You've won 2nd place!

Wow! Do they think that their customers are idiots? Some companies do, you know. And apparently the big whigs at one of our competitor's subsidiaries are an example of that.

"You've won second place..." in a fictional contest that is. And you've won a fictional prize, too. You've won something that they always include with the purchase of a particular item. Wow, that would make me feel like a big winner.

Here at Watson's StreetWorks, we think a lot more of you, our customers, than to try and razzle-dazzle you with fictitious contests and false winnings. We sell you quality products with top-notch service and support to go with it. Yes, "sell" because that's how a company makes a living for its employees. And we do so at the most reasonable prices that we can. (Remember THEIR sale on a ripoff of one of our products that they were selling for $19.95 off retail? That made their sale price the same as our everyday price!)

And finally, you're not second place, runner up. Every one of you are a 1st place winner in our book. There are no better people on the face of the earth than our customers, you. Thank you every day for choosing us for your hot rod parts.

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://www.watsons-streetworks.com

The 25+ - Why does everything need a relay?

 Why does everything need a relay these days? Years ago we didn’t use any.

That’s right...almost. Relays were seldom used before about the mid ‘70’s except for two specific circuits.

Many of you will remember horn relays. They were a rectangular box that attached to the firewall (and frequently gave us trouble). Also, a starter solenoid like the ones that mounted on the inner fender liner were actually a relay - the word “relay” describes their function while the word “solenoid” describes how they did it, which was by using a coiled magnetic wire to create movement when energized. There a few reasons that relays are used much more today. 

The first reason is that relays have gotten much better, smaller and less expensive. In the past, an oversized switch would preclude the need for a relay, but that big switch might be expensive and heavy. In today’s world, a small switch, maybe even a micro-switch or touch pad switch, can trigger a small, light, inexpensive relay for less money and weight than that big switch. Even the size and weight of the copper wire can be reduced if the relay can be placed fairly close to the load. A second reason is styling, which has pushed for smaller switches that need a relay to do the job as far as amperage carrying capability.

Third, we are demanding more of our electrical systems - more features, more devices, and more amperage - all of which lead toward more relays. Even our old tried-and-true circuits like head lights need more amperage power to feed higher wattage bulbs like the halogens and High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. But don’t fret, relays are our friends. We just need to understand them and use them for their advantage in specific circuits.

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://www.watsons-streetworks.com

LED bulbs for my taillights

Considering the amazing number of times that the subject comes up, it's obviously time that we repeat our warnings about buying replacement LED bulbs for your taillights.

LED's do not work the same as incandescent bulbs. Yes, they can put out more light (although not necessarily). But what you want is more light coming out of your entire taillight unit, and that often doesn't happen by making the switch.

A stock taillight is an entire, designed assembly. And while I don't always praise automotive engineers, let's give them credit for doing good design work on taillight units. Since an incandescent bulb puts out light in almost all directions, the rear of the taillight housing can, and is, used for reflection. This fills the entire housing and, usually as well, the lens with light heading straight back to be seen by the next motorist and pretty much everyone behind your car. The lens is also designed for this light spread, with designs, fresnel patterns, etc. to maximize the effectiveness of the entire unit. And, the bulb is positioned in the housing for best results.

If you now replace that bulb with an LED bulb, a lot can get lost. LED's shoot light straight out, often with about a 20 degree spread (think a light-emitting shotgun). All of the reflection off the rear of the housing is gone and with it the effect of "filling" the housing and lens with light! The new LED bulb may not position in the same location so the lens design doesn't work the same, either - you end up with a bright spot in the middle of the lens but a lot less light than you expected from an LED bulb that looked good when you lit it up all by itself.

And finally, if you have a street rod or car where the taillight lens doesn't point straight backwards, you can add one more problem. Usually the bulb sits at an angle, that is, it's not horizontal. Replace it with an LED that's very directional and you have your taillight pointing at the sky. Low flying aircraft might see your brakes but the guy behind you won't.

And finally, not all LED bulbs are created the same. If it's a $10 bulb, it's probably not going to perform to your expectations. A quality LED bulb will typically run $20 - $40 bucks each. Buyer beware.

So unless you know for sure that an LED bulb, and a specific LED bulb, will help make your specific lights brighter, you are stuck to experiment - good old trial-and-error - to achieve your desired results.

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://ww.watsons-streetworks.com

The 25+ - Does my LED 3rd Brake Light need Dummy Loads?

#27. I bought an LED 3rd Brake Light. Do I need Dummy Loads?

No. Dummy loads are only needed in the turn signal circuits and usually are only needed when you are using only LED’s. The same is true if you are adding LED’s as extra lights in an existing system that currently works (flashes) fine. An example of this might be a pickup truck that wants to add the round LED’s that go into the bed rolls for use as extra turn signals. Because the existing system works fine, the extra LED’s won’t need dummy loads to work. LED 3rd Brake Lights are an "addition" to your system and won't require anything extra for them to work just fine.

(An alternative in cases where you DO need something in your turn signal system to get the flasher to work right would be an electronic flasher. But beware! Not all of them are the same. We tried many different units before we found the one that we sell. And, it's good for as little as 20 milliamps and all the way up to 25 amps - plenty to run almost any set of lights.)

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks. http://www.watsons-streetworks.com

The 25+ - Electrical vs. Electronic

#26. What’s the difference between electrical and electronic? I thought they were the same.

The two terms are frequently interchanged and misused because they overlap. Electrical refers to any and all things electric, involving the flow of electrons. Electronic refers to a more narrow part of that world where transistors, microprocessors, diodes and the like are involved. Electronic parts are often small and mounted on a solder board (PC board), so they are soldered by nature. The computer on board a newer car is electronic while all of the rest of the wiring and electrical system is electric. 

Many modern electrical objects, automotive and household, are both, so the overlap makes it confusing. In general just think: transistors = electronic, wiring = electric, and you will keep them straight.

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://www.watsons-streetworks.com

The 25+ - Solder vs. Crimp

#25. My buddy says that I should be soldering all of my connections. I was going to just crimp them. What do you think?

I think your buddy should volunteer to do it for you...that’s a lot of work and, in my opinion, not necessary. In fact, a bad solder joint is prone to break if flexed or vibrated excessively.

If you check almost any brand new car or truck, you will find that almost all electrical connections are crimped, even, in some cases, major battery connections and grounds. Only electronic components are usually soldered.

I could get into a detailed comparison and do’s-and-don’ts but the bottom line is that a proper crimp joint and a proper solder joint are both good. The crimp joint requires the right parts, tool(s) and technique to make as does the solder joint. However the crimp joint is easier to “master” and a lot easier to test - if you crimp a terminal on the wire and then give it a good tug (a Neanderthal yank is not required, just a little pull will suffice) you can be assured that it is secure. Good crimp terminals are “tinned”, which means that they have a corrosion resisting coating of solder on them. When the crimp is made, that solder comes in intimate contact with the wire to form an air-tight bond. Air-tight, also referred to as oxygen-free, means no corrosion and a long electrical life.

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://www.watsons-streetworks.com

The 25+ - Using a continuity tester, test light, volt-ohm meter.

#24. How do I use a continuity tester? a test light? a volt-ohm meter?

I hate to tell you to read the instructions...but that would be a good place to start. Each one tests for something related but different and will give you different information.

A continuity tester checks to see if two things (two parts, two spots on a circuit) are electrically connected. So, if you touch one probe of the continuity tester to one end of a wire and the other probe to the other end of the wire, the tester should “buzz” (the usual audible output of those units). That tells you the wire is “continuous”. If the tester doesn’t buzz, the wire must have a break in it...no wonder the circuit didn’t work!

So, a continuity tester will tell you if the two things are connected, but it won’t tell you how well they are connected, whether they are connected grounds as opposed to connected power leads or even whether or not there is power there at all. That makes a continuity test great for making sure that two things are NOT connected (such as by a short between them) - no buzz, no connection, no short. It is also a quick way to test whether or not a switch is open/closed, whether a relay is making/breaking, etc. It will tell you connected or not connected, period.

A test light, on the other hand is specifically testing for “hot” power. Usually it will have a clip that gets attached to a ground and a pointed probe that is touched to various spots in the circuit. If the light comes on, that spot is hot. But again, it doesn’t tell you anything else that may be going on or the quality of the circuit or the hot power. In fact, I have seen cases where a test light gave very false information by being an additional “leg” in the circuit, thereby changing the circuit and messing up the test. A pretest diagram might help prevent this type error, too.

So, a test light checks for a hot circuit, which makes it very good for assuring that the power got turned OFF before clipping a wire by mistake, for example. It can also assure you that the power is being turned on/off by a switch or relay. But don’t ask it to tell you the quality of that hot power.

Which brings us to a Volt-Ohm meter, which can tell us voltage and resistance (hence the name!) This allows a much better diagnosis of a circuit because we can get more information. Compare the volt meter feature alone to the continuity tests or test light checks that I described, above. A voltage measurement can better tell the quality of the hot power at any point in a circuit, either compared to ground (zero voltage) as as a voltage drop across a component. But I don’t want to get into details here. This is a case where you must read the directions. They should tell you not only how to use the meter but should also give you some examples to help interpret results. Happy testing!

Steve Watson, Watson's StreetWorks, http://www.watsons-streetworks.com