Plug n play headlight harness upgrade

Painless has a similar kit which in my opinion is a little better quality with sealed connectors, an integrated 30amp fuse, better quality relays that have a higher amp load rating and 150 watt rating vs 100 watt. BUT this harness will cost twice as much. Also comes wrapped in a black wire loom so easier to conceal than the bright yellow wrap the putco one uses especially if ran along the bumper spacer behind the grill where the factory harness ran. There are many quad headlight relay harness kits you can find online some of which are super cheap in price but be aware if you get some no name cheap kit you may find yourself with a headache later on replacing some of the parts quickly or not having a heavy enough gauge wire used causing other issues. Cbarge has obviously has used the Putco ones and they are working well for him, I just chose to spend more for the aesthetics without having to rewrap, higher rated relays, fusible link already incorporated, sealed weatherproof connectors, all of which I could have changed for probably less than the price difference in the harness but wasn't worth the time for me.

Painless Wiring
 
Leaburn @cbarge turned me onto this years ago, and it's made a big difference in the lighting quality and electrical safety of my cars. That along with the bulkhead bypass setups makes me confident in the long term safety of my aging C bodies!

Thanks Leaburn!
 
One more thing...get the headlamps aligned!!
Makes a HUGE difference in lighting up the road.
Luckily, I have a vintage headlamp alignment kit.

boab october 2017 012.JPG


boab october 2017 013.JPG
 
What I like about the Hella housings is they look "stock" compared to the LED or Halo offerings. But to each their own.
At the right angle you can see the blue tinge of the PIAA Extreme bulbs. Sometimes you dont see it..

20220621_180938.jpg


boab october 2017 014.JPG
 
This stuff is pretty good at hiding bright wiring without looking cheap. Like the hard plastic corrugated stuff.
Amazon product ASIN B07FW86XV6
Alternatively I think vinyl paint would also work. I used it on some similar muli conductor car wiring and on home romex. Does not flake off. But will wear off if it moves around.

Amazon product ASIN B08MWX1QT5
 
On my Newport I used the correct factree wiring harness non stick tape and wrapped my Putco harness..looks stock...but it is not! Lol!

boab september 2017 015.JPG
 
I used the putco harness and relay on mine. I removed the yellow and wrapped it like original with the vinyl nonstick tape and installed original style connectors. Hid the relays around the corner of the core support and used halogen bulbs. You will have to really trace my harness back to tell that it isn’t stock.

Made a lot of difference in the brightness of the lights.
 
I too bought and installed that harness kit on my 77 NYB, which is when I found out that it totally jacks with the opening and closing of the headlight doors. Big John was very helpful and rectifying that issue with a relay that took care of this issue. So for those of you considering the harness upgrade and you have hideaway headlights, follow big John’s thread for the resolution..
 
cbarge said:
One more thing...get the headlamps aligned!!
Makes a HUGE difference in lighting up the road.
Luckily, I have a vintage headlamp alignment kit.
Click to expand...
THAT is a HANDY tool! I resort to masking tape, carefully measured and leveled on brick walls as per instructions on my 50+ yr old vintage Everready-Westinghouse sealed beam lamp boxes. My headlight alignment suffices nicely for my uses, but I wouldn't mind using a proper tool such as yours, if I could score one. I suspect its too expensive for the rare use I would have for it though.
 
I made my own lighting harness using #10 AWG wires, ceramic bulb plugs w silicone boots, and Tycho-Bosch relays. It works very well, though I'll NEVER go to modern headlamps, because I don't like blazing blinding headlights, period. I DO like getting plenty current to the old NOS lamps I use though. I plan to use that harness I made for Mathilda on Gertrude as soon as the monsoons stop here this September. I would love to get a photometer for a "before/after" comparison. I might be able to rig one easily with a photo cell, voltmeter and possibly a photo-resistor if needed. Should give meaningful results....
 
Gerald Morris said:
THAT is a HANDY tool! I resort to masking tape, carefully measured and leveled on brick walls as per instructions on my 50+ yr old vintage Everready-Westinghouse sealed beam lamp boxes. My headlight alignment suffices nicely for my uses, but I wouldn't mind using a proper tool such as yours, if I could score one. I suspect its too expensive for the rare use I would have for it though.
Click to expand...
The wall alignment works pretty well if you have the distance and a flat space.
The white garage doors at work may or may not have some marks at strategic positions.
I also found a Hoppy headlight aiming kit on E-bay about 2 years ago. With shipping they ranged from $75 -$150.
Great kit and fun to play with.
 
bnz84 said:
This stuff is pretty good at hiding bright wiring without looking cheap. Like the hard plastic corrugated stuff.
Amazon product ASIN B07FW86XV6
Alternatively I think vinyl paint would also work. I used it on some similar muli conductor car wiring and on home romex. Does not flake off. But will wear off if it moves around.

Amazon product ASIN B08MWX1QT5
Click to expand...
Just ordered some of the Alex Tech, should do well for my 77 NYB. Appreciate the info.
 
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