want is my pride and joy turning to ash!

[Big_Adam]

ah just like wiring air horns.

[Clubby1275GT]

Dan, u there mate? im scared to turn my lights on now incase i go up in smoke! if anywhere sells one where can i get a auxiliary wiring kit from that may include all the stuff i need?
would a simpler sollution be change the headlight bulbs to something of less wattage??
surely the piddly sidelight ones for the angel eyes should cause a problem, although thats a total of six sidelight bulbs now and two h4 headlights!!

[miniboo]

halfords will sell them or try your local motor factors.

alternatively so that you still have your lights put the old ones back in and use them until you sort the wiring

[Dan]

Worry not young Clubby, I am here.

What do you need to turn your lights on for anyway? It's mid summer!

Since you say you don't have much experience with electrics, it's probably best to get two of the pre-wired relay and fuse kits that can be bought from places like Halfords. While you're there get some electrical tape, some cable ties, some blue sleeved 8mm ring / eyelet type crimp terminals and some male and female bullet type crimp terminals (Blue or yellow sleeved is you're getting the pre-insulated type, red would be OK but blue is best). You said you've done some crimping so I assume you have a crimp tool and can at least cut and strip a wire and crimp a fitting on.

Almost all the connections you are going to need already exist behind the slam panel, where the two headlamp assemblies are joined into the main loom using bullet connectors (he says, hoping that Clubman is the same as Mini in this department). These look like little rubber bricks.

Disconnect the battery earth cable from the battery, and put the carboard cover back with the cable outside it so it can't fall back onto the battery.

Find somewhere to mount the two relays, like on the drivers side inner wing and bolt the two relays in place. If you can use holes that already exist then that would be best but if you really need to drill some, make sure you paint the edges of the cut with some touch up stick. With the relays mounted and the fuse holders arranged so that you can get to them, you're going to start laying out the cables. Work with one set at a time so you don't get confused. Take three of the four cables from one relay and lay the wires along the wing and up to the bullet connectors, following the route of the existing harness. Whatever colour the cable is that the instructions tell you is from pin 30 on the relay (probably red) is going to run straight down the wing with the other cables that run to the starter solenoid, the other three to the front panel. When you know how long each cable needs to be and you have got them running a tidy route, cut them to length but don't tie them into anything yet. The pin 30 cable running to the solenoid needs one of the 8mm eyelet connectors fitted to it. The pin 85 cable needs a female bullet connector fitted to it and the pin 87 cable needs a male bullet. Leave the pin 86 wire for now.

Determine which of the bullet packs has blue/red cables running to it. This is the dipped headlamp connector. Determine which of the cables from this connector is coming out of the main harness rather than one of the lamp cluster harnesses and remove this cable from the connector. This is going to be the signal cable which triggers the relay, it comes directly from the dip switch in the steering column. If the cable pulls out and it's bullet has fallen off, don't panic they do that as they get brittle with corrosion. Put a new bullet on it and join it to the cable from pin 85 of the relay. Wrap this joint in some tape, three wraps is enough. Push the bullet on the wire from pin 87 of the relay into an empty space in the multi bullet connector so that it joins to the two headlamp cluster loom dipped beam cables. Make sure it clicks into place.

Now do the whole thing again with the other relay, using the connector block with blue/white cables. This is the high beam connector.

Now you should be left with the two pin 86 cables which hopefully should be black. Join both of these by crimping them into a single male bullet connector and click that into the multi bullet block with black wires in the slam panel bundle. A bit of tape around the two just up from the connector will stop one being pulled away from the other which is a good thing to do when they are crimped together like this.

All that remains now should be the two ring terminals by the starter solenoid. Identify which terminal on the solenoid is connected directly to the battery and remove the nut from it, slip the rings over the top and re tighten the nut.

The kits should have blade fuse holder already fitted into them. If you have to fit them yourself, they need to go inline in these last cables fitted to the solenoid. They probably come with 15 amp blades. You should switch these for 10 amp blades. If they are glass cartridge fuse holders they need to be 25 amp cartridge fuses.

You should now have a nice tidy installation with the minimum of butchery to the car's original electrics and which can easily be removed if you ever need. Re-connect the battery earth and see whether the lights work in both high and low beam.

If everything is working, tape all your new cables up into a tidy auxiliary harness and cable tie the new harness on to the outside of the existing harness to keep it all tidy.

If it doesn't work, come back and tell us.

Edited by Dan, 07 July 2006 - 02:38 PM.

[998er]

I found that i havent needed new wiring for my halogens, but they arent very highly rated bulbs. I did however have a problem with the terminals on the back earthing to the front wings. Wouldnt stop blowing fuses..

might be worth checking..

[Clubby1275GT]

right then guys, fitted the relay to the car, ill explain what it is ive done so u can see if u can spot whats wrong!

the relay is wired in fine but....... theres no high beam, flash works fine but whether its through the relay who knows, i cant put just sidelights on, both clicks on the switch are sides and mains?!?!?!
the sides are wired independantly theyre earthed where the horn is and then wired straight to the bottom fuse connrection on the box.

so surely theses should work with just one click of the lights switch.

The chap before me had a scotch lock on the red wire that goes into the back of the rocker switch, one of the wires was snipped which leads me to believe that it was for his fogs previously. i simply wired the relay into that, but still can only have mains and sides on together no matter what click on the rocker switch?
as for the no flash, i hae no idea what that is?

any of you leccy genius' have any ideas?

[Clubby1275GT]

anybody????

[Dan]

Now who told you to connect anything to a red wire? That's the side lights. You have connected the main beam relay into the sidelight circuit. That's why you have always got your headlamps on. Fix that first then see if you can switch between high and low properly.

[Clubby1275GT]

so what do i wire that wire too?? if not into the switch itself then where? what colour is the headlight circuit? and good places to splice into?

oh yeah Dan, im only using one relay as i bought the one that powers two RING fog/driving lamps.

only thing im worried about is that i have two empty bullet connectors where i unplugged one wire out of each side to plum the yellow wire from the relay into (the wire that gives power from the relay to the headlight)

u mentioned that i should plum the black wire from the relay (on my relay this is the earth cable) into the bullet cluster at the front clam panel.
well theres two set of bullet clusters, one on each side, so i dont no where to plum the blue wire that i had going to the back of the switch to??
any thoughts?