headlight motor relay upgrade for 1970 & up

[71_deputy]

Here is a way of upgrading from the old headlight motor relay to a new style of relay.

here is a pic of the old relay-   pic #1
if you notice there is a circuit breaker attached to the relay- take it off- we need this one later- note- if the motor starts but cuts out- it may not be the relay- just the circuit breaker has a problem.

now when you take the wires off the old relay- they can be reused for the new one-carefully remove the terminal from the old connector

pic #2



next-- you just need a few parts-- Bosch relay- 30 amp contacts required, two eyelet terminals, two female spade terminals and some 14 gauge wire.

pic #3

next- bosch relay- 30 amp contacts or better--pic #4

[71_deputy]

next- assemble as seen  pic#5   use the eylets for the circuit breaker connections

parts pic # 6 is the layout of the wires

pic # 7 is one out of a 71 Charger- make sure when all done that all bare connections are insulated- we don't want a short anywhere do we!!!
Thanks Thread Marshal!!!

****  note*** the old relay setup had the ground connection via thur the light green wire thur the headlight bulbs for it ground- that one thru me for a loop until I opened the old relay to see where the neg. of the coil went- here is a pic of me scratching my head.

*****note**** if you do the headlight relay upgrade to the headlights off the alt. or battery to take the load off the old wiring- this upgrade has to be done!!!  Why???  because both relays are now in series and they will not both turn on!!!!

John Mac

[WhiteWithMight]

This is great thanks, i'll try it out.

[Plumcrazy]

A socket for the relay adds a nice finishing touch also.

[Arthu®]

Me and a friend did this upgrade on his car today and it works like a charm. Except that when I connected it, the black/red wire had to be connected to terminal 87A and the dark blue/yellow wire to terminal 87 instead of the other way around. Because when I connected it according to the diagram above the headlight doors would open when the lights were off and would close when you would turn them on. Great guide though and very easy. Thanks. Now we have to deal with the additional problems.

Arthur

[Plumcrazy]

Me and a friend did this upgrade on his car today and it works like a charm. Except that when I connected it, the black/red wire had to be connected to terminal 87A and the dark blue/yellow wire to terminal 87 instead of the other way around. Because when I connected it according to the diagram above the headlight doors would open when the lights were off and would close when you would turn them on.

Arthur

Those wires need to be reversed on that diagram.

[71440charger]

yea that post is wrong this is how it should be

#30 goes to the wire that gives power to the headlight switch
# 85 goes to the light green wire that gets power when the headlight switch is on
# 86 is grounded any where
#87 & 87a go to the motor you have to figure out which one get the power at certin times

i know this beacuse i just did this yesterday on my car

[71_deputy]

CORECTED DIAGRAM!!

[Nacho-RT74]

just to let you know guys, chargerspecialties is selling them new repros exactly to originals.

[AKcharger]

I did deputy's mod 2 years ago works great!!!   

Why to they always make new parts AFTER I piece somthing together??

[Nacho-RT74]

NEW REPLACEMENT

CSHDR headlamp cover relay

$69.95 ea

Available now !!

This is the relay that controls the concealed headlamp motors on 1970 & up Chargers ! It also works on all Plymouths and Chryslers up to 1979 with the electric headlamp cover motors.

Vacuum controls for 68 & 69 chargers coming soon!!

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/new_product.htm

[lakotakid]

Gentlemen, I have crawled underneath my RT/SE and a friend did the same on his SE Charger and the part does not look the same as the reproduction that Charger Specialities is reproducing. Do I need to purchase theirs and then still do some cross wiring? I thought that I could just purchase theirs and then just hook it up. Anybody have an ideas? Or am I just s l o w ?  lol.  Thanks a bunch,  Jerry

[71_deputy]

that relay will work but the plug-in connections are different.

[Rolling_Thunder]

another diagram....     in color   

[T16]

****  note*** the old relay setup had the ground connection via thur the light green wire thur the headlight bulbs for it ground- that one thru me for a loop until I opened the old relay to see where the neg. of the coil went- here is a pic of me scratching my head.

So current flows through the circuit breaker.. then trough the coil inside.. and towards ground via the green cable  Also scratched my head.. because if you measure you´ve got +12V  (wich is correct) on the green wire that acts as the groundwire

[Plumcrazy]

****  note*** the old relay setup had the ground connection via thur the light green wire thur the headlight bulbs for it ground- that one thru me for a loop until I opened the old relay to see where the neg. of the coil went- here is a pic of me scratching my head.

So current flows through the circuit breaker.. then trough the coil inside.. and towards ground via the green cable  Also scratched my head.. because if you measure you´ve got +12V  (wich is correct) on the green wire that acts as the groundwire

The power that flows through the circuit breaker enters the relay at pin #30.  It then leaves the relay through either pin #87 or 87a, depending on whether the headlights are turned on or not. It does not go through the coil in the relay.  The power at pin #86 that comes from the headlight switch is what turns the relay on by flowing through the coil in the relay. The green wire is not a ground wire.  Pin #85 supplies the ground for the relay coil.

[SanDiego70RTSE]

Where do I buy the socket and the relay?

Thanks,
Mat

[Gowinger]

Thanks for the great infor on the relay wiring! Just on question what the heck do you do when you have no old breaker relay to swipe the breaker from??? Is there a radio shack part that can be wired in?
I just got the grill in and think I have a line on the rod now its wiring!

[Plumcrazy]

Thanks for the great infor on the relay wiring! Just on question what the heck do you do when you have no old breaker relay to swipe the breaker from??? Is there a radio shack part that can be wired in?
I just got the grill in and think I have a line on the rod now its wiring!

Just use an inline fuse.  I've had a 20 amp in mine for about 30 years.

[Gowinger]

Thanks ! Guess it doesn't get simpler than that.

[BROCK]

Gentlemen, I have crawled underneath my RT/SE and a friend did the same on his SE Charger and the part does not look the same as the reproduction that Charger Specialities is reproducing. Do I need to purchase theirs and then still do some cross wiring? I thought that I could just purchase theirs and then just hook it up. Anybody have an ideas? Or am I just s l o w ?  lol.  Thanks a bunch,  Jerry

Hey Jerry, I just swapped the guts over into my old housing when I replaced mine.

[Gowinger]

OK, All wired up opens great but won't close :brickwall:Power to the motor with the lites off. Winds back by hand no prob.....Anyone have an idea??

[Plumcrazy]

OK, All wired up opens great but won't close :brickwall:Power to the motor with the lites off. Winds back by hand no prob.....Anyone have an idea??

The problem is in the motor.  In the gear housing there are two limit switches. When the headlight doors get to the open position the up switch opens to shut off the motor.  At that time the down limit switch is closed so that when you turn the headlights off and the power switches to the other motor feed wire the doors will close.  The down limit switch in your motor is not closed when the headlight doors are open. That's why the doors won't close.

To fix it remove the motor and put it in the middle of it's travel by lining up the notches on the plastic gear and the gear switch plate.  Then you can remove the screws that attach the switch plate to the housing.  Both switches should be closed.  You'll  probably have bend one of the contacts slightly to fix your problem

[Gowinger]

Me again, Spent a few hours takeing the motor apart and trying it now it goes up and down BUT afer a few minits it gets hot.. .it also has a missing tooth are there rebuild kits or ame I on another ebay search?
PS thanks for the help Plum!!!

[Plumcrazy]

Me again, Spent a few hours taking the motor apart and trying it now it goes up and down BUT after a few minits it gets hot.. .it also has a missing tooth are there rebuild kits or am I on another ebay search?
PS thanks for the help Plum!!!

Now you have the contacts a little too close together.  When the headlight doors get to the end of their travel, one of the switches needs to open and shut off power to the motor.  That's not happening, that's why the motor is getting hot.   Aren't those switches fun to adjust.

I've never seen any repair kits for those motors.  Don't give up on the junkyards, Chrysler used that same motor up to 1980.