Do you have to wire in a relay when putting H4's or 5's ia a SC??

I am going to upgrade my current headlight setup to either H4's or 5's. Do I need to upgrade any of the wiring or is it a direct bolt on?? Also any recomendations on which headlights to use??Thanx in advance..I have a 1981 911SC.

Did you read the following threads?
http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/Forum3/HTML/004772.html
http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/Forum3/HTML/004536.html

I don't think I can add much that hasn't already been said!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Automahn-ask Viprklr what happened to him when he ran 100w bulbs through his stock headlight switch (two of them, actually.)

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Clay Mcguill www.geocities.com/the912guy

Indeed, mine have had trouble as the threads probably show, even with little 55/60 bulbs. So, I believe that the relay upgrade is necessary regardless of what lights you use.

I use the Hella H-4. It's very cost effective. They just bolt right on, and they're $40 to $60 apiece, depending upon source. I will go up to the 55/100s, and use relays.

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'83 SC

Gee Clay - THANKS for rubbing salt in the wound... LOL

YES - GET THE RELAYS. It turns out that my first switch failure did more damage than just to the switch. Right now, since I screwed up before, I can not drive my car at night, even with the relays.

These folks are wise to advise caution before action.

Happy New Year Fellas !!!!

There is something that needs to be said here ... and it isn't particularly flattering of the engineers in Stuttgart. The original design work for the wiring and switching circuits for the 911 was done for Type 'A' bulbs of 45/40 Watt ratings, of the non-quartz type, and for many years there were no changes at all, no updates when the H1, and later the H4 assemblies were incorporated into production! When changes were finally (for SC's) made to eliminate the one relay from the circuit, a blatant error in judgement was made to continue sending all of the headlamp current drain through both the main light switch and the control stalk!!!

It seems likely to me that 'maintenance' engineering oversight was assigned to new engineers fresh from school, with no knowledge of the marque, or the past production cars, and little experience or common sense, either! Nobody with any common sense or conscience would continue to produce cars with the inadequate wiring if they had ever looked at the overheated, discolored wiring at the light switch, or at the wiring connector that plugs into the backside of an H1 headlamp assembly of a 10-year old 911! I have to wonder why the problem was not noticed in the '70 model 911 ST's that ran at Le Mans all night. It HAD to be noticeable after that many hours of operation with 100 Watt bulbs ... and I think Don can probably tell us about the 'smell' of cooked wiring!!! Hot PVC, at more than 70 degrees Centigrade, almost 'crystalized' wiring, and I'm not talking about burnt wiring ... just overloaded and hot wiring from hours of operation at marginal levels of safety!
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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

[This message has been edited by Early_S_Man (edited 01-04-2001).]

Warren's right. Again. This system is just not designed right. My car will receive at least three relays, and the high beams, low beams and fog lights will all run on relays.

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'83 SC

There ia also the advantage that if you use a relay set up for the headlights, they will be brighter. There will be no voltage drop with the necessary energy needing to make the trip from battery to many connections and switch and finally to the headlights. The reverse side is that perhaps a few more watts of heat could be generated for the passenger compartment with the factory set up. Same can be said of a high wattage stereo system.

Best wishes to all to have a tires down year.

George Wroclawski
83 911SC Cab/Euro
95 XJ6