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I ran Tim's driving light kit in both my previous Discoveries and he is right those new era relays are close to bullet proof.
I have also run them and their non solid state predecessors on Rally cars and other driving light installations over 30 or so years - never had one let me down.
*********s suggestion of mounting them on their side is not a bad one, when I think about it, 95% of mine have always been side mounted in the engine bay.
Hi Mark and it really doesn't matter what position you fit them in, they just work.
Most of the defender kits have the relays mounted flat, on the guard and they don’t have problems, particularly as there are more than 500 of my kits out there and they have been around for about 12 years now.
So I think if there was going to be an issue with fuses and terminals corroding, it would have shown up by now.
A number of years back, I could not get the genuine NEW ERA relays, they were no long available in Australia, so one of my suppliers had a substitute and they proved to be useless to the point I stopped making the kits.
Then some time later, by chance, I came across a new supplier of the NEW ERA relays and I was back to making the kits again.
Even the substitutes had no corrosion problems, they had faulty springs.
Of all the kits I have supplied, there have been about 5, at most, that had contact problems caused by some form of chemical damage, and thats the only MYSTERY problems I’ve had.
So fitting they in any position is not a problem and corrosion is also not a problem as there would be far greater risk of the vehicle's headlight terminals suffering from corrosion before the relays would, if there was any real risk.
It's just another phantom problem.
I fitted one of the NEW ERA relays to an old ford ute I used to have. It was convenient to fit it it on it's side with the fuse down but this put the fuse in a crap of a place to get to if you had to change it.
I think you may be a bit over cautious. The New Era stuff - not the cheap knock offs - will take years of abuse in any location - I had a set mounted just behind my headlights on a previous vehicle. They copped not only mud, but all the road spray when it was raining, and in the 12 years I owned that vehicle, the headlights always worked. Like Tim, I found that they became hard to get some years back, but it's good to know they are still available. :)
Better placement than I just described is always preferable, but calling them junk is just plain wrong - they are one of the most reliable relays ever made. If you don't want the one that's in your junk pile, I'll happily send you a reply paid envelope for you to post it to me... :angel:
For those of you now fitting the FYLYTE driving lights, I an now producing a new COMBO kit specifically for these lights.
The Def-COMBO kit is the first and I will have them for all the discos very soon as well.
And they will all be based around the ultra reliable NEW ERA twin relays.
These kit have thicker cable and additional terminals to cater for the higher current draw of the FYLYTE driving lights.
This is my effort for relay mounting. I made a panel & mounted it to existing threaded holes in the R/H inner guard (I don't like drilling holes unnecessarily). There are 5 x 80 Amp sealed relays to allow for future attachments & a distribution fuse box.
Thanks for all the help on this Landy stuff guys, its really invaluable.
I've just upgraded my trusty old 55Watt Hella Spotties, mainly because one of them wanted to be a gold fish bowl< Igot sick of draining it in wet weather, and Mr eBay gave me some 100 Watt HID for $100
I used the HID supplied cable and 40Amp relay/fuse combo and just cut the cables off the old Hella spotties, thinking I can use the switch/cables/relay/30amp fuse/12volt pickup etc, for a future set of ARB bar mounted aftermarket forward Fog lights (I get a bit of fog around the lakes area I live in, and also down south on the travels)
Questions are?? Has anyone found a nice place to hang fog spotties on an ARB bar (Pics please)? Should I go for the old fashioned yellow fog spotties or be tempted by the new white ones that double as driving lights? Do I get the 12 volt feed off the low beam or the park lights (if park lights will they still work if I have the low beam on)?
Oh and the Earth bit,,, I used the tapped hole near the fuse box on the RHS for my HID relay secure point and system earth, trouble was it was painted, so the earth was intermittent and HID lights not reliable until I ran a tap through the hole and cleaned it back to metal.
Spel1 congratulations on your fine looking under bonnet electrical workmanship, but please explain what that air pump is there for, and do you have it running while the vehicle is moving, and is there a reservoir or air bottle for it? Pics would be great, as I'm thinking you have a rapid tyre re-inflation system going on....
Cheers to all Len :D:D
Len. Thanks, and nothing as fancy as a re-inflation system, I still have to get out to do the work. Its the middle sized ARB pump that actuates an air locker, so when switched on from the cab runs when it needs to when the locker is being used. It has a built in mini tank (the top silver tube) that is used to maintain pressure in the locker, and to prevent constant running when used for inflation (when not pumping and connected to a tyre it just holds pressure and the solenoid switches it off).Quote:
Originally Posted by lenleggo
As a side note to this, the new locker was to go in tomorrow. Was all ready with new parts at ARB in Hopper's Crossing - I decided to get them to install to maintain warranty for their work. But, the workshop burned down on the weekend with my new diff in the middle of it all, so now I have to get all the parts again - including the C&P from Ashcrofts. They are insured and I guess its just as well my D1 wasn't there at the time.
Re your earth connection. Just a self tapper provides a very minimal contact area if you are just connecting throught the threads. Either use a nut and bolt with the contact area cleaned back to bare metal if you can get to the other side, or just use one of the many unused spot-welded-in M6 holes all along the right hand side inner mudguard, next to the fuse box - still need to clean the area though.