Let there be Light : Bike Lighting, HID etc

[Noor]

Thread approved and merged

[crack_mech]

Hi.. I was following this whole 250+ pages long thread for a long time. But due to work and all was not on this for a while.

I have a quesition: I have 1 ballast unit + HID lamp with me, I want to put his in my bike. I was just curious how do I do that. Also, how it is possible to light up the two filaments on my HID bulb (2 for hi-lo beams) from one ballast supply? or do I need 2 ballasts for that?

If I need 2 ballasts for the hi-low beams, how do I do the circuit?

[Janesh.J]

Help with 555 timer circuit for LED Indicators

Hi,
I got this timer circuit for using with LED indicators MOD in my activa, but somehow the relay only switches on, and stays on does not go ON-OFF ON-OFF, what could be the problem, even changing the pot does not help.

[sajjt]

Sajjt
I am using seperate regulator because due to this,my bike headlight doesnt flicker even at low rpms
I mean to say during night time,I am able to travel in hilly regions with speed of 20 in top gear at low rpm yet full intensity
A gentle movement of throttle and the headlight is normal
My headlight only flickers at rpm around 1000 to 1400

And regarding any TVS headlight
The magneto coil for Samurai/Victor/Fiero/Apache has got 50 watts reserved for headlight out of the 90 watts and RR unit of these bikes are around 120 watts
Hence you can source a 60/55 watts bulb on TVS bikes without any problem
But these bulbs without any modifications will not give full brightness unless you give something extra
Hence I used a second extra regulator of 80 watts
Due to this regulator,first it gets charged and then sends current to headlight and since it is 80 watts,a 60 watts bulb glows to its full intensity

Hey, thats a news for me that you are getting full intensity from a 55/60W on top gear even on 20Kph from a stock coil which was meant for 35W after swapping the RR

When I was running with a 55/60W on my Pulsar, re winded coil which was supporting a 90/100 above 3K rpm, was not giving this intensity below 1.5K rpm

AFAIK, RR= regulator cum Rectifier unit, is basically regulates the supply from the alternator to a safe level of 14V by shunting/shorting the terminals when the voltage crossing the limits in the first phase. In the second phase, the regulated power is routed to a rectifier unit which consists of a bridge rectifier for charging the battery. But how come the RR is getting charged here and whats the use of it? There's no charging/ storage option in the RR like in the form of a Cap/battery isn't it? You meant to say that first it charges the battery and then its powering the bulb from there?

[harishsangwan]

Here are pictures of beam taken
First one is in lower beam and second is in upper beam
My mobile camera is a VGA one hence the picture quality is not that good plus my angle op photography is also not that good
But I bet that with this much light,you can tour any road during night time and for many hours.You can also travel the whole night with such illumination
But you will get an idea of how good illumination is provided with a Bosch 60/55 watts

[ATTACH]45311[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]45312[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the pics.

Bosch bulb seems to be more on the whiter side when compared to the Philips Premium, whose pics can be seen HERE

After reading your comments I was going to get the Bosch bulb, which would be good value for money for a DIY. But the beam color shown in the Bosch pics doesnt encourage me as much as the Philips Premium does.

Whats the color temp of the Bosch bulb?

[Rahul.Gvli]

Absoloutely right
White light gets absorbed on wet road surfaces hence you are not able to see the road when it has been rained and roads are wet
Also white light is not useful in fog conditions
Also in upper beam,if you try to visualize a black object,it will appear whitish hence it produces strain on your eyes
White light is good only if you are using 100/90 watts bulb
But due to this 100/90 watts bulb,your headlight reflectors will get baked in 5 to 6 months and turn black
Plus white light is very irritating to the oncoming traffic
Well about HID or high intensity disharge lights,So far I know that it contains inert gas like Xenon tube with metal hallides which gives bright white light like the Mercury vapor lamps used in street lights
Halogen is a normal tube containing Inerrt gas due to which the filament doesnt blow off even at high temperatures and thus giving good yellowish white light.
This yellowish white light gets reflected from the wet surface and doesnt gets absorbed hence with these bulbs you can see the road very well.
Also the yellow light travels maximum length.Yellow light has got longest wavelength hence it traverses more.Thus in fog conditions,this yellow light is visible to oncoming vehicles from much long distance.
The light with yellow tinge is best one for visibility
Normal halogen bulbs give visibility of sunlight around evening say around 4 to 5 pm
Whereas HID and white light halogen bulbs give intensity equal to afternoon sun/cloudy environment etc
Hence normal halogen bulbs are preferred over white light ones for better road safety at night and longer visibility and in extreme climatic conditions

Thanks for the info Pankaj..

[abhijeet080808]

Hi,
I got this timer circuit for using with LED indicators MOD in my activa, but somehow the relay only switches on, and stays on does not go ON-OFF ON-OFF, what could be the problem, even changing the pot does not help.

Have a look at this page.



Connect a SCR relay at the o/p pin 3.

[abhijitkn]

Done!

No worries mate...Thanks a lot for helping me out guys.

Finally I mounted the lamps on the Forks (It is way better than on the crash guards). Obviously there are few vibrations but all good. Went through one of the worst road conditions in Maharashtra during my recent trek....but they performed really well (Bike was a looker). I still yet to use them in the night but will do it soon. Not much effect on the battery yet since as suggested by Sajit the RPM was well above 3000 RPMs most of the time. Let's see how the battery perform in case of any issue will take help from Pankaj.
The set up is bolt on & the clamps along with lamps can be removed easily (I have removed them now, will put it on again in the week end).

[navnish]

Finally I mounted the lamps on the Forks (It is way better than on the crash guards). Obviously there are few vibrations but all good. Went through one of the worst roads in Maharashtra during my recent trek....but they performed really well (Bike was a looker). I still yet to use them in the night but will do it soon. Not much effect on the battery yet since as suggested by Sajit the RPM was well above 3000 RPMs most of the time. Let's see how the battery perform in case of any issue will take help from Pankaj.
The set up is bolt on & the clamps along with lamps can be removed easily (I have removed them now, will put it on again in the week end).

awesome setup. what bulbs are there on the micro de ? 55w ones or u changed them ?

[abhijitkn]

awesome setup. what bulbs are there on the micro de ? 55w ones or u changed them ?

Hi Navanish,

Thanks...no I'm still using 55w H3 bulbs. I'm yet to take pictures in the night but will do it soon. May be next year I'll turn them into HIDs lets see.
& also I bought Hella's FF200 series driving lamps. Pretty neat & tidy. Once Monsoon is over I'll replace the fog lamps with those or I can mount both on the same clamps one below each other & will keep separate switch for both let's see but that set up will look little bulky so not sure...but yes both the lights can be swapped on to my brother's Fiesta when we all go out on touring...

[Janesh.J]

Have a look at this page.

Connect a SCR relay at the o/p pin 3.

Thanks Abhijeet.

I think this circuit is similar to what i posted, but will give this a try. Could you give me what resistors go in at R1 & R2 ? I am currently using 10k for both.

[imjoshee]

Finally I mounted the lamps on the Forks (It is way better than on the crash guards). Obviously there are few vibrations but all good. Went through one of the worst road conditions in Maharashtra during my recent trek....but they performed really well (Bike was a looker). I still yet to use them in the night but will do it soon. Not much effect on the battery yet since as suggested by Sajit the RPM was well above 3000 RPMs most of the time. Let's see how the battery perform in case of any issue will take help from Pankaj.
The set up is bolt on & the clamps along with lamps can be removed easily (I have removed them now, will put it on again in the week end).

Hi buddy,
Nice setup you have done on your FZ with the Micro DE. The setup is just like you get it on BMW R1200 series. Looks pretty much neat & clean.
Currently I am running a setup of 2 Hella550 mounted on the crash guard of my ZMA. But the issue is that they are protruding out of the crash guard & I feel they might get damaged.
Can you please let me know from where did you purchase the Micro DE & FF200 & how much did it cost you. I know an official Hella dealer here in Mumbai so will visit him this weekend, but just wanted to have an idea.

[sajjt]

Hi Navanish,

Thanks...no I'm still using 55w H3 bulbs. I'm yet to take pictures in the night but will do it soon. May be next year I'll turn them into HIDs lets see.
& also I bought Hella's FF200 series driving lamps. Pretty neat & tidy. Once Monsoon is over I'll replace the fog lamps with those or I can mount both on the same clamps one below each other & will keep separate switch for both let's see but that set up will look little bulky so not sure...but yes both the lights can be swapped on to my brother's Fiesta when we all go out on touring...

Hi Abhi,

Nice setup there man, Can you reduce the clamps length? So that it will look more compact and neat.

FF200 will be too big for a bike (5.75"X5"), but the throw will be awesome.

BTW, how much was the damage for the Hella FF200? Can you post some snaps of action on a car? Am in lookout for a good one for my car.

[abhijitkn]

Thanks

Hi buddy,
Nice setup you have done on your FZ with the Micro DE. The setup is just like you get it on BMW R1200 series. Looks pretty much neat & clean.
Currently I am running a setup of 2 Hella550 mounted on the crash guard of my ZMA. But the issue is that they are protruding out of the crash guard & I feel they might get damaged.
Can you please let me know from where did you purchase the Micro DE & FF200 & how much did it cost you. I know an official Hella dealer here in Mumbai so will visit him this weekend, but just wanted to have an idea.

Hi Abhi,
Nice setup there man, Can you reduce the clamps length? So that it will look more compact and neat.
FF200 will be too big for a bike (5.75"X5"), but the throw will be awesome.
BTW, how much was the damage for the Hella FF200? Can you post some snaps of action on a car? Am in lookout for a good one for my car.

Hi Joshee & Sajit,
Thanks. Thanks to you Sajit for helping me out. Still I'm in doubt with the battery but till it functions without hassel, it is fine.
I suggest instead of mounting on crash guard, try mounting it over the fork clamps. As you said ZMA has a full fairing it will be difficult to mount the clamps from the side but check if you can mount it from the front. There should be some opening (if you want I'll check one of the ZMA in our building) just make sure the fender will not touch the clamps. But any hardcore mechanic should be able to figure it out. Where there is a will there is a way . I did it from a guy called Ganesh who works at Zulfi's work shop at Grant Road (in the lane where Maharashtra Motors is). I gave him the dimension & idea. He cost me little more but since I wanted it, so did it. If you want to do it from him let me know we will do some bargain. I stay at Goregaon where there is an industrial area where also we can get it done.
The Micro-De I bought from Nana Peth in Pune. I will suggest you to buy those from him if you are unable to beat the price (Rs.5000) & it comes with the wiring harness, relay, electrical components, bulbs & switch. Everything is imported. I forgot the name of the dealer but if you want we can go together so that we can bargain more.
The build quality of Micro-De is too good. The casing made up of Magnesium alloy making it light but sturdy & heat dissipation is good.
The FF200 I bought from Sainath Motors at Opera House Mumbai (I'll not recommend Sainath motors for the rudeness.). I went to Grant Road for making the clamps & in the mean time I visited opera house where I found the authorized distributor & selected the lamps. But since he was a distributor he suggested me to buy it from Sainath. The issue was it cam in a pack of 2. No switch, relay, electrical components included even if the manual says that it is in the box. I fought with the dealer & the distributor but they said that it was a company packing & it is not included in the box. The distributor was authentic so had to believe him. Just check the same thing at your dealer, but since the distributor is same you may also face the same issue. I haven't mounted it yet but will do it soon. Just make sure you get an idea of mounting them on the forks since the mounting option is different. May be I’ll upload some snaps in the eve so that you will have an idea.
FF200 are pretty compact, light & well suited for a motorcycle at least when compared with others that is what I saw. There may more variety but the issue is you will have to check it at distributor which may annoy him (since the dealers at opera house will show you big ones considering the lamps to be mounted on cars). But now since he knows me well if you face any issue we will go together. I generally come to Mumbai every fortnight if I don’t have any week end plans.
Again my suggestion will be to find a way to put the lamps in the front rather than on the crash guard because you will get a good spread from the front & even a simple fall & impact on the crash guard may damage the lamps.
Hi Sajit,
I haven't yet mounted on my brother's fiesta since we need to do some arrangements for both (relays, switch & mount) but it can be easily done. I'll share the pictures of the FF200 along side Micor-De so that you will get an idea.
I also thought that the length of the clamps is a more but the issue if I reduce the length then the turn indicators will obstruct and also if I turn the handle completely then the tank fairing will obstruct. Even then if I reduce I'll need to rotate the lamps inside (towards the headlamps) due to which the beam spread will get affected.

[crack_mech]

Hi.. I was following this whole 250+ pages long thread for a long time. But due to work and all was not on this for a while.

I have a quesition: I have 1 ballast unit + HID lamp with me, I want to put his in my bike. I was just curious how do I do that. Also, how it is possible to light up the two filaments on my HID bulb (2 for hi-lo beams) from one ballast supply? or do I need 2 ballasts for that?

If I need 2 ballasts for the hi-low beams, how do I do the circuit?

@Sajjan: any help or advice you can provide sir?

Anyone else??