Electrical System Upgrade List

Since we are discussing the X's electrical system, I've noticed a couple things that seem curious to me. This is the first time I've really dug into the electrical system in detail as I modify things, so I've really never paid attention to any of this before. In this case I'm referring to a 1979 model X, but some or all of it might be the same for other years also:

1) In the workshop manual the list of fuses and their functions has a note at the bottom that has "unprotected circuits" (I assume that means "not fused"). Most of that list is items referred to as "relay winding". I assume that means the actual coil inside the relay is not protected, as in there's no fuse for the "trigger" side of the relay. Those "unprotected" relays include the ones for the radiator fan, parking and headlight controls, fuel injectors, and power windows. However up in the list of items that are fused there's several "relay coils" for other functions. They include the A/C control, A/C blower, rear window defogger, and headlight motors. So why are some relays protected and not others? The relays themselves are all the same so it isn't a matter of some being a higher rating with greater loads.

2) And further regarding the "protection" of "relay coils". Those two tiny fuses ("Q" and "R"), the short ones that aren't available any more, are lasted as "headlight closing relay coils" and "headlight opening relay coils". So these unobtainable fuses are just to protect the "trigger" side of the two headlight motor relays ("I' and "L")? Yet up above it says the "headlight control relay windings" are NOT protected. Sounds contradictory to me, but I'm sure I am not interpreting these correctly so please explain it. Also, if those two tiny (3 amp) fuses only protect the trigger coils of those relays, are they even necessary? There's several other relays without protection for the trigger coil (as listed above). Given these little fuses cannot be found, do we even need them...why not just bypass them like with the other unprotected relays?

3) I also see the list of relays shows the labels for the left and right headlight relays as "headlight motor" and another third relay as "headlight motor, parking lights". I assume the first two are not the motors as labeled, but are just the lights themselves? And the third one is for both (left and right) headlight motors?

4) Regarding the 1979 year model's headlight switch, my understanding is it's wired a bit differently from the other 'late' model X's. It has the provision to turn on the parking lights when the ignition key is off. This would be like the old European custom of having the parking lights on when you leave the car parked on a narrow road. Therefore the circuits for the parking lights must be constant power (i.e. non-"switched"). The two fuses for the parking lights ("G" and "H") also include the marker lights, tail lights, license plate lights, and 'lights on' indicator. So all of those are also left on when the key is off and the headlight switch is in that position? Or are they wired differently so only the parking lights are left on? Frankly I've never tried to leave any lights on with the key off so I really don't know.

Appreciate all input on all these questions, as I try to sort out the electrical system.
 
@Dr.Jeff

Here's the little headlight schematic. I only have one relay for low beams, and one for high beams - fed with the same fuse (both high and low can't be on at the same time, so all good!) The relays are fed power from one of four fuses on my aux panel tucked beside the fuse panel of my '82 - but secured under the steel cross structure.

I have to double check if this is exactly how I wired it - lol.. I was doing it fairly quickly. So I have a plug that connects into the original headlight socket to get signal for RL1 and RL2 - I didn't want to cut the original harness. I have my own sockets that feed my headlights - and one jumps across to the driver's headlight through the radiator bay. I'll check what fuse size I have.

So if the headlights are off - RL2 has power, fed through RL1 NC (Normally Closed) contacts. If you want to "flash to pass" with the pods down (totally useless on an '82!) - the highbeams will flash, signaling RL2.
When you turn on the headlights, RL1 is energized - closing the NO contacts (Normally Open)
When you turn on the high beams, RL1 is turned off and RL2 is turned on and fed through RL1 NC contacts (if I recall correctly!! - this I need to double check the logic, so I may edit this post later)

Below, you can see that the blue wires are the power feed to RL1 and RL2, and they jump from one to the other.

This is a pretty simple way to get it to work. No need to oversize the wiring, redundancy is nice though - so you could have this on either side of the car - but for me - one relay for high/low was fine.



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myronx19 said:
@Dr.Jeff

Here's the little headlight schematic. I only have one relay for low beams, and one for high beams - fed with the same fuse (both high and low can't be on at the same time, so all good!) The relays are fed power from one of four fuses on my aux panel tucked beside the fuse panel of my '82 - but secured under the steel cross structure.

I have to double check if this is exactly how I wired it - lol.. I was doing it fairly quickly. So I have a plug that connects into the original headlight socket to get signal for RL1 and RL2 - I didn't want to cut the original harness. I have my own sockets that feed my headlights - and one jumps across to the driver's headlight through the radiator bay. I'll check what fuse size I have.

So if the headlights are off - RL2 has power, fed through RL1 NC (Normally Closed) contacts. If you want to "flash to pass" with the pods down (totally useless on an '82!) - the highbeams will flash, signaling RL2.
When you turn on the headlights, RL1 is energized - closing the NO contacts (Normally Open)
When you turn on the high beams, RL1 is turned off and RL2 is turned on and fed through RL1 NC contacts (if I recall correctly!! - this I need to double check the logic, so I may edit this post later)

Below, you can see that the blue wires are the power feed to RL1 and RL2, and they jump from one to the other.

This is a pretty simple way to get it to work. No need to oversize the wiring, redundancy is nice though - so you could have this on either side of the car - but for me - one relay for high/low was fine.



View attachment 47583


View attachment 47584
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Thanks Myron. I'll study the logic of this closer when I get back home and can focus on it. But one question, when you "flash to pass" with the lights off (pods down), do the pods flip up and flash the lights? And if that's correct, do they respond that quickly?

I might find the answer once I study it closer. But this is a question that's been on my mind with any of the headlight mods.
 
Got back home where I could see the diagram on a full size screen. It makes total sense now, R1 is a "changeover" relay. Nice.

I'd still like to confirm how well the "flash" mode functions in terms of response time, pod opening, etc. Thanks again.
 
Something that I'm looking into is the stock relays in the fuse box vs additionally added (auxiliary) relays. A couple of the stock electrical functions are being omitted on my car, and that frees up their respective relays in the fuse box. In addition there are two relay positions in the box that are either empty or occupied by a timer and are available. Furthermore if a pair of auxiliary relays were added to the headlight circuits (low and high beam), that would free up another stock relay (high beam) in the box. So I'm looking at how these four or five spare relay positions in the stock fuse box can be repurposed for some of the other "auxiliary" functions. Things that will greatly benefit from adding relays, like the wipers or heater blower. If needed some of the feed wires could be replaced with larger ones and the trigger wires moved as needed. This will allow the fuses in the stock fuse panel and the stock relays to serve those functions, eliminating some (most?) of the extra components from being added elsewhere in the car.
 
So a little more digging into the electrical system mods and more questions.

I'll also post this as a new thread because I realize no one will still be with me at this point.

But, the fiber optic (FO) illumination of the dash controls on the '79 leaves me with one undetermined lead. On my '79 there are 7 strands of FO coming off the light source. One is clipped off near the source; I believe it came this way from the factory? This car was very "unmolested" and original so I doubt it was cut by one of the two prior owners (of which I know the history). And I don't see any place for it to have gone. Anyone know for sure that in '79 there was a cut FO lead from the factory?

The remaining 6 FO cables go to:
Headlight switch (left side of dash), hazard switch, dimmer control, rear window defroster, and dash lights switch (all in the center console). If you were counting that's 5. The 6th one is just dangling loose, and I can't figure out where it might have gone? I should note this is a factory A/C equipped car so the HVAC control panel (vacuum push-buttons) are illuminated by two small incandescent bulbs - not the FO. What else was illuminated by FO on a '79 with A/C?

I went to the '86 parts car to see where its FO leads go. There are only 4 strands on it; headlight switch, two power window switches, and - again - a loose one dangling behind the center console. [The other console switches on the '86 are not illuminated per see (I believe it comes from within, like my spirit for Italian cars).] So once again, where did the last FO cable go to?

Thanks
 
myronx19 said:
Hi Jeff - they do not pop up. I often wonder if the slots here were meant as a way to satisfy this when the pods were down. In practice, this does not work very well at all! :)

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Agreed, the stock design does not work well at all. So I was hoping that with the modified layout you did the pods came up when flashing the lights. It might be possible to do that by tieing in the relays that control the pod motors. Although I'm not sure that would even work, they are too slow in coming up. But I like your layout overall.

On my '79 there are no relays for any of the lights (low or high beam), only a pair for the motors to the pods. Apparently some years had a relay for the high beams. So in those cases only one additional relay may be needed (assuming all of the wires are proper size). But even then, if the lights are upgraded with high output H4's they may require marger wires anyway.

I've eliminated a couple of stock functions on my car. That freed up some of the relays in the fuse box. I'm looking at repurposing those for things like this headlight mod. But I would want to replace the power wires to them (fused) to match the newly added ones going to the lights.
 
It takes too long to raise the pods when flashing the headlights. You really need auxiliary lights to over come that.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
high output H4'
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I have Hella H4 - but only the light output is greater than original sealed beam, the wattage is the same as what was there before - but yes, relays are a good idea.

Actually - that reminds me - the BEST reason to use headlight relays isn't so much the keyswitch issue - it's the turn signal stalk. That's the next weak spot. I melted my high beam switch on my original stalk - I put in 100W H4s (bad idea!!). Now with relays, my H4s are nice and bright. I have no need to upgrade the lighting any further :)
 
myronx19 said:
I have Hella H4 - but only the light output is greater than original sealed beam, the wattage is the same as what was there before - but yes, relays are a good idea.

Actually - that reminds me - the BEST reason to use headlight relays isn't so much the keyswitch issue - it's the turn signal stalk. That's the next weak spot. I melted my high beam switch on my original stalk - I put in 100W H4s (bad idea!!). Now with relays, my H4s are nice and bright. I have no need to upgrade the lighting any further :)
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Something like 100W H4 was what I meant by "high output". ;)

Great point about the turn signal stalk. :) I was thinking as much about the headlight switch as the ignition (key) switch. But actually all three (ignition, headlight, and stalk) are at risk of too much load.

Regarding the "flash of headlights" issue. Agreed, the pods are too slow to rise and the headlights are too buried to do any good with the pods down. One possible option might be to install a very small pair of bright LED lights that can be "flashed" instead of the headlights. There's something referred to as "eagle eye" lights (pic below) that would work great for this. I've used them for other functions and they are incredibly effective - very focused and bright. The question is how easy it might be to rewire the feed from the switch on the stalk. I am in the middle of completely revamping the entire wiring system on one of my X's (massive job). And the stalks will be coming up very soon. So I'll try to remember to look into this idea at that time.

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I've pretty much sorted out the lighting systems on the car....still a few things to take care of but I really can't until some things start going back into the car.

Next I will be adding auxiliary relays for the HVAC blower motor and the wiper motor. I went through my saved X1/9 files and see that I have several references for the wiper motor relay upgrade, but none for the blower motor. :oops: As I was searching through old threads to get some ideas it raised a question about the blower motor. If I recall correctly the non-AC cars control the blower through the "positive" (+12V) side of the circuit, however on my AC car it is controlled through the "negative" (ground) side. Also the AC blower is a 3-speed unit vs the 2-speed one on non-AC cars. Furthermore the AC blower is a "squirrel cage" style vs the flat fan blade type on the non-AC cars. Most of that doesn't affect adding relays, other than how they are wired.
If anyone has some good references for adding relays to the blower motor I'd appreciate some links. ;)

I am replacing the stock blower "speed control" resistor box with a new one as used on VW's. Same principle but more modern materials and construction. That means it is also much more compact and can be mounted inside the heater box the way VW does (for good airflow across it when the blower is running). With it located in the heater box I can add the relays right next to it and eliminate a bunch of excess wires; nice short run from the control switch to the relays and resistor pack. Also no more "fire starter" in the vent scuttle, where all the kindling - I mean leaves and debris collects. :)
 
Today I discovered something that I will share in this thread, as it pertains to maintaining the electrical system.

For the fuse boxes with Euro "torpedo" style ceramic fuses, the metal 'prongs' that hold the fuses need to be cleaned occasionally to remove oxidation. Same for all of the little 1/4" spade terminals on the grounding contact "spiders", and the chassis grounding contact points. Also any other "push-on" terminals where the metal contact surfaces get corroded. In the past I used a small round wire wheel on a 'Dremel' type tool, like this:
SKU133613 (2).jpg

Does a good job but they do not last long. The wire bristles fail and fall out rather quickly so I end up using several before I'm done. And I'm always concerned that those loose bristle wires might land somewhere causing a electrical short. Plus those wheels have become a bit costly, at least for a disposable item that is only for a minor maintenance task.

Today I came across a box of "polishing wheels" that were given to me by an acquaintance of mine several years ago and I'd forgotten about. She is a successful jewelry maker and she worked with a major manufacturer to design a new type of polishing tool (new several years ago). Here is the brand she worked with to develop the products:

Dedeco | Quality Products for Dental, Jewelry, Industrial, Nails, Locksmith & Hobby

www.dedeco.com www.dedeco.com

One part of her polishing system is the "Sunburst" line. They are little "radial discs" made of a soft plastic with mild abrasive impregnated into them. They come in a variety of sizes and compounds. Here they are:

Products - Sunburst - Radial Discs - Page 1 - Dedeco

www.dedeco.com www.dedeco.com

326220.jpg

I decided to try a small (5/8") ultra-fine radial disc to clean the electrical contact terminals. It works amazingly well. They are very narrow and can get into tight spaces, they are flexible to accomodate odd contours, they do not abrade the surface, and the "fingers" on the disc are forgiving if you happen to get it buried into a tight spot. Also if you run it across another surface, like a insulated wire for example, it does not harm it. The cleaning (polishing) action is incredibly quick and a single wheel seems to last forever, so the whole job is much easier and quicker.

It looks like Dremel has now come up with something similar but I have no idea how they compare. There may be others out there as well. The original discs from my friend's company are expensive. Honestly this is an item I have little use for so if she hadn't given me a bunch I would not have them to try. But I'm glad I did, as they are perfect for this task. I was able to get in and around all of the terminals - even some 'hidden' ones - with no mess and no damage. I suggest trying the less expensive ones from Dremel or another company, however I cannot say if they will work the same or not.
 
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Performed the headlight relay mod a few years back. But I just put in Matt’s LED modules the other day. Wow. Let there be light. I left the relay harness in place.
 
Coupefan said:
Matt…Midwest X1/9. Highly recommend them. Serious amount of light now thrown on the ground and it adds a modern touch.
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So does MWB have a pre-packaged set of all the lights (modules), or do you still have to piece-meal it.
 
tvmaster said:
So does MWB have a pre-packaged set of all the lights (modules), or do you still have to piece-meal it.
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They have never sold a complete set. I doubt they even carry all the LEDs for the entire car (they have some, not all). They have carried an LED module for the headlights but no longer show it in the catalog

Superbright LEDs sells a variety of LEDs which are up to the job. There are other good sources.

There was a Fiat guy a number of years ago who sold complete kits of the secondary lighting, no headlights.

Knowing what I know about LEDs, I wouldn’t have them as a side business, they change too often and the quality is too variable as a casual buyer, (which is what MWB or other small purveyor of LEDs would be).
 
kmead said:
They have never sold a complete set. I doubt they even carry all the LEDs for the entire car (they have some, not all). They have carried an LED module for the headlights but no longer show it in the catalog

Superbright LEDs sells a variety of LEDs which are up to the job. There are other good sources.

There was a Fiat guy a number of years ago who sold complete kits of the secondary lighting, no headlights.

Knowing what I know about LEDs, I wouldn’t have them as a side business, they change too often and the quality is too variable as a casual buyer, (which is what MWB or other small purveyor of LEDs would be).
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Thanks. The term ’module’ had me confused there :) Superbright is probably the best bet, but you have to know what you’re looking for.
 
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