LED Brake Lights! (Pictures and Poll!)

Are LED's the best thing for these anemic charging systems!?


  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
I bought a 35W "plug-and-play" Bi-Xenon motorcycle kit off of eBay. It provides low and high beam by moving the bulb. Cost was around $50. It was a bit of a challenge to mount the ballast and the bulb that came in the kit was crap, 6000K and no shield. I've replaced the bulb with a 4300K one that includes a shield for proper light control which is much better, $10 from eBay. Next time I'll buy a brand name, quality kit from a local shop for about $20 more total.
 
I didn't vote because I have no experience with LED on my xs ...yet.

All I know is when you need an emergency construction crew to work all night and show up with LED's two things are for sure.... they can bitch about anything but the lights, and there is plenty of generator power left for the actual tools to run.... as in the tools get the work done which is why we are called in ..... nobody thinks about the lights until they see for themselves there is none.

I don't think any of us bought a bike cause its the safer mode of transport anyway. +1 for restored performance +1 for longevity +1 for brightness +1 for ease of install (no mod required) and -2 cause they cost too damn much (next to stock). I opt for option 3 on the poll, " I am cheap and lazy so when I win the lotto and my old bulbs die I will give LED a try"
 
Tombo, the generator/alternator won't put out until a certain RPM. What that RPM is for these bikes I am not sure, but experience says about probably about 1000 Rpm. Until that point, the battery alone is supplying the power for your lights etc. So at a stoplight, you are working off just the battery.
When your rpms reach the point of your alternator "kickin in" the voltage at your battery will rise with charging, and your lights will get brighter again. The greater the draw, the bigger the change.
 
I opt for option 3 on the poll, " I am cheap and lazy so when I win the lotto and my old bulbs die I will give LED a try"

Since these bikes are 30 some years old, and they haven't died yet, you might have another 30 years before you need to upgrade yours :laugh:
 
Oskar and others, The alternator makes power anytime the engine is running. At lower rpms this power is less than the battery puts out. As the rpms climb the alternator output increases. At some rpm the output increases to a point that is above the battery level. On most of the bikes I work on this happens about 1800 rpms. If you hook a meter to your battery and slowly rev the engine you will see when the alternators output goes above battery voltage.
This is at the point battery voltage reads about 13.5 to 14 volts. At this point the alternator is supplying enough output to stop the battery from discharging. At higher rpms the alternator output is around 14.5 volts. This is enough to run the bike and have some extra to charge the battery. Around 2500 rpms.
The regulator controls the output by reading the battery voltage. Any time it is below the preset of around 14.5 volts it "turns on" the charge.
With LED lighting or HID headlights there is less draw on the battery. This lets the battery stay charged better so the alternator doesn't have to work as hard.
Leo
 
Didn't I mention NO SKILL!? The lights that I used are direct replacements for the stock bulbs. I didn't get deep int the explanation of the installation (as I often do here on the forum ;) ) but I thought it was self explanatory.

The easiest part? Justifying the purchase to yourself or significant other (brighter, safer, less draw, increases reliability of your bike)

Hardest part? Reading, understand, and following my instructions. Use your brain and skip these instructions for an easier install! :D

But for those who need an explanation, here are the steps
1) remove lens (two Phillips screws )
2) put on clean rubber gloves.
3) push bulbs in, then rotate to the left, pull bulbs out. Take note of where the "notches) on the bulb interface are. There is a "lower" one and "higher".
4) take new led bulb, configure with same position for low and high notches. Press bulb in, gently rotate to the right. (There should be no resistance in the rotating right. If there is, your notches are in the wrong spot, or your pressing too hard or not hard enough on the bulb spring).
5) turn on bike, make sure bulbs work, make sure brake light function works
6) put the lens back on
7) enjoy!

Instructions unclear. Bike is on roof, leds on fire.
 
I would have to go with led
 

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Bump --I am not sorry for bring up an old post, I just didn't want to look like I didn't do any looking around.

Dave when you said
shield for proper light control which is much better, $10 from eBay
What was you talking about?

http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7737&page=2 HID Headlight conversion
That link has some nice breaking of headlight glass.

or there is the candlepower reflector.
So I am confused with my next steps, I didn't do the H4 conversion, should that happen next, or can I get away with scraping the epoxy, and putting in the new bi-Xenon 4300k light into the old headlight bucket? maybe I missed the answers in Willems new user guide to links? I think I can make the rest of the build questions. I sure am just not sure about the headlight bucket portion.

We do have some really good write ups, Thanks again
(of coarse I am still a week away from getting my bike working)
 
I got a Bosch H4 motorcycle headlight (OEM Harley headlight) at a swap meet and installed it first with the Halogen bulb. Later I installed a cheap HID kit. The bulb that came with the kit did not have any shielding around it and threw light everywhere. It also pissed off other motorists with glare, and was a bother in rain or fog. I then bought a different bulb that has the shielding for better light control, and opted for 4300K colour temperature, which is more like halogen light. White with a bit of yellow. Much nicer than the 6000K, white with blue, that I had before.

On low beam, there is a defined horizontal cutoff and good fill close to the bike. On high beam the light pattern moves up and goes much further down the road with slightly less close fill.

Bottom line: H4 headlight with good 35W 4300K HID kit, around $100, for a vast lighting improvement. Or a projector HID conversion kit, about $350, for incredible lighting. Your budget can decide! ;)
 
Hey guys,

so i finally got my turn signal LED bulbs. before changing the bulbs my normal bulbs were already not flashing (replacing the relay soon) i have 4 (2 in front 2 in back).

when i put in the new LED bulbs, all worked (besides not flashing), EXCEPT the rear right signal. Really weird, i rotated the bulbs around and still the same thing.

i put the old bulb back in, and it worked perfect. No clue whats happening here. I have the stock bulb in that one, but anyone know what might be causing this?
 
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Most LED bulbs need "plus" on the tip and "minus" on the outer contact to light up. The turn control lamp on stock bike has a fancy wiring that flips polarity, so standard LED only works in one position. You can either find a LED lamp that works both ways(i guess they exist), or add your own rectifier bridge (using 4 diodes), or rewire that lamp using two diodes and a piece of wire connected to bike's body (there is a post about it somewhere here).
 
Hey NJ,

i sort of understood that. but would that explanation still be valid when of the four i have installed, only the rear right one isn't working? i dont get how something can differ so much between the 4 that would cause the LED bulbs not to work on in that one.
 
Oh, "read right signal" means "reaR..." , I thought "read" meant "control lamp", sorry.

If your rear right not working (and LED itself is not broken) - you probably need to "flip" it's wires. The two wires from that socket are connected under the seat, disconnect them and connect each one where "other wire" was connected.
 
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