Due to the high number of folks interested in upgrading their headlights on the ’93-’97 Camaro’s, I took a little time to figure out the details on the wiring. If you just want the answer without an explanation, see the bold print below.

I checked all of this out late last week/last weekend, and here's the deal…
Headlights – They run off of 16 gauge wire. If you run a 30 amp relay in line with the lights, you can power, (also can be dependant on the relay), 2 - 130W MAX (with a 20% safety factor, which I would definitely use) Bulbs. For more information on where I got these numbers, see this thread. Simply spoken, the 30 amp relay will provide all the power the 130W bulbs will need/use with 20% added in for safety, through the stock 16awg headlight wiring.

Fog Lights – They run off of 18 gauge wire. If you run a 30 amp relay in line with the lights, you can power (also can be dependant on the relay), 2 - 100W MAX (with a 20% safety factor, which I would definitely use) Bulbs. For more information on where I got these numbers, see this thread. Simply spoken, the 30 amp relay will provide all the power the 100W bulbs will need/use with 20% added in for safety, through the stock 18awg fog light wiring.

So, to put all this as straight forward as possible…
To run higher wattage bulbs in the headlights, and get all of the power they need supplied to them, run a 30 amp relay in line with the stock wiring (also with a direct power draw off the battery). The maximum wattage bulb you can safely run on the stock wiring is a 130W bulb.

To run higher wattage bulbs in the fog lights, and get all of the power they need supplied to them, run a 30 amp relay in line with the stock wiring (also with a direct power draw off the battery). The maximum wattage bulb you can safely run on the stock wiring is a 100W bulb.

 

thanks for the effort man

 

Is the relay bit included in your Pilot Fog Light install guide (which i plan on eventually doing in the somewhat near future)?

What exactly does a relay do that, when "sewn in" to the stock wiring, keeps the bulbs from blowing? (I'm looking for more of a 'how does it work' than a 'it gives the bulbs the power they need to not blow')

Thanks,
Jay

 

The relay won't keep the bulbs from blowing necessarily, and if you are just going to run the 55 watt bulbs that come with the Pilot lights, you won't need a relay to get more power to them. Since I am putting in higher wattage bulbs, I want to be sure to get all the power they need to run to them. That's what a relay does. (Simply put). But you will be fine without a relay if you are just running the 55W bulbs that come in the Pilot Fog Lights.

 

Where are you getting the higher wattage bulbs from?
They're H7's right?
Are you upgrading to 100W??

Sorry for all the questions,
J

While i'm curious though,
I was looking over the Install guide to get more familiar w/ the procedure and i have 3 questions.
The smooth shanked bolt stick out from the outside of the lights a good half inch or more. Is there any alternative to make the bolt fit more flush against the stock housing?
Also, do the bolts screw into the Pilot foglights or just press hard against them, "pinning" them in ->|__|<- ???
Lastly, For the underside "ice pick" bolt:
1: you used the stock mounting screw for this right?
2: you said push it thru the fascia and the mounting bracket then put a nut on the end and tighten it to the mounting bracket. Does that mean the mounting bracket is "floored" to lie flat on the fascia? Or is the mounting bracket suspended between the fascia and the foglight?

Thanks again,
J

 

I got my bulbs from MB Autosport. They have others than the Showoff bulbs, that's just the cheapest I found them. I wish I was putting H7's in the headlights, that would mean I had the FF75 conversion done, but I just put 9005's in there. (Can't do this without putting 9005 end harness on...) But yes, they are 100 watt. The fog light bulbs are H3's and they are 85 watt. I will e-mail you on the rest...

 

Good info there. Hopefully we wont see 5 posts a day now about what is needed to run higher wattage bulbs.

 

Would you need a relay for the 85W H3's if you change out the 55W's???
-J

 

I would think so, since the gauge wire for the fog lights is smaller than the headlight wire it shouldnt be able to hold the same wattage.

 

Unfortunately, I am guilty of the above and I was still unsure of exactly what needed to be done.

I know what needs to be done now.

 

What is the wattage of the H7 bulbs on that link you posted? It doesn't state what the wattage is...I was looking at the Super White H7 SKU#H7B.

Thanks.

 

I had to check the Showoff Website to find out the wattages for the ones I ordered. I went ahead and checked though, and it says the H7 is 100W. I ordered a pair of H3's for my fog's and they were 85W...the H3's that the Showoff site has listed is 100W, but they are the Super White kind, not the purple. But I would say that the info there is correct. And after much searching and checking, MB Autosport was the cheapest I found...Jay/Meef - I doubt that the stock fog light wiring will supply 85W to the bulbs without a relay. But it wouldn't be "necessary" to use one. I would do it though as a safety factor.

 

Not too shabby! I'm trying to look into it this weekend, I was looking to upgrade to better lights myself, but I'm also wondering - I know pu12en12g has a lot into headlight works...

It's be great if someone made more of a page to it, because I want to upgrade housings, and I know the auto optiks suck... So relay in brighter bulbs? Beam pattern could be better, and I'd prefer to stay DOT approved (by looks) if I could.

 

Dalton,
I didnt know you were getting the Purple bulbs.
I'll probably get the White/bluetint H3's when I get the Pilot lights.
Since they're 100W, I'll definitely need a relay apparently.
I'm assuming with the relay, the stock wiring will hold up fine, yes?

So now, where do I get a relay?
Is there a particular brand or kind I need?
I'm not too familiar with them so I'm pretty clueless here.
I may as well be saying "i need a thingamabobby to run the higher wattage bulb. do yall have one".
Let me know if there's only one relay that the guy at the store (which store?) will know what i mean, or if i need to ask for something more specific. thanks,
Jay

 

I have one more question that kind of goes along with Jay's last post above this one...

How do I install the relay with a direct power draw off the battery?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to do this (correctly) and when it comes to wiring all I know is positive goes with positive, negative goes with negative, and usually the negative wire has a stripe on it.

I really appreicate the help...I have a much better idea of what needs to be done now.