Thread: Defender lights upgrade

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Starting battery definitely.
A cable route might be across the top of the firewall, down the passenger side to underneath, up through the round hole in the battery box. I have a UHF and a solar panel wire following that route.

Thanks for that
still struggling where to fit the relay where it will be accessible ....the prime spot
is taken by my Winch isolation switch ..so looking for alternatives in limited space under defender bonnet .......

does anyone know the exact dimensions of the Traxide relay unit ...length from from screw mount to screw mount and breadth ..........?? .....I think I know a place it might fit

Hi,
Behind the LH headlamp is a horn for the alarm I think.
It has a built in mounting stud and nut going through a mounting point.
I mounted the two traxide relays on either side of a scrap of aluminium, wired them up, and put it back in the cavity, hanging of the horn stud and bolt mount.
I used the aluminium sheet as a mounting point for negative earth, with a wire going back to the engine block to eliminate voltage drop.
Cheers

Originally Posted by landoman

Thanks for that
still struggling where to fit the relay where it will be accessible ....the prime spot
is taken by my Winch isolation switch ..so looking for alternatives in limited space under defender bonnet .......

does anyone know the exact dimensions of the Traxide relay unit ...length from from screw mount to screw mount and breadth ..........?? .....I think I know a place it might fit

By prime spot do you mean under the inspection cover on the driver's side mudguard? That's my plan.

I now have my Traxide kit and sorted out where to fit it

before I fit I want to measure the voltage at the headlights and again after fitting the kit
to see what voltage delivery improvement is

what is the best way to measure the voltage ...Just put the two probes of the multimeter into the 3 pin light sockets ?

with the lights turned on, see if you can measure at the back of the 3 pin socket, this will give a true reading.

Hi Landoman, as jboot51 posted, turn on your motor and have your headlights on high beam.

Having your headlights on high beam with draw the most current and give you an accurate idea of how much voltage drop you are experiencing.

Also, it is probably a lot easier to measure the voltage at one of your globe plugs because you will simply measure the voltage at the two side terminals of the three terminal headlight plug.

There are three terminals on the headlight plug, two side terinals and a top terminal.

One side terminal is the COMMON EARTH, the top terminal LOW BEAM POSITIVE and the other side terminal is HIGH BEAM POSITIVE.

NOTE, you do not need to know which side terminal is the COMMON EARTH and which is the HIGH BEAM terminal. Simply put either multi meter probe on either side terminal.

You will then get one of two readings on your multi meter, like " 12.05 " or " -12.05 ". Getting a MINUS " - " sign on a voltage reading simply means you probes are reversed but this is NOT a problem and the voltage NUMBERS will be exactly the same in either direction, just ignore the MINUS " - " sign.

Once you get the voltage reading at your headlight plug, leave the motor running and measure the voltage at the terminals of your cranking battery.

Then subtract the headlight value from the cranking battery, and there is your voltage drop.

EG. Say 12.05v at the headlight and 14.37v at the cranking battery, your voltage drop is 2.32v.

Originally Posted by landoman

I want to upgrade my defender headlights and have read many of the posts here and based on what I have found plus some other research it looks like I'm down to a choice of options

1) JW Speaker ....appears to be top of the line kit ....with good low beam and high beam performance
......but a tad hard on the wallet .....

2) A traxide light wiring loom upgrade ...plus better bulbs .( Phillips?? ).and a suitable reflector (ciebo )

3) crystal halogen headlight uograde ....from Rovercraft

4) xenon ultimate headlamp upgrade ......from Rovercraft

I can afford the J W Speaker .........but I have past experience and confidence in Traxide kits .....however I have no idea of how these different kits might deliver the best light ...........I am old with failing eyesight and need the best light I can get ........so not sure how I should choose ........comments ...experience .....suggestions welcome ..........

We have been very happy with Trucklights in our Puma MY14 110, We found them on eBay and ordered through a US supplier. I think they cost us around $650 for the pair.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi Landoman, as jboot51 posted, turn on your motor and have your headlights on high beam.

Having your headlights on high beam with draw the most current and give you an accurate idea of how much voltage drop you are experiencing.

Also, it is probably a lot easier to measure the voltage at one of your globe plugs because you will simply measure the voltage at the two side terminals of the three terminal headlight plug.

There are three terminals on the headlight plug, two side terinals and a top terminal.

One side terminal is the COMMON EARTH, the top terminal LOW BEAM POSITIVE and the other side terminal is HIGH BEAM POSITIVE.

NOTE, you do not need to know which side terminal is the COMMON EARTH and which is the HIGH BEAM terminal. Simply put either multi meter probe on either side terminal.

You will then get one of two readings on your multi meter, like " 12.05 " or " -12.05 ". Getting a MINUS " - " sign on a voltage reading simply means you probes are reversed but this is NOT a problem and the voltage NUMBERS will be exactly the same in either direction, just ignore the MINUS " - " sign.

Once you get the voltage reading at your headlight plug, leave the motor running and measure the voltage at the terminals of your cranking battery.

Then subtract the headlight value from the cranking battery, and there is your voltage drop.

EG. Say 12.05v at the headlight and 14.37v at the cranking battery, your voltage drop is 2.32v.

well measured the drop ....engine running ...headlights on beam .......
14.32 at both headlight plugs .......and 14.41 at the battery terminals ........not a big difference
.........have not fitted the new loom yet ......but with this result should it make much of a difference ?

I have ordered some Phillips H4 extreme 130 bulbs .....and hoping they will help too