low and high beams on at same time?

[Korndogg]

hey all
i have a 96 TSI and i was just curious if anyone knew if there was a relatively simple way to make the low beams stay on while the high beams are on.. my 94 did this and i liked it much better.. lights the road more effectively.
anyone foresee any negative sides to doing this?
thanks a lot

 

[LightningGSX]

Use a relay to turn on the low beams while the high beams are on.The only problems I see, would be current draw and whether the headlight housing can take the heat of both bulbs at the same time.

 

[Korndogg]

hehe
yeah, i'm actually searching aroudn for relays right now.. but i can't seem to find anything appropriate... that's why i posted this question.. because i found on vfaq that you can make the foglights stay on with the highbeams just by shorting 2 wires...

anyone know where to buy an appropriate relay?

also, i don't think the current draw will be a problem for me.. and i would hope that the heat wouldn't be... *shrug*
thanks

 

[Korndogg]

hmmm
http://www.autodoctorparts.com/fram...5&make=AU&model=A6--001&category=P&part=Relay
would that work? it says 40amp... that wouldn't be sufficient, would it?

that would close 30+87 when there's 12V across 85 and 86.. correct?
i could just wire 2 in parallel if 40A is to low, i believe... but maybe there's a better relay around...

 

[Korndogg]

http://amos2.catalogcity.com/amos/cc/main/catalog/pcd/5745274/prd/8187941/ccsyn/260
there we go.. $20 and i can be all set on both sides

can anyone confirm that this would do it for me?

thanks a lot

 

[LightningGSX]

Any Bosch type($1-$5) 30/40 amp relay will work.And yeah, when you energize 85 and 86, pins 30 and 87 are shorted.Throw a 1N4001 diode across 85 and 86 for flyback protection also, The band on the diode goes to which ever pin has +12v.

 

[greenmachine97]

my 97 has low beams and high beams on at the same time
when i put the brights on, the low beams stay on but the fogs go off. is this how it is supposed to be?

 

[Korndogg]

i'm not sure abuot the 2gb, but my 96 can have low+ fogs on, then i switch to high beams and both low+fog shut off.... *shrug*

and also, what does flyback protection mean? i'm in computer engineering, so i know exactly what a diode is and what it does.. just never heard the term...
thanks

 

[LightningGSX]

When the relay switches off, a short but huge (sometimes hundreds of volts) spike is produced.The spike can degrade the contacts of the switch that controls the relay, the diode will "recirculate" the spike back through the relay coil.Its also called kickback protection or shunt or a million other names.

 

[Tsar]

Originally posted by greenmachine97
my 97 has low beams and high beams on at the same time
when i put the brights on, the low beams stay on but the fogs go off. is this how it is supposed to be?

my lights stay on too... so when i saw this thread i was like "whats wrong with my car?" :laugh: