wildebus
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My "How To" for adapting the headlight wiring after a Headlight upgrade on the VW T5
DISCLAIMER : This is how I installed it and is not a recommendation. Follow at your own risk
Anyone who has driven a T5 Transporter will not have been over-awed by the performance of the Headlights
The standard "commercial" headlights have a single H4 bulb in a fitting that doesn't make the most of it's limited ability. For the first few months (I bought this Shuttle last November), I just ran them with an upgraded Philips H4 Extreme bulb fitted.
These were better, but still not fantastic, so I opted to replace the actual headlight assemblies themselves.
So started with this ...
And changed to this ...
By default, when changing from the T5 Commercial headlights (using the Dual-Filament H4 Bulbs) to Projector Type headlights like the Caravelle, Angel Eyes or "R8 Style" lights, the Dipped Bulbs will go off when the Main Beam is activated (this is because a dual-filament bulb like an H4 will overheat and fail if both filaments are powered up for a length of time). It is not actually necessary to make any changes to wiring if you don't want to, and the headlights will work fine, but they will not be as effective as they possibly could be. The Caravelles out the factory will have both Main and Dipped active when driving on Main Beam, and the following is a simple way to do this on a non-Caravelle with upgraded Headlights...
To do the wiring, I would consider a minimum of a soldering iron (plus solder!), wire strippers, insulation tape, heat-shrink tubing and a terminal crimping tool be availble. None of those tools are expensive nowadays, so there is no reason not to have them if working on a vehicle.
Ideally you would also have some thin flexible conduit to run the wire in from the relay to the offside-headlight at least to provide protection.
So for the wiring, see the attached diagram, but in summary:
If it is desired to not tap into any of the original VW wiring to do this (some people are concerned about doing this, or just want to leave it untouched) it is possible to do the wiring inside the headlamp itself, identifying the right wires to tap into, but I personally see no reason to do that and simply would not do that.
Wiring Diagram
The Diagram above also includes some DRL wiring (dotted lines). I bought a T5 Specific DRL set to install with the new headlights as it made sense to do this at the same time.
I bought this kit - Not the cheapest set of DRLs around, but they are sized specifically for the VW T5, the wiring and installation guide is specific to the T5 and contains all you need to install except for a 76mm hole cutter if you have no fog lights already in place to swap out.
DISCLAIMER : This is how I installed it and is not a recommendation. Follow at your own risk
Anyone who has driven a T5 Transporter will not have been over-awed by the performance of the Headlights
The standard "commercial" headlights have a single H4 bulb in a fitting that doesn't make the most of it's limited ability. For the first few months (I bought this Shuttle last November), I just ran them with an upgraded Philips H4 Extreme bulb fitted.
These were better, but still not fantastic, so I opted to replace the actual headlight assemblies themselves.
So started with this ...
And changed to this ...
By default, when changing from the T5 Commercial headlights (using the Dual-Filament H4 Bulbs) to Projector Type headlights like the Caravelle, Angel Eyes or "R8 Style" lights, the Dipped Bulbs will go off when the Main Beam is activated (this is because a dual-filament bulb like an H4 will overheat and fail if both filaments are powered up for a length of time). It is not actually necessary to make any changes to wiring if you don't want to, and the headlights will work fine, but they will not be as effective as they possibly could be. The Caravelles out the factory will have both Main and Dipped active when driving on Main Beam, and the following is a simple way to do this on a non-Caravelle with upgraded Headlights...
Wiring Components:
- 12V 40A Relay and Holder. Plenty around on eBay - here is one example ... Relay. Note that depending on what you buy, the pre-wired colours will vary, so I will make no reference to any colours for the relay itself!
- Fuse Holder and Fuse. it is ESSENTIAL to protect the 12V supply to the relay with a fuse. I would recommend a fuseholder with a blade fuse as that is the type used in the vehicle generally. Again, loads on eBay. I would fit a 15A fuse personally to protect a pair of 55W bulbs on a 12V circuit
- Ring Terminals for the Battery +12V and Earth connections
- Wire!. Suitable wire gauge. Consider each bulb is drawing around 5A and could be on continuously for many hours. Decent wire will also minimise voltage drop, it is not just about current capacity.
To do the wiring, I would consider a minimum of a soldering iron (plus solder!), wire strippers, insulation tape, heat-shrink tubing and a terminal crimping tool be availble. None of those tools are expensive nowadays, so there is no reason not to have them if working on a vehicle.
Ideally you would also have some thin flexible conduit to run the wire in from the relay to the offside-headlight at least to provide protection.
So for the wiring, see the attached diagram, but in summary:
- Main Beam connection wire on Nearside is tapped near the Headlamp plug and a wire is run to pin 86 of the Relay Socket
- Dipped Beam connections on both Nearside and Offside are tapped near the Headlamp plugs and wires run from pin 87 of the Relay Socket
- Pin 30 of the Relay Socket is connected to the battery via the fuse holder
- Pin 85 of the Relay Socket is connected to a grounding point (battery or chassis are suitable, whichever is preferred (I used Battery -ve)
If it is desired to not tap into any of the original VW wiring to do this (some people are concerned about doing this, or just want to leave it untouched) it is possible to do the wiring inside the headlamp itself, identifying the right wires to tap into, but I personally see no reason to do that and simply would not do that.
Wiring Diagram
The Diagram above also includes some DRL wiring (dotted lines). I bought a T5 Specific DRL set to install with the new headlights as it made sense to do this at the same time.
I bought this kit - Not the cheapest set of DRLs around, but they are sized specifically for the VW T5, the wiring and installation guide is specific to the T5 and contains all you need to install except for a 76mm hole cutter if you have no fog lights already in place to swap out.
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