Need to change the headlight

At the end I’ve mounted a Philips S2 lamp 35/35W and it works flawlessly. I have to admit it does more light, compared to a 40+ years old one 

Wookie58 wrote:

Michi wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

Michi wrote:

Hi. You are correct - you need a 35/35W.
I would suggest not exceeding this rating, and keeping it an old-school filament bulb, because the increased heat in the headlight from a higher wattage bulb may cause unpredictable results. Can you adapt the connector to an H4 if it isn't one already? Lots of cheap H4 bulbs made by Lucas on Ebay.








 

If you want to fit a brighter (higher wattage) light I can show you how to run it through a relay so you don't overload the factory electrics





 

For sure, I would love to learn that. I am your student. Please advise.

So initially the stock headlight is fed by a 10a fuse (60w/12v = 5a) the circuit must be capable of at least 10a or the wiring would burn before the fuse blew. However if you want to take the load of of those 40 year old switches and maybe extend their life a little then below is how to take the current off of the switches. By connecting into the original bullet connectors the whole thing is easily reversible. Anything much bigger than 60w will probably start pushing the limits of your charging system.

 

 
 

Thanks for this Wookie, helps a lot. I will need to do this to my bike. Where did you hide the 2 relays? I already have one for my coils hidden under the tank.

Based on the wiring you have the 5-pin relay always energized for low beam and de-energize the relay coil for high beams is that correct? Any particular reason for this? I would prefer to have the low beam with relay de-energized as that will be most of the time. To do this I would put red/black to 5 pin terminal 86, and reverse the bulb contacts on 87 and 87A correct? 

sflesch94 wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

Michi wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

Michi wrote:

Hi. You are correct - you need a 35/35W.
I would suggest not exceeding this rating, and keeping it an old-school filament bulb, because the increased heat in the headlight from a higher wattage bulb may cause unpredictable results. Can you adapt the connector to an H4 if it isn't one already? Lots of cheap H4 bulbs made by Lucas on Ebay.









 

If you want to fit a brighter (higher wattage) light I can show you how to run it through a relay so you don't overload the factory electrics






 

For sure, I would love to learn that. I am your student. Please advise.

So initially the stock headlight is fed by a 10a fuse (60w/12v = 5a) the circuit must be capable of at least 10a or the wiring would burn before the fuse blew. However if you want to take the load of of those 40 year old switches and maybe extend their life a little then below is how to take the current off of the switches. By connecting into the original bullet connectors the whole thing is easily reversible. Anything much bigger than 60w will probably start pushing the limits of your charging system.

 

 

 

Thanks for this Wookie, helps a lot. I will need to do this to my bike. Where did you hide the 2 relays? I already have one for my coils hidden under the tank.

Based on the wiring you have the 5-pin relay always energized for low beam and de-energize the relay coil for high beams is that correct? Any particular reason for this? I would prefer to have the low beam with relay de-energized as that will be most of the time. To do this I would put red/black to 5 pin terminal 86, and reverse the bulb contacts on 87 and 87A correct? 

Yes that is correct (don't forget to ensure your "high beam" warning light is still operating) there is no particular reason I chose this way. As far as locating the relays - I'm a principles and theory guy, I don't know all these bikes intimately. The relays don't need to be next to each other so the 4-pin could be near the fuse box. You could then pick up the blue/white switch feed here and the power supply to terminal 30 could come from the 20amp main fuse.