Let there be Light : Bike Lighting, HID etc

[princesirohi]

Originally Posted by Shanz

Shanz
<Posted via Mobile>

Hey Guys......My Pulsar now has an HID light. So, here's the story...

After searching on net for few days, even posting a PM to the guy on xbhp who was selling the HID kits (he didn't respond) and doing inquiry at few shops in pune selling HID kits for cars. i found out that all good branded HID kits are available for Rs 6000.00/= to Rs 8000.00/= which is too costly for a bike (even with a 1 year warranty). so i contacted my favorite mechanic....who dialled a few no.s in nanpeth....and bingo ... we were off to nanapeth. the kit available there was 12 V, 35Watt, magnetically moving Hi/Lo H4 type. perfectly wht i wanted. only problem was ....1) it was chinese make, so no warranty. 2) color temperature was not in the range of 4300k to 6000k, it was 8000k. but i opted for it, as it was available at only Rs. 2450.00/=. the mechanic first converted the AC system of headlight to DC system. we had to puchase a wiring harness system which has a relay and fuse also to it. costed 400 bucks. the mechanic did a nice job, clean fitting, no loose wires her and there. total time =2 hours.

total cost=2450+400+400+30(for an additional switch)= Rs. 3280.00/=

so not too costly.

it was 4.00 PM by the time i was having a coffee at shivajinagar. i was too eager to test my new light. went to my home. rested for a while. then at 8:00 PM i took my bike and off to pune streets (as i had to check if traffic cops notice the blueish bright light, but all went well ) then to the highway(pune mumbai) flashing my bright bluish white light and using upper dipper quite frequently. came back an hour later to my home. at 10:00 PM againg off to shivajinagr for a dinner at bamboo house, came back and in morning at 6:00 AM today(it was dark) i left pune for aamby valley.

MAN .....THE LIGHT IS AWESOME.....NO FOUR WHEELER DARED TO CROSS MY TRACKS. I NJOYED IT SO MUCH....WHILE RIDING THAT I WAS ON 7TH HEAVEN.

only minor glitch was, i realized that every time i blow horn, my digital display orange light fainted a bit, and this happened even when i had switched off the HID light and was running on normal pilot lights only.

and yes the mechanic had installed an additional switch which must be in off position while starting the bike otherwise starter wont work. only when the bike had started. i am supposed to switch that button "on". then i switch on the light using regular handlebar switches as usuall. all handle bar switch functions remain as it is like ON, OFF, HI, LO, PASS FLASH. only thing is i had to switch that extra button "on" first.

so till now everything is ok. i m happy. only worry is ...lets see how much the battry lasts...as entire system is on battery now. and i dont think battery charges at teh same rate as it is discharged by teh 35w light.

fingers crossed.

and yes my circuit connection were somewhat similar to the one shown by a fellow xbhpian at
Imageshack - 007Ballast.jpg - Uploaded by sandeepkram

but little bit different as i have an extra switch.

[Nitin_traveller]

congrats man!!!

nothing near you but i recently upgraded my P150 to Avi coil(stator plate) + 55W bulb. Lighting has improoved.

Just a basic/dumb Question.. if you have an pulsar, and worried about charging rate being less after HID, can't you switch to avi coil thing to give better output?? OR your coil is already modified to convert to dc?

[princesirohi]

Originally Posted by Nitin_traveller

congrats man!!!

nothing near you but i recently upgraded my P150 to Avi coil(stator plate) + 55W bulb. Lighting has improoved.

Just a basic/dumb Question.. if you have an pulsar, and worried about charging rate being less after HID, can't you switch to avi coil thing to give better output?? OR your coil is already modified to convert to dc?

this is not a dumb question yaar....but a very basic question. yes you can do so. i will see...if my battery gives up after a few days or weeks or months...i will do the same. but i have another home made DIY kind of solution. there is a coil in magneto for lighting the normal halogen bulb, which used to power my bulb till yesterday, now that coil is lying unused, 'coz it is simply disconnected. so what we can do is build/make a rectifier which will convert this 12V AC inot 12 V DC. this additional current can then be used to charge the battery additionally. wht say?

[navnish]

@princesirohi can you post some pics of the ballast and the bulb please.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by Galaxtus

Hi fellow XBhpians,

Five days back wanted to try out some projectors for my Beast(FZ). I enquired in JC Road, but was costly about Rs.5000/-. I posted that previously. Thanks to gaurav who read it & told me he has a Pulsar 220's projector. I was so exicted, finally i met him & took it. Next day went to the mechanic in JC Road who does all kinds of mods for the bikes. He has also changed P220 into R15 like design. He is talented & i knew him. For fixing the projector it took him around 2 1/2 hours to complete(it would have finished early but power was not there for sometime). It was looking awesome on my FZ when it finished. I tell you the main cruelty was from now. The projector lens was not original or damaged. Sorry gaurav, i think they have tricked you in selling that. The mistake i did was, i didn't test it before placing it inside. That same night i finished work around 11.00pm night. O man no light was coming out of that projector. The light was only coming out of the sides but i couldn't see anything in centre. I knew this would happen because projectors are not ment for halogens (ones with cap on top) but still it has to produce some light. I was really disappointed & went next day back to him. I asked him try HID on the projector but the result was same. The lens was fake one. Finally i took out the projector from inside. I was so disappointed after doing all that got wasted. The 4 screw gaps i filled it with blue led bulbs has praking lights. The removed assembly i kept in home, if i find a good lens i will remove that & test it before setting it in.

First i tried 8000k, the shop owner insisted to buy that. I knew higher the kelvin lower the power. Now i have 6000k Hid kit. This is really good compared to 8000K. It produces more light when fully charged up. Ballast fitted inside tank fibre. Low beam Normal Yellow colour type to be cop friendly & the High Beam is White bright. Some pics of the process (taken from my N78 mobile camera)......

The first two photos are with halogens. After that you guess what happened & last 3 are without light, LB & HB.

Wow, one more projector mod Nice work with min damage to the reflecctor as well as the pocket too

Dude, u need to have a shroud to cover the lens else, the light will come out of the lens assy sides. A shroud will give u finished look as well as the light coming thru the sides. If u dont've a shroud, just make one by brushed alumn/SS thin sheets. There are many links to see how to make shrouds. Even once I posted some pics on this for Shreeni. Poor boy's now fed up with the all circus and resting for a while. Am sure he'll come up with his meaty Merc lens mod.

Galaxtus, I dont understand how come a lens restricting the light from its opening? And from ur pics its clearly shown both the beams on the lens, and there's no spread coming out of it. I have some clue like Shreeni pointed, Pulsar 220 projector is for LB, so there's a fixed sheild within the lens assy, that may be restricting light due to the different bulb u've made to fit in. How come u got a H4 bulb inside an H7 socket without some grinding work? and there may be ur problem, H7 projector may have focal sync with H7 bulbs only and it may not be correct with an H4 bulb. And to make it worse, u've put a HID+Halo combi setup.

" I have noticed that light pattern have changed" its something with the focus where an HID kit fails as its not designed for a HID bulb.


Try with an H7 Halo and see any spread, if its oK, if u can remove the sheild temporarily, (since its a LB lens, mostly it may be fixed type then u r fixed) (there r ways to pull out if its spoted too)try with the new H4 HID bulb u've matched for the lens, and see for any light spread. It might be full projection one, but still u can work around by fixing a small sheet of alumn inplace of the sheild to get the desired pattern. Slightly crude idea but worth to try since u've paid for the lens. Once the lens's giving a better spread, u can fix it back.

Originally Posted by Galaxtus

Hey Sajjt or anyone, what would be best projector for my ride. I know that the stock reflector was not designed for HID's. HID produce different glare & light pattern compared to normal Halogens. I have noticed that light pattern have changed. It surely has some long range view. HID's really rocks guys.

If u can correct the issues, u've got the best available lens for LB and use a car fog or spot for HB with min budget. There are aftermarket bi xen projectors available from 6K onwards but the HB is not impressive, take my case, I've got a 3" lens which is the biggest available one in the market, but the HB spread is not that impressive. Am working for a diff patern, so it may be improved. IMO, LB projector and HB reflector beams are the best like in P220.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by Nitin_traveller

congrats man!!!

nothing near you but i recently upgraded my P150 to Avi coil(stator plate) + 55W bulb. Lighting has improoved.

Just a basic/dumb Question.. if you have an pulsar, and worried about charging rate being less after HID, can't you switch to avi coil thing to give better output?? OR your coil is already modified to convert to dc?

Just adding an Avy coil will improve the light coil power only not the batt charging rate as Avy is also using the same 9AH batt requirements, so even u r changing the Avy coil+ RR also it wont make any diff. U need to give more juice to the batt by other means to tackle this.

Originally Posted by princesirohi

this is not a dumb question yaar....but a very basic question. yes you can do so. i will see...if my battery gives up after a few days or weeks or months...i will do the same. but i have another home made DIY kind of solution. there is a coil in magneto for lighting the normal halogen bulb, which used to power my bulb till yesterday, now that coil is lying unused, 'coz it is simply disconnected. so what we can do is build/make a rectifier which will convert this 12V AC inot 12 V DC. this additional current can then be used to charge the battery additionally. wht say?

If u r getting a backup time of more than 1 hr with the existing setup, u r done I think If not, u need to take the light coil wires to enhance the batt charging like u said but need to do some wiring mods plus the RR change.

[Galaxtus]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Dude, u need to have a shroud to cover the lens else, the light will come out of the lens assy sides. A shroud will give u finished look as well as the light coming thru the sides. If u dont've a shroud, just make one by brushed alumn/SS thin sheets. There are many links to see how to make shrouds. Even once I posted some pics on this for Shreeni. Poor boy's now fed up with the all circus and resting for a while. Am sure he'll come up with his meaty Merc lens mod.

Galaxtus, I dont understand how come a lens restricting the light from its opening? And from ur pics its clearly shown both the beams on the lens, and there's no spread coming out of it. I have some clue like Shreeni pointed, Pulsar 220 projector is for LB, so there's a fixed sheild within the lens assy, that may be restricting light due to the different bulb u've made to fit in. How come u got a H4 bulb inside an H7 socket without some grinding work? and there may be ur problem, H7 projector may have focal sync with H7 bulbs only and it may not be correct with an H4 bulb. And to make it worse, u've put a HID+Halo combi setup.

" I have noticed that light pattern have changed" its something with the focus where an HID kit fails as its not designed for a HID bulb.


Try with an H7 Halo and see any spread, if its oK, if u can remove the sheild temporarily, (since its a LB lens, mostly it may be fixed type then u r fixed) (there r ways to pull out if its spoted too)try with the new H4 HID bulb u've matched for the lens, and see for any light spread. It might be full projection one, but still u can work around by fixing a small sheet of alumn inplace of the sheild to get the desired pattern. Slightly crude idea but worth to try since u've paid for the lens. Once the lens's giving a better spread, u can fix it back.

If u can correct the issues, u've got the best available lens for LB and use a car fog or spot for HB with min budget. There are aftermarket bi xen projectors available from 6K onwards but the HB is not impressive, take my case, I've got a 3" lens which is the biggest available one in the market, but the HB spread is not that impressive. Am working for a diff patern, so it may be improved. IMO, LB projector and HB reflector beams are the best like in P220.

You are absolutely right. I made mistake by taking off the shroud reflectors by half to fit it in the stock reflector. The shield inside the projector was chopped. Basically my idea was to have HID with two light varients Yellow & White. I dont wanted that sheild as i can use my H/L button switch. I made a mess by cutting the recflector shroud on the projector. If only i get a H4 socket shroud then i can fit the lens which i already have. Do you know any way i can find H4 socket one.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by Galaxtus

You are absolutely right. I made mistake by taking off the shroud reflectors by half to fit it in the stock reflector. The shield inside the projector was chopped. Basically my idea was to have HID with two light varients Yellow & White. I dont wanted that sheild as i can use my H/L button switch. I made a mess by cutting the recflector shroud on the projector. If only i get a H4 socket shroud then i can fit the lens which i already have. Do you know any way i can find H4 socket one.

Dude, I got confused A shroud means cover for the lens assy which gives u a finish look. Just like this.


Dude, if u still have doubts come to my projector thread and ask, and u can see the pics to more understanding.

If u've an H4 Bulb, u wont get a dual beam effect on other socket types on projectors due to the focus issues. In a normal sealed beam slight change in the focus wont affect badly, remember u said the beam pattern've changed after HID mod? Atleast u'll get the light, but in projector, focus is very important as the reflected light is to be guided thru the lens so the bulb position should be accurate for the correct focus, where u fails. U can only try with an appropriate H7 bulb.

I still wonder how come Shree got his H1 bulb fitted to a D2S lens assy and got the beam Hey man what do u say? Am no expert in this.


Rest of the part I just cant follow, pls elaborate for easy understanding.All I understood is, u've done some alteration on the projector bulb holder/HID bulb base and made a direct fit to an H7 socket. Obviously the shield will be half to provide LB.

If u messup with the projector, its hard to source the components to rectify, as its not common in market, so be patient in doing R&D works

[princesirohi]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Just adding an Avy coil will improve the light coil power only not the batt charging rate as Avy is also using the same 9AH batt requirements, so even u r changing the Avy coil+ RR also it wont make any diff. U need to give more juice to the batt by other means to tackle this.

--------------

If u r getting a backup time of more than 1 hr with the existing setup, u r done I think If not, u need to take the light coil wires to enhance the batt charging like u said but need to do some wiring mods plus the RR change.

ya wiring mods will be required, but not RR change as i think we have now bypassed the RR unit. since this is a DC setup....lets see first how much this battery holds. and yes i dont want my battery to hold for only 1 hour, i want more...coz i regularly go on long rides in night...sometimes lasting to whole night and i mean it evening to morning..of course with halts in betwwen

but at the minimum 4 hours is bare minimum requirement.

[Galaxtus]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Dude, I got confused A shroud means cover for the lens assy which gives u a finish look. Just like this.


Dude, if u still have doubts come to my projector thread and ask, and u can see the pics to more understanding.

If u've an H4 Bulb, u wont get a dual beam effect on other socket types on projectors due to the focus issues. In a normal sealed beam slight change in the focus wont affect badly, remember u said the beam pattern've changed after HID mod? Atleast u'll get the light, but in projector, focus is very important as the reflected light is to be guided thru the lens so the bulb position should be accurate for the correct focus, where u fails. U can only try with an appropriate H7 bulb.

I still wonder how come Shree got his H1 bulb fitted to a D2S lens assy and got the beam Hey man what do u say? Am no expert in this.


Rest of the part I just cant follow, pls elaborate for easy understanding.All I understood is, u've done some alteration on the projector bulb holder/HID bulb base and made a direct fit to an H7 socket. Obviously the shield will be half to provide LB.

If u messup with the projector, its hard to source the components to rectify, as its not common in market, so be patient in doing R&D works

Which is your projector thread the one on your signature link. I didn,t meant that. In case you didn't notice. I attached the image see on the right side beside my recflector the one which holds the bulb socket.