Riding lamps seem dim

[Bwhite]

I bought 2000 RSV a couple years ago and the riding lamps have seemed orange'ish when looking at them and comparing to the halogen headlamp. Out of curiosity I checked the voltage at the riding lamps and they meter at 9.6v.

Not sure if this is a problem or not, and maybe there is an inline resistor?

Comments Please.

 

Thanks for the help,

Brian White

[JerryT]

Sure some of the electrical guru's will chime in, but a couple of thoughts / questions...

I think voltage should be at least 12 v assuming the engine is running while testing. Might be lower w engine off depending on condition and load on battery. I'ld look at wiring and check to see if it runs directly through the switch. Switches can go bad reducing voltage / current. Best way is to run these through a relay and fused directly to the battery. Use the switch to charge relay. I think there may be something in the tech library on doing this.

[Flyinfool]

The voltage across your driving lamps should be the same as the voltage across the battery.

 

You have a bad connection somewhere. It could be in either the power side or the ground side.

 

Connect your negative volt meter lead to the battery negative, turn on the driving light and start going through the circuit. ALL points on the ground side of the bulb should show 0V and all points on the power side should show the battery voltage. Where ever you see a voltage on the ground side is a bad connection, where ever you see less than battery voltage on the power side is a bad connection. It is not unheard of to have more than one bad connection at a time.

[Big Lou]

ground short some where

 

almost melted at the connection

 

15 min ..on.. then grab youll find it

[dacheedah]

Check the bolts mounting to the frame in front, if you have a headlight extender check all 4 bolts, they get their ground here and if loose will cause it to be dim.

[darthandy]

Switches can go bad reducing voltage / current. Best way is to run these through a relay and fused directly to the battery. Use the switch to charge relay. I think there may be something in the tech library on doing this.

 

Yes there is an excellent article in the tech library on electrical work:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=68952

 

Also, even if the problem is a poor connection, it's still a good idea to go the relay route as some members who have done it have found that their lights were brighter afterwards. As well, this modification will help avoid problems with the ignition switch and the connector between the ignition switch and the ignition circuit. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask more questions as you check out the problem. Someone on the forum will probably have the answer you need.

 

Andy

[djh3]

Even with good voltage the incandesent passing light bulbs will look "yellow" when compaired to a Halogen or HID headlight. I have halogen passing lights and mine look yellowish when compaired to my HID. Still the 9 volts sounds like a problem in the works.

[dacheedah]

Northern tools has the par34 led, theh will draw less boltage but are white light

[djh3]

My big hesitation on the northern tool LED lights are I have yet to get a good discription or compairison of how they are to the standard incandesent bulb or the halogen like I have. With the HID I feel like I need something to "fill in" between the HID and the bike. On low there is a section say 10-15 feet from bike to where the HID makes great light. I feel like I need something to illuminate that and a little to the side.

[dacheedah]

They are a flood, gives you the close to the bike, nice for unlit parking lots. . . I run them with hid. Everything is white

[darthandy]

Even with good voltage the incandesent passing light bulbs will look "yellow" when compaired to a Halogen or HID headlight. I have halogen passing lights and mine look yellowish when compaired to my HID. Still the 9 volts sounds like a problem in the works.

 

Yes of course you're correct. I should have made myself clearer. The lights looked less yellow than they did before they were wired directly to the battery through a relay. This was because they were "losing" some electricity to the ignition switch as it was having to handle more electricity than it actually could. The same thing can happen with a bad connection as it reduces the voltage available to drive the lights. Checking connections would be your best starting point.

 

Andy