How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99 - Exterior Forum

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How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Sunday, December 21, 2008 10:35 PM
This is a how to for making all 4 of your head lights turn on when your brights are on. Your low beams will still function the same way. This is for 96-99 only, the 95's have a different wiring setup for the headlights. Instead of a dark blue and pink wire, the 95's use a dark blue and black wire.

You will need:

-1 Rectifier/ Diode rated for 50V and 6 amps (RadioShack Item # 276-1661)
-About 6 inches of 16 - 20 gauge wire
-Heat shrink or Electrical tape
-Flat head and Phillips head Screwdriver
-7mm hex driver
-Wire Cutters and strippers
-2 Quick Connects

These are the Diodes


and these are the quick connects


First, solder two leads onto the diode like this, put a black wire on the side of the diode with no marking and a colored wire on the side with the white marking. This will help you keep track of which way the diode should be installed.


Then either wrap it in electrical tape or heat shrink it like I did, heat shrink is better.


Now you can start taking things apart

Unscrew these 3 with your 7mm hex driver


Then you can pop the cover off the top of the steering column, just pull up on the edge closest to you and then slide it toward you. It's also easier if you tilt the steering wheel down.


Pull these 2 covers off




Unscrew this Phillips head screw


Then pop the vent cover off and unscrew the 2 7mm hex screws, my left tab is broken


One screw here, but my tab broke


Another screw here, but my tab is broke again


Three here, the black one on the left and the two gold ones that are down in the hole


Two in the top right corner, I'm missing one


Then carefully pull the top of the dash up, it snaps in along the front, so just pop it up


Then these three screws to take your front dash piece off






Then you can pull the front dash off, it also snaps in around the steering column, head unit and HVAC controls. You don't need to unplug it, just prop it up on the dash.


Now take your cluster out by removing the following two screws




Then prop it up without unplugging it, this also allows you to control your headlights and for you to see when the bright indicator is on when you test them.


Find the wiring harness with the blue plug on the left side of the steering column


Unplug it by pushing on the snap with a flat head and then strip the tape away from the wires


I found it easiest to fold the leads on the diode like this and cut them to the same length


Connect the black lead from the diode to the blue wire in the harness, and the yellow lead from the diode to the pink wire in the harness


95's have a black wire instead of a pink wire, so it might take some troubleshooting for those of you with 95's.

Tuck the diode back down in to the plastic ring and plug it back in


Now turn your headlights on to the low beams and check them, they should look like this


Then turn your high beams on, it should look like this


If it works the opposite way, with all 4 on when the low beams are on, all you have to do is switch the diode around, this will allow current to flow in the opposite direction and will fix the problem.

Then just put your dash back together and your done!

I was hoping the fog lights would stay on with the high beams also but they don't. I'm going to take a better look at the wiring diagrams and try to figure this out next.

Special thanks to Misnblu for finding out which wires to jump and what voltage and current the diodes should be rated for.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.

Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Monday, December 22, 2008 9:16 AM
Nice how to. We should have a stickey with all of these how tos in it
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Monday, December 22, 2008 9:30 AM
Now my only question is, how will the switch handle this? Thats alot of extra added current to the headlight switch. Would you benefit from putting in a relay to help ease the load on the headlight switch?



2009 Ford Mustang V6
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Monday, December 22, 2008 12:42 PM
There are already separate relays for each light, the current is actually being halved with the jumper, half is going to the low beams relay, and half to the high beam relay. The rest of the system is unaltered because of the relays.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Monday, December 22, 2008 5:20 PM
Great write up, but it seems a bit more difficult than the way I did it with a bosch relay. The only thing i had to do was splice 2 wires, wire up the relay, and hide the relay behind the headlight. Seemed alot easier than taking the whole dash out. I forgot who, but someone on here had a little write up on how to do it, but yours was way more extensive.


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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Monday, December 22, 2008 9:19 PM
Less wires seems easier to me, but to each their own.

Thanks though.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 9:30 AM
Nice write up, good pics, would do this myself but I have an 03... I vote for teh STICKEH!!!


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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 10:00 AM
This is an interesting alternative to the method I used. I can't really see any big pros or cons for either method, save for a difference in where the wiring hack takes place. You might say the diodes are a simpler wire job that is better protected inside the car. The relay would be easier to disable if you should decide to go back to stock behavior. Some people that are a bit rammy might find pulling the dash a nasty task.

For anyone interested in looking over the "relay" method, the write up is here, and the only difference I found for my 97 Cavalier vs. the Malibu in the writeup is that the High-beam constant 12V wire was blue instead of orange.

As a side note, I think this is a great mod for anyone retrofitting HIDs, since it will keep them active while using high beams and extend their life.





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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 4:00 PM
or you could just click on the highs and hold it down when you click on the lows... does the same thing.



Are you scared of the changes coming? The answer is on the inside.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 5:18 PM
z yaaaa wrote:or you could just click on the highs and hold it down when you click on the lows... does the same thing.

I don't think I follow you.... You could hold the stalk back to keep both lit temporarily, and that could give you time for HIDs to warm up if that's what you're thinking, but otherwise you lost me.




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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 6:21 PM
z yaaaa wrote:or you could just click on the highs and hold it down when you click on the lows... does the same thing.


It's a pain to drive around like that though.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.

Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 2:23 AM
Is this even a good idea... Blinding traffic?



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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 4:22 AM
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Is this even a good idea... Blinding traffic?


your not supposed to have your high beams on facing traffic anyway so i fail to see any problems with this mod



Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:42 AM
only question i have is, does this affect the drl in any way? using the relay actually made it so the drl's would flash (i assume because the system monitors power draw for the drl...) and since the low beams were coming on, it confused things.



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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 5:33 PM
There was no effect on the DRL's, everything still functions exactly the same, with the exception of the low beams staying on with the high beams. The DRL's are a separate relay, so they aren't effected.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 6:31 PM
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Is this even a good idea... Blinding traffic?


i think it may even be illegal.



Are you scared of the changes coming? The answer is on the inside.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:06 PM
z yaaaa wrote:
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Is this even a good idea... Blinding traffic?


i think it may even be illegal.


For you, no.... maybe: Iowa Vehicle Code 321.420

Quote:

Number of lamps lighted.
Whenever a motor vehicle equipped with head lamps as herein required is also equipped with any auxiliary lamps or a spot lamp or any other lamp on the front thereof projecting a beam of an intensity greater than three hundred candlepower, not more than a total of four of any such lamps on the front of a vehicle shall be lighted at any one time when upon a highway.


Since your fogs are supposed to turn off automatically when the high beams are on (as long as your fogs are stock or you have creative wiring going on), you're fine.

Most other states are similarly worded.









Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:10 PM
Not to mention that I'll be turning the high beams off when passing any vehicles, and I doubt 99% of Police will have enough knowledge of Cavaliers to know that I have 4 bulbs lit instead of 2.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Saturday, December 27, 2008 9:27 AM
How much difference does it make driving?


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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Sunday, December 28, 2008 12:01 AM
It's a noticeable difference. Just pull your high beam lever back half way, they will both stay on as long as you hold it, that way you can see for yourself.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:35 AM
Only problem I see in this is you arent providing full voltage to each light.

Kinda defeats the purpose to me I would rather have hi's and low's at full power then half


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Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 4:06 PM
Both lights get full voltage, hell, even both relays get full voltage. The amperage to the two relays is split in half, however the amperage to both headlights stays the same.

It only takes a basic understanding of relays and electrical theory to understand this.



Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:18 PM
Kardain wrote:
z yaaaa wrote:
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Is this even a good idea... Blinding traffic?


i think it may even be illegal.


For you, no.... maybe: Iowa Vehicle Code 321.420

Quote:

Number of lamps lighted.
Whenever a motor vehicle equipped with head lamps as herein required is also equipped with any auxiliary lamps or a spot lamp or any other lamp on the front thereof projecting a beam of an intensity greater than three hundred candlepower, not more than a total of four of any such lamps on the front of a vehicle shall be lighted at any one time when upon a highway.


Since your fogs are supposed to turn off automatically when the high beams are on (as long as your fogs are stock or you have creative wiring going on), you're fine.

Most other states are similarly worded.


lmao.. thanks for the lesson.. i really had no idea. i was always TOLD it was illegal to do.

id love to see a cop come and 'meter' my candlepower... i guess its just like the audio laws, 'no more then 50 feet!' ok, sir.. can you please get a tape measure out and prove you can hear it over 50 feet?



Are you scared of the changes coming? The answer is on the inside.
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Friday, January 02, 2009 8:43 AM
it wont blind traffic the lows aren't even on full they are operating at DRL output

personally i don't see the point in it but some people will and a very good write up. i did the fogs on in high beam mod give lots of light and IMO looks better then having a bright and a dim light side by side

but in all a good write up



JBO since July 30, 2001
Re: How To: 4 High Headlight Mod 96-99
Friday, January 02, 2009 8:49 AM
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