New Era twin headlight relays - are they still good today?

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Back in the day the duck's guts headlight relay of choice was the New Era Twin Headlight Relay the 12V 30A NLR-132. How does the NLR-132 stand up in today's usage? A quick search online finds that there are multiple headlight wiring 'kits' on eBay and Amazon that includes the female socket all wires and two headlight relays starting at around $26.00. These range in price from the cheaper 'no name' kits to branded kits that are around $76.00+ in value.

Snowy - my 1993 Defender's headlight sockets are not serviceable anymore as they became brittle and subsequently broke. I have ordered a set of name-brand ceramic headlight sockets. This will be connected to wider diameter wire than the original fitment and hooked up to some New Era twin headlight relays that i already have available. They are previous purchases that have just been sitting waiting in their boxes to be put to good use.

Am I just being old fashioned by staying with the tried and trusted New Era relays and not buying the readily available 'kits' for a cheaper price?

Kind regards
Lionel

[p38arover]

Funny you should mention them. I found a new old stock one of these in my garage recently. It was going to go into my ‘86 RRC some years ago. I sold it in 2002 after I got my P38A.

[drivesafe]

Hi Lionel, I have been supplying the New Era relays with my headlight kits for over 20 years now and the failure rate is still very low and a lot better than so called headlight relays.

One of the main advantages of these relays is the ability to easily clean them.

Just hose them down and alls well.

The biggest drawback with ready made headlight kits is that they use pathetically thin wiring.

They use wiring that is capable of carrying the current required but they fail to allow for voltage drop.

With any headlights, the higher the VOLTAGE at the globe, the brighter the light will be.

So you need to consider both the type of relays and the size of the cable, to get the best results.

[Lionelgee]

Hi Lionel, I have been supplying the New Era relays with my headlight kits for over 20 years now and the failure rate is still very low and a lot better than so called headlight relays.

One of the main advantages of these relays is the ability to easily clean them.

Just hose them down and alls well.

The biggest drawback with ready made headlight kits is that they use pathetically thin wiring.

They use wiring that is capable of carrying the current required but they fail to allow for voltage drop.

With any headlights, the higher the VOLTAGE at the globe, the brighter the light will be.

So you need to consider both the type of relays and the size of the cable, to get the best results.

Hello Drivesafe,

Yes, back in the 1980s it was New Era relays and one size of cable more than "OMG, that is some really thick wire" as the general rule of thumb.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Rick1970]

Used them in rangie….6mm feed to relay…. 4mm to close headlight…… 5mm to far headlight…..14.1v at globes with engine running (was mid 11’s)…. Very noticeable improvement with std 55/60 globes in round hella housings

[workingonit]

So you need to consider both the type of relays and the size of the cable, to get the best results.

Interesting topic.

I took my Discovery 1 for rego inspection - it passed - but with some criticism of brightness and alignment of lights. Hmmm. Later that evening put a line on the wall and set the vehicle back recommended distance - could not find a problem with brightness and alignment.

Few weeks later took the 1990 Toyota Troopy for rego inspection - it passed - but with no comment on the pathetic lights, equivalent output of two birthday candles. I asked. Was told that Toyota comes from the factory with undersized wires (dim lights) and run both lights through one relay. Because its factory they don't fault them.

[Tins]

Glad you brought this up, Lionel. I'd forgotten these. I reckon one would be ideal for my OKA. It's sorta like a big Deefer, only less aerodynamic..... and the headlights are about as feeble as the sealed beams in a Prince of Darkness powered SII.

Boy, there seem to be some knock-offs around.

[Lionelgee]

Glad you brought this up, Lionel. I'd forgotten these. I reckon one would be ideal for my OKA. It's sorta like a big Deefer, only less aerodynamic..... and the headlights are about as feeble as the sealed beams in a Prince of Darkness powered SII.

Boy, there seem to be some knock-offs around.

Hello Tins,

Yes - lots of knock offs. The genuine New Era ones have 'made in Japan' written on the relay itself and New-Era ニューエラー (http://www.newera.co.jp) written on the box.

Kind regards
Lionel

[drivesafe]

Used them in rangie….6mm feed to relay…. 4mm to close headlight…… 5mm to far headlight…..14.1v at globes with engine running (was mid 11’s)…. Very noticeable improvement with std 55/60 globes in round hella housings
With defenders, because the battery is so far from the lights, I supply two lengths of 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 x 2 ) cable. One for the headlight circuit and one for the driving lights.

[TonyC]

With defenders, because the battery is so far from the lights, I supply two lengths of 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 x 2 ) cable. One for the headlight circuit and one for the driving lights.

Is there any reason why you wouldn't pick up power from the starter motor, the alternator or the under bonnet fuse box, which has a couple of unused slots, and is supplied from the starter motor as far as I can tell.

Tony

[W&KO]

Is there any reason why you wouldn't pick up power from the starter motor, the alternator or the under bonnet fuse box, which has a couple of unused slots, and is supplied from the starter motor as far as I can tell.

Tony

I pick up my 12v feed for driving lights from the alternator on my TD5, way shorter run than from the battery.

[drivesafe]

Is there any reason why you wouldn't pick up power from the starter motor, the alternator or the under bonnet fuse box, which has a couple of unused slots, and is supplied from the starter motor as far as I can tell.

Tony
None of the vehicle manufacturers take power for the lights, or anything else, from that location, why I do not know.
During a run of one of VWs Golf’s models, they for a short time powered the lights from the alternator, as it meant a shorter wire run.
But half way through the run, for some reason, they went back to powering the lights from the cranking battery.
While I have no idea what the problem was, I prefer to play it safe and come off the cranking battery.

[V8Ian]

Would the voltage from the battery be more stable than from the alternator?

[drivesafe]

Would the voltage from the battery be more stable than from the alternator?
Not by much, but there is a massive amount of voltage spikes at an alternator, where as the battery acts as a huge voltage suppressor and this may be why there may have been a problem when VW did it.

[Tins]

I wish I knew you sold 'em before I ordered one, Tim. Still, it arrived today. I suspect it will help breathe some life into the glow worms that inhabit the front of the OKA.