WEIRD BULBS

[stirlinggaz]

hi all,
looking to replace the headlight bulbs in my chinky 4t,
as they are very dull.
but never seen these type before,
marked with chinese writing (very helpful) & 18w/18w, no wonder there not so bright.
looking to replace with something alomg the lines of 35/35w, if the bike will take it!
these bulbs are about 6cm long,
with 2 prongs to hold them in.
look similar to H4 bulbs but without the large base.
any ideas on where i could get replacements or adapt to take normal type h4 or h7 bulbs?
cheers,
GAZ
EDIT :just had a look at a H4 bulb i had spare,
& it fits in space.
so if i remove bulb holder i am left with 3 bare wires which, in theory, all i need to do is connect to the H4 bulb & im pretty much sorted.
so, on a H4 bulb, which of the 3 prongs do what?
ie low beam,high beam etc.
any advice welcome.
i reckon i could bodge a conversion here! as the size of the old bulb & holder is approx same size as a H4 bulb,
& its easier to replace H4's than these chinese ones,
& who knows they might be brighter! (seing as there almost double the wattage, heres hoping i dont fry the wiring/regulator! lol)

[Itchy]

Cut off the connector to the bulb and solder in a normal one? ,
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[Stelmer]

Take the old bulb to Halfrauds and try match it up to the ones in their bike it range or do the same at a bike shop.

[tatters]

you can buy h4 sockets off ebay for around 3 pounds should.nt be to hard to fit a 35/55 watt lamp in posesion and then its one common wire and a low and high beam wire.
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[stirlinggaz]

[stinkwheel]

Is it a simple round headlight?

If so, you might be as well just getting a CG125 lens insert from a breakers, then it'll take standard bulbs and the reflector will be set up for them.

A brand new, entire headlight for a CG costs under £30 so a second hand insert ought to be cheap as chips.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[toolhonda]

I think the bulb is a BA20D connection.

Walk in to your local Halfords and find the Motorcycle section.

Have a look for Halfords part number 417.
Its called Motorcycle Bulb 12v 35/35w

On the back it says BA20D and Halogen.

Price is £5.99

They also sell a non Halogen version for less (not as good).

[stirlinggaz]

[stinkwheel]

[toolhonda]

The bulb in the picture is Halogen design.
So 18 Watts could be equal to 25 watts non Halogen?

The early Honda CG125 bikes were 25 watts non Halogen but only 6 volts (which is worse than 12 volts 25 watts!)

[stinkwheel]

[andys675]

looks like a bosch bulb fitting to me, with the tungsten upgrade

[stirlinggaz]

[Polo]

Another vote for the BA20D bulb.

Did you ever change a bulb in the NSR you had? Looks exactly like that, just less blurry.
____________________
My mum smells your fingers

[stirlinggaz]

[toolhonda]

I went in to several Motorcycle shops for a BA20D (Bosch) 35w 12v halogen bulb.

Several shops had no BA20D.
Some had a non Halogen BA20D.
And only one had a Halogen BA20D.

Then I found Halfords sell the Halogen and non Halogen BA20D.

My old bulb was a non Halogen and I was desperate for the Halogen upgrade.

The 35w Halogen bulb was a big upgrade in light terms.
But its still pretty useless on high beam.

Whats the size of the headlight?
I bet its undersized, if so putting a full sized headlight on it will improve the light output (even with the same bulb in).

[stinkwheel]

2x 18W @ 12V = 3A

2x 35W @ 12V = 5.8A

To be honest, most cable should be able to cope with that. You might want to check there are at least 14 strands. If there is a seperate lighting fuse, you might need a more powerful one.

If you are concerned about excessive power draw, replace the stop and tail light and the sidelight with LED bulbs (draw almost nothing). Or maybe even just use one 35W and one 18W.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[toolhonda]

I would be worried about overloading the bikes generator / alternator especially since it’s a Chinese bike.

So I would only go up to a 35w bulb.
Upgrade the wiring of course.

Make sure you have a on / off switch for at least the headlight.
If you have not got one its easy to fit one.
Keep the light off during the day and on at night.

Make sure the light is always off when trying to start the engine.

When the headlight is on and your idling at traffic lights the bike might not generate enough power so the battery will be used a bit.
Hopefully when you get the engine revs up it will manage and may even recharge the battery.
Of course light off = battery will recharge at least when the engine revs are up.

[stirlinggaz]

[stirlinggaz]

[stinkwheel]

I think running two 35w bulbs could be chancing your luck a bit.

All depends on the charge rate of the alternator I suppose.

You can get a bit of a clue from the size of the battery. There will be a number in the battery code which is the amp/hour rating. Basically the charging system should be comfortable putting out up to this level of current. Beyond that and you're discharging your battery.

So. If it has an 8Ah battery, you ought to be ok. If it has a 4Ah battery you are going to cause problems.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[toolhonda]

35 watts should be ok if you follow my last post.

Your description of the wiring sounds like 1 amp.
12 volts x 1 amp = 12 watts.
So the wiring is already in trouble at 18 watts.
12 volts x 3 amp = 36 watts.
Never use 1 amp cable with 3 amps going through it!

Only things I can think of that could go wrong is the bikes fuse is not big enough (put a bigger one in if it blows).

The light on and off switch (I wonder how many amps it can handle?).
If it overheats and brakes replace it with a universal handlebar mounted 4 amp switch or larger.

Overloading the bikes generator / alternator should do no harm.
All that will happen is the battery is drained so needs to be recharged.

[toolhonda]

I forgot about its a twin headlight.

Have a look at what happens when the headlight is switched on.

Now switch it from low to high beam.

When we say 35w bulb, its actually says 35w/35w
Because its actually 2 bulbs in one.
One is for low beam.
One is for high beam.
Only one is on at any one time.
Another example of a bulb is 65w/55w = 65w high beam, 55w low beam.

Some twin headlights only have one headlight on when on low beam.

[stirlinggaz]

[toolhonda]

Next time make sure you do not buy a bike made in China.