Another obstacle with this headlight build. Let's talk about 5 pin relays...

[francisjohn]

The headlight, 3-way switch, power source and relay all work (I tested them individually) I wanted to add a 3-way switch, which also includes the use of a 5-pin relay. I flipped the 3-way to go from high to low beam, and nothing, it just stayed on. I then went to turn it off and same thing, it just stayed on. The 3 way switch does work because when I use the 3-way using one wire at a time, it will turn on and off.

Equipment :
-Headlight - Three wires (Ground, high beam, low beam)
-Three way switch - Three wires (Ground, pos #1, pos #2)
-5 pin relay - 5 wires(30, 85, 86, 87, 87a)
-Power source - Two wires (Ground and Positive)

This is the diagram I used. The text version is below, and the professional diagram I made in MS Paint is attached. I believe the culprit may be the improper diagram I followed? I've never used a relay so this is foreign to me, but I'm here with my soldering iron and some other goodies, ready to get started.

Wiring diagram in text

1. Connect the positive wire from the power source to the "30" pin of the 5-pin relay.
   
   
2. Connect the positive wire from the low beam of the headlight to the "87" pin of the 5-pin relay.
   
   
3. Connect the positive wire from the high beam of the headlight to the "87a" pin of the 5-pin relay.
   
   
4. Connect one of the positive wires from the 3-way switch to the "86" pin of the 5-pin relay.
   
   
5. Connect the other positive wire from the 3-way switch to the "85" pin of the 5-pin relay.
   
   
6. Connect the ground wire from the power source to the ground (negative) terminal of the headlight.
   
   
7. Connect the ground wire from the 3-way switch to the ground (negative) terminal of the headlight.

 

[weefek]

Got a part number for the relay?

 

[Chainlube]

Got a part number for the relay?

Bosch 332019150 that's the 30a one I use on my spitty.

 

[francisjohn]

Got a part number for the relay?

I do not. I do know it's a 30a 5-pin relay.

 

[michael whiteman]

I assume you're trying to wire Hi and Lo beams along with a taillight. There's a much easier way to do this. Get rid of the relay and just use a DPDT center off toggle switch which has 6 terminals. A fuse might not be bad idea either. Connect the fuse to the + side of the battery. Connect the other end of the fuse to both of the center two terminals on the switch. Looking at the terminals, connect the upper left and lower left terminals together and continue on to the tail light. Now connect the upper right terminal to the Hi beam and the lower right to the Lo beam and you're done ! All lights are off in the center position and the tail light will blink momentarily as you switch from Hi to Lo beam.

 

[ImpulseRocket]

Your primary issue is you have power going to 85 and 86. Power source should to 85, 86 should go to ground. Putting positive power through both sides of the coil (85 and 86) means it isn't doing anything. Since the coil isn't energizing, it is just always putting power through the Normally Closed circuit 87a and not switching to the Normally Open 87. Pin 30 is the high power feed to the lights.

The other issue is trying to use one relay to run both lights. You need to switch the power to 30 if you don't want the headlight to run all the time, which means you need a high current switch, which defeats the whole point of putting in a relay. If you want high and low beams to function, it needs to have a relay for each. The power wire currently going to 86 needs to go to an 85 on a new relay.

 

[francisjohn]

Your primary issue is you have power going to 85 and 86. Power source should to 85, 86 should go to ground. Putting positive power through both sides of the coil (85 and 86) means it isn't doing anything. Since the coil isn't energizing, it is just always putting power through the Normally Closed circuit 87a and not switching to the Normally Open 87. Pin 30 is the high power feed to the lights.

The other issue is trying to use one relay to run both lights. You need to switch the power to 30 if you don't want the headlight to run all the time, which means you need a high current switch, which defeats the whole point of putting in a relay. If you want high and low beams to function, it needs to have a relay for each. The power wire currently going to 86 needs to go to an 85 on a new relay.

I thought about the issue of needing to have an entirely new relay.

I managed to wire the light and the 3-way switch without using a relay. This ended up working out better because the other methods, when I hit the "off" switch, it would shut off the power source. This would be a hassle because let's say I'm in traffic and press the switch too far down and shut it off when I just want to switch to the low-beam, I would need to pull over and manually power up the power source.

It works absolutely mint. In addition, even with the additional relay I do have, when I turn it to the off position, I would have to manually turn the bank on. Instead, when I turn it to the off position, if I come back an hour later and turn the switch on (low or high beam) the bank powers right up.

 

[ImpulseRocket]

I thought about the issue of needing to have an entirely new relay.

I managed to wire the light and the 3-way switch without using a relay. This ended up working out better because the other methods, when I hit the "off" switch, it would shut off the power source. This would be a hassle because let's say I'm in traffic and press the switch too far down and shut it off when I just want to switch to the low-beam, I would need to pull over and manually power up the power source.

It works absolutely mint. In addition, even with the additional relay I do have, when I turn it to the off position, I would have to manually turn the bank on. Instead, when I turn it to the off position, if I come back an hour later and turn the switch on (low or high beam) the bank powers right up.

As long as that switch is rated to handle the current, it should work. I prefer not to run high current switches as they can be more prone to failure.