How bright should the headlight be?

comp_wiz101 · Post by **comp_wiz101** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 5:24 pm

I suppose the subject says it all... I have high and low beam working, but the light is very yellow, and I'm not really sure if it is supposed to be any brighter...
Are these lights terribly bright, even when working normally?

comp_wiz101 · Post by **comp_wiz101** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:13 pm

Finally took the headlamp out and tested it directly on the battery. Stock standard Stanley 5556 bulb... suprisingly dim. The battery doesn't have any trouble starting the bike, but I suppose it would be the only other suspect. Otherwise, it's just a dim bulb.
Found a compatible halogen bulb from this headlight, I might give it a try:
http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffybulbs.htm
It's listed as "American prefocus" and is available in a 35/35 watt, so it might be a bit too much load.

PS: Does anyone know how much current these bulbs normally draw? I only measured 1.5-2 amps

ByTheLake · Post by **ByTheLake** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:28 am

Did you check out this thread? It's a similar topic.

http://www.fourwheelforum.com/showthread.php?t=509

I also found this topic on LEDs to be very interesting, although it's mainly focused on taillights:

http://www.bulbsthatlast4ever.com/pdf/Bill_Silver_HM1.pdf

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:14 pm

Very interesting. I've toyed with the idea of making some LED boards myself for signals and tails. A halogen bulb up front on a little CA95? I would love to try that out. Not that I would ever ride at night... but I have and it would be nice to be noticed. The lights are so dim on these suckers.

On a similar note I did solder all the connecters on my CL70 Honda which is a 6V system as well. The light is now really bright, the horn is strong and the blinkers actually blink at a normal rate and are really bright. It's amazing the difference. You could buy low resistance or newer connectors instead of straight soldering. I'm SURE that if you did this to all the connectors like I did that would solve all your weak headlight problems. When the bike is running the lights brighten up quite a bit compared to just turning the key on. Just my experience.

comp_wiz101 · Post by **comp_wiz101** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:25 am

Smithers wrote:Very interesting. I've toyed with the idea of making some LED boards myself for signals and tails. A halogen bulb up front on a little CA95? I would love to try that out. Not that I would ever ride at night... but I have and it would be nice to be noticed. The lights are so dim on these suckers.

On a similar note I did solder all the connecters on my CL70 Honda which is a 6V system as well. The light is now really bright, the horn is strong and the blinkers actually blink at a normal rate and are really bright. It's amazing the difference. You could buy low resistance or newer connectors instead of straight soldering. I'm SURE that if you did this to all the connectors like I did that would solve all your weak headlight problems. When the bike is running the lights brighten up quite a bit compared to just turning the key on. Just my experience.

I'll have to do some testing with the engine running. I took the bulb out and connected it directly to the battery, but it wasn't much brighter. I also have a variable bench supply, perhaps I'll hook it up and see if the bulb is brighter with a little more current, since that battery is at least 1 year old, and may be quite a bit older.

Yesterday's little project was a replacement bulb for the speedometer. Since I didn't have any replacements handy, I pulled the glass out of a BA9S style bulb and fitted a single high-brightness LED and resistor inside. The LED came from a broken solar powered flashlight. Now the speedo is well lit with a cool white light, without being bright enough to distract.