unknown part

[rolo7011]

can anyone tell me what this is?

I was thinking about some kind relay but do not sure.
It is connected between the light switch on the dashboard and the headlights.
This component makes poor contact causing the lights sometimes fail, can I omit?

[dann01]

Bi-metal thermal cut out switch to prevent the lighting circuits and wiring from overheating. The Viva lights as standard don't have relays, so unless you upgrade the wiring and decide to fit relays, I would not omit.

Have only had them cut out when on full high beam, and am braking (ie, every available filament is on) and even then I believe it was a very old unit with a weakened strip. Replacement with a younger, less used unit should sort the problem.

Dan

[MattyE]

the one and only time *touches wood* that my Firenza let me down (on a dark country lane in the pouring rain) was when a previous owne's bodge (bypassed the bi-metallic thermal cut-out and replaced with an in line fuse) presented itself with a burning smell and then no lights!!

the fuse didnt blow as it was rated too highly, I had previousy melted and replaced the headlight switch and on this occasion the fuse holder melted!! thank god that the holder was the weak link and the wiring didnt catch fire!

I removed the inline fuse and fitted an aux fuse box and two relays (one for dip and one for main) which had the pleasant side effect of making my lights about 50% brighter too!!

[rolo7011]

okay thanks for the information,
so matty, you advise me to connect 2 modern relays and the old bi-metal omit?

What is the proper way to connect, is this correct:
30 + from the battery, 87 to the headlight, 85 the cable from the switch, and 86 to ground?

[MattyE]

Yep, all the below relates to HCs with the 4 headlight setup and is mainly from memory, dont know if it changes for the two light models?

the main live feed for the lights comes through from the fuse box at A2 under the dash (footwell side) - this is a big brown/blue wire and connects to the light switch

one output from the light switch is a red/green wire and goes to the fuse box at H4 under the dash (footwell side) this is connected to J5 within the fusebox via fuse 4 and feeds the sidelights, dash lights etc I chose to leave this as-is since the load is fairly small

The other output from the light switch is a blue wire and goes to the bi-metal thermal overload thingy, and from here to the flash/dip stalk - from this stalk two wires one blue/white and one blue/red go to fuse box at H2 and H3 under the dash (footwell side)

I chose to use an in-line fuse in place of the thermal cut out as all the load should be taken out of this circuit by the addition of the relays, the fuse is fairly low rated and just there incase theres a short in the switchgear prior to the relays

engine bay side i located the blue/white and blue/red wires from H2 and H3 at the fuse box (engine bay side) and disconnected them from the fuse box, connecting each to the output of a relay - i then added a new wire to H2 and H3 (engine bay side) and used them to trigger the two relays - the power feed to these relays is from the battery via a new fuse for each - the ideal rating of these will differ depending on the wattage of headlights used

a picture tells a thousand words and all that so.... heres a picture (hey its late and ive nothing better to do)

[rolo7011]

Thanks for the diagrams,
I have everything connected today and it works well!
and you were right, it really give much more light.

another question, what about the wipers?

it goes through the ignition switch, but the + is connected to the side of the solenoid with a white-red wire. but when the ignition is on, there is at 0 volts. Should this not be 12 volts?