RE: Hot Bulbs

[Hirsch <Catenary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I run 100 watt *low* beams in my Marchal Ampl-lux lights on my
> '66 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce. No Relays. The connections are
> never overheated because they are tight and clean.

IMHO it is NOT a good idea to run even stock headlamps in an
older car without relays. If you own a car that uses a one-piece
multifunction column switch that doesn't use relays to control
the headlamps (most Alfas), the contacts in that switch suffer
about a six-amp surge whenever the headlights are turned on.
Over time these contacts pit and corrode and their resistance
increases. With increased resistance comes heat and further
deterioration. In time the contacts will fail. New column
switches will become increasingly more difficult to come by and
more expensive (about $300 from Matt Jones for a '66 GTV), so
protecting these assemblies is worthwhile. =


To protect a column switch and extend its lifetime, you can
fairly easily add a relay (or relays) to decrease the current
these units must carry. Adding a relay will drop the current
carried by the contacts from 6 amps to ca. 0.15 amp. And in at
least one case, Alfa recommends adding a relay to a column
switch. Early Milanos were recalled by Alfa to add a low-beam
relay to prevent switch failure at night which could leave the
car without headlights. =


BTW there is an article at the i Saluti website at

   www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/3837/colswch.html

that describes adding two relays to the high and low beams
of a '67 Duetto, but is applicable to other cars as well,
since Alfa pretty consistently used the same color codes
for wiring their cars.

Rich Hirsch
'87 Milano <- has relay added =

'78 Spider <- no relay added, but I have an extra column switch
'67 Duetto <- has relay added =

'66 Sprint GTV <- will have relay added =

Editor, i Saluti, St Louis AROC
Website: http://www.catenary.com/victor/isaluti

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