Brake light illumination please

[blurredman]

Hey,


Recently got a '79 Suzuki TS185 and been sorting niggling things these past few months but one of the last ones that I find interesting is regarding the brake light in particular.

I have found on each occasion I use the bike that on testing the brake light before setting off and all is good it brightens quickly and relatively brightly for a 6v system.

If I ride merely a few miles however the brake light is non-existent. The only way to get around this in such a situation is to put on the illumination lights, and the brake light works agin.

I've checked issues like earting and resistence but the earth points and connections are good and solid and with extremely just about zero resistence.

After arriving home, I might come to the bike the next morning and the cycle is repeated. The brake lights illuminate fine.

Battery is a good 5.5v even after a ride so it looks like it's charging and the bulb draws about 4.9v for the brake fillament. The bike has a new regulator. Any ideas?
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[WD Forte]

Is 5.5V good?
Its been a long time since I had a 6v bike here but
I'd expect something closer to 6.5v

I'm basing this assumption on a 6 cell 12v battery which after charge and resting, I'd hope to see 12.6v - ish on a healthy battery
12.6 / 6 = 2.1 per cell
So, on a 3 cell 6V battery, 2.1 *3 = 6.3
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[blurredman]

[RhynoCZ]

I'd just convert it to a modern (contactless ignition) 12v system. It's not that complicated to do so and it will make your life easier.
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[blurredman]

That is your default response for anything concerning 6v electrics RhynoCZ. It does not help, unless you wish to front the funds for such a conversion. Hehe




Okay, checked it out this morning. before starting the bike the battery was at 5.8v. When the bike was running at 4k (on choke- has no throttle tube atm), the response was 6.15volts at the battery, and when I turned on the lights the battery displayed just over 7v.

Seeing as the the brake light (as well as horn and neutral light) come on without the engine running it is obvious they take their juice from the battery, but surely the brake light would take at least a little slice from the generator (at least when the lights are switched off) !? It seems it only makes this connection when the lights are turned on..

Looking at the figures it suggests to me the battery barely gets charged when the lights are off. Therefore sitting around at traffic lights with my hand/foot on the brake is using up all the battery and therefore the brake light doesn't work. Turning on the lights charges the battery at an increased rate and thus why the brake light works when I turn off the main lights when I get back home.

It would be obviously advantageous to make a patch wire if that would be possible.
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[Taught2BCauti...]

I have had similar problems with bulbs that work or don't work under varying conditions - just change the bulb!
____________________
Honda Varadero XL125(V8)
www.TheFutureIsHere.eu

[RhynoCZ]

[blurredman]

Now that is more of a fair point Rhyno, and indeed T2BC.

What are the differences in draw between an LED light and a conventional light at the same Wattage (let's say 25w) do you think??
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[RhynoCZ]

I am not quite sure about that, but I put a pair of BAY15D 6W 600lm there instead of two conventional bulbs, that were 21w+5w. The luminescence/brightness is the same, and the draw is now only 12w max. instead of 42w/52w (52w when braking).

It's all about the luminosity/brightness, 600lm is about the same as the conventional 21w+5w bulb. I got my pair of bulbs from dx.com for £4+ shipping. I also had some 300lm bulbs to try, but those were way too dim to put into the tail light.

Oh, and also check the color temperature. I got 6000~6500K which gives about the same colour as the conventional bulbs. The tail light looks the same even in the direct sunlight, so it can't get any better.

Here's the picture of my tail light with the 6w 600lm bulbs. As I've said, on can't tell the difference between an LED and conventional bulb once the light cover is on.
https://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/RhynoCZ/ZX7R/DSC00180_zps32165123.jpg
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[iooi]

[MCN.]

[MCN.]

[RhynoCZ]

[MCN.]

[RhynoCZ]

[WD Forte]

From the diagrams I've seen (and if they're correct)
the TS does have contactless igntion
ie CDI with source coil and pulser on the flywheel

AFAIK It has a 'cake bar' stator but unsure if two or three coils
One will be the CDi source coil and the other one (or two) will be
charging coils.
It would be easy to rewind the charge coils from single sided half wave 6v system to a 12v full wave but while you'd double the voltage
I doubt you'd double the power so here's where leds would help

OR
use a DC CDI and convert the source coil windings to charge coils, a 3 phase full wave system would be nice if poss
Need to see pics to get a better idea of options though
the loom and switch mods would be pretty easy
____________________
bikers smell of wee