LED running lamps

[Matthew_Lee]

Hey all,
Today i had the idea that, fitting a powerful yet low wattage running lamp to my bike would be a good idea....
As well as being more visible in the day, it also projects a nice beam of white light forward, lighting up more of the road ahead of me.

Seems as my bike is only a 125 I can't really have 50watt headlamps due to the power my alternator puts out, also halogens tend to melt my bulb harness
so this is my other method!

I've wired it into the side light inside the headlight, also used some heat shrink tubing to protect the standard wiring and other connections.

Just got back from a Ride (not loving the winter setting in) and the light seems to be brilliant. lights up the cats eyes from further away too!

Has anybody else done this before for extra visibility?

Here's some pics.

https://i52.tinypic.com/10p9jzl.jpg

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Why, what's wrong with the headlight?
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[delsol]

Like the idea, looks good too.

Couple of questions:

1. Is it legal, assuming you pitched the LED lamp to the same setting as dipped beam ?

2. Can you give a link to where you bought it?

tnx

[Matthew_Lee]

Nothing is wrong with the headlight, as i've mentioned before in another post, the headlight just isn't very bright.
As i tend to commute more at night through unlit B roads etc, i need more light on the road.

[Matthew_Lee]

[nop]

I'll just leave this here...


Also what is the legality of a very powerful flickering LED light like what cyclists have?

[Matthew_Lee]

i don't think a flickering LED would be legal on a motorbike, would it? lol

Also, i would LOVE a HID kit, but my connection type is BA20D not H4 or any other H's and i'm yet to find a HID kit which will fit a BA20D type connection :/

EDIT: found this, Hong Kong... may consider buying, but not sure what to think... discuss!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorbike-HID-6000K-Ballast-P15D-S2-BA20D-P43T-38-C164-/170664544116?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bc664774#ht_7654wt_1185

[nop]

[Matthew_Lee]

Just looked at the pic, it's the same thing as i posted from ebay.
I wish i knew more about HID conversion. *starts researching*

[nop]

It is pretty easy if you buy a kit. They come with a bulb, ballast and some cables. They are usually coded to the type of bulb you have. H4 for example. They are more or less plug and pray. Just be aware of 2 things:

1. ALL these cheap kits come from china so the cheapest prices are to be found on aliexpress then deal extreme. For example there is a guy on fleabay selling XT600 HID kits for £70, a bargain you may think. However you can pick the EXACT same parts up on aliexpress for about £20. Also Chinese manufacture shite, so you may as well get a car set with 2 bulbs and 2 ballasts for when something inevitably brakes.

2. Unless you get a different lens for your cycle and change the angle your lamp points, an HID bulb is illegal as it spunks light everywhere and blinds 'vry fucker you pass.

[EazyDuz]

I find a retina destroying HID kit makes me pretty visible.
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[Teflon-Mike]

OK.... there was about thirty years ago a little Chrystal oscilator device marketed for motorbikes to make the side light 'flicker' at something like 10Hz, about five times faster than an indicator.
It was aparemtly perfectly legal.... THEN.... and was called 'The Pulsar Conspicuity Relay' or some such thing.... never really cought on, and I dont know what the C&U regs 'lighting amendments say', but iot was something to do with the oscilating frequency.

Right; back to this here bright idea of the candle dim Chinese Headlamp.

£34! for an LED fog lamp?!?! Is it a fog or spot?

It IS actually illegal to have a 'spot' lamp illuminated on Dip beam; no matter how low its aimed, I believe; meanwhile wide angle fog, its usually ignored, but RTA doies state that they are illegal to use unless visibility is less than so many metres.... cxant remember what spec is but it is bludy short!

(I got into gip with plod once who stopped me for driving with fogs on once; trouble was the relays had siezed! Was quite commic, they were telling me to turn them 'off' and I was trying to explain that I couldn't.... being accused of wiring them in wrong, and trying to explain that they were wired as they ought to be, the switch wasn't working...... vexed plodman, watching me rock fog lamp switch to nill effect..... eventually after looking at all the fuses, trying to find one for the fog lights..... pulling the one for my headlamps, and resetting my clock, and generally getting no-where, other one, found that the 'remote' relay and noted they were conveniently 'fused', to turn them off..... actually appologised for accusing me of wrong doing, and suggested I get the relays replaced, and let me go on my way, explaining that 'boy racers' driving with them on the whole while, just for the 'look' was a real problem! But I digress!)

Suggested in your other thread, that the better option to trying an upgraded bulb in your existing headlamp would be to upgrade the whole headlamp to an H4 fitting one.

You have a round beam headlamp, probably 5 1/2" diamter lense; you might find you can get a replacement lense unit that will slot straight into the headlamp shell you have, that has better beam pattern, and takes (and doesn't melt under heat) of a standard 50/55H4. I know that there is one that will go in My Yamaha Shell for about £20 on E-bay.

Alternatively; plenty of proprietry headlamp options available that would replace the whole shell and mount on the fork brakets you have, or after market fork brackets, that would again, have propritry H4 bulb fitting.

Snipping the wires from your existing bulb fitting and soldering on a £1.99 H4 Bulb connector is not a particularly onerouse job....

But, if you are worried about the wireing and its current rating, \and presumeably that of the handlebar switch, my suggestion would be to simply get two automotive 30A relays, and some 30A wire. Run a direct feed from the battery to the headlamp. Take the new feed to switched termninal of each relay, and the other switched terminal to high or low beam pin of H4 connector.

Take another string of high-amp cable to a good earth; possibly back to the battery negative; and T in the earth terminals of both relays to it. THEN take the feeds to the original bulb to the trigger terminals of the relays.

THEN when you have the lights off, there will be no volts on the relays, and the lamp will be off. When you turn lights 'on' you will only actually be switching on one of the two relays, which will draw milli-amps through the original wires and switch, the relays providing current direct from battery to the H4 bulb.... through the high amp wiring you have fitted.

To keep consumption low; a 35w PIR bulb would offer the sort of brightness of a 120W halogen bulb, but draw LESS current than OE tungsten.....

If you shop around; need not cost too much money, either. Certainly I wouldn't be buying H4 connectors for a fiver or 30A relays for near a tenner at Halfords when I could get the same generic bits from Vehicle Wiring Products for probably half that, or off e-bay for even less....... let alone their over priced lights or lighting wiring 'kits'!

Ie: fix the direct 'problem' which is low efficiency head-lamp, rather than try a work-around.
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[weasley]

It's not a fog light or a spotlight, it's a daytime running light. Perfectly legal if used correctly - IIRC they should either exstinguish or dim when used at night (usually by way of the dipped beam circuit).

I am considering fitting one to mine, to be run off of a switched live so that it is always on when the ignition is (so independent of any lights being on, as per current cars).
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[EazyDuz]

So that light is on all the time then, even at night?
Could potentially get in trouble, i also think it looks like it belongs on a car somewhere.
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[Matthew_Lee]

Good post Teflon mike,
I will be looking into new reflectors and lenses today, I've seen a couple on ebay which are metal and glass which should fit just fine

And as far as the legal stuff goes, with LED running lights, Weasley has it spot on. They are supposed to be dimmed at night or even extinguished... but however, my headlight at the moment is so dim i feel that this light is needed at night so i am more visible. Thinking safety wise, i will leave it switched on at night until or if i get pulled over for it.

It's not so bright that it could 'blind' Drivers, that would only happen if they stare straight into it from close range.

[Matthew_Lee]

Update:
As i've mentioned before, standard halogen bulbs were melting my bulb harness.... well, before i gave up completely, i thought i would give one other bulb a last attempt.....

This is what i bought:
https://www.hids-direct.co.uk/h6m-ba20d-395-xtreme-white-xenon-motorbike-3030w-bulb-p-527.html

After leaving the bike running for 45mins with the full beam on, the lense and harness are about 50% colder than when i had a standard halogen bulb fitted. The light is also whiter, and for a 30watt, it's brighter than my 45watt globe type.

I know there are alot of mixed reviews about these type of bulbs, but so far so good