any advice fitting additional lighting?

[Kretz]

I have a new light bar & set of additional (sealed beam) passing lights on the way for my RSTD I'm adding them for daytime visibility more than for night riding, though I do ride occasionally at night too.

I plan to wire them via a new aux fuse box & a relay. Just wondered if anyone who has done this had any advice/ tips etc or what to do/ not do.

Best position to mount the relay & fuse box??

Also I read somewhere to change out the stock sealed beam units for NAPA? ones that are slightly higher wattage?

Thoughts & Comments appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[baylensman]

When i added mine i just used an inline fuse holder and a relay up near the neck just under the edge of the gas tank. As far as bulb I changed to LED style instead of the sealed beam 4415ge from NAPA almost no drain on the system.

 

Also i have mined more or less aligned with my low beam lamps and kicked out at an angel to fill in the shadow that the headlight leaves. More than once having that little triangular shadow filled in I saw the neighbors cats and dogs that I couldn't see before.

[Atoolnut]

i swapped my bulbs for 4 1/2" led par 32 bulbs from auto supply store..they can be very bright but draw little wattage...any par 32 bulb will fit buckets some with little or no modification

[djh3]

Carful on the lighting. While it is tempting to move up to the higher output NAPA headligh or Sylvania I think it is bp 2110 or something. The stator and wiring dont fair well. Some go to HID to work around this. I went to LED replacement bulbs for H1 housings.

[Kretz]

Thanks for the replies guys, & the LED suggestions, much appreciated.

I don't understand why adding lighting should damage the stator, lights would be wired from the battery, so the stator isn't asked to put out any more. It just means the battery will discharge quicker with more load on it.

I did look at the Yamaha LED lights they look fantastic but prices were nuts... Can anyone provide a description/ model/ part number for an LED "bulb" that would fit into the 4 1/2" sealed beam light bucket? (Just so I don't sound quite so dumb when I go into the auto store!)

ps I found a PAR 36 but can't find a 32?

Edited October 14, 2016 by Kretz

[XV1100SE]

I put a fuse block inside my fairing and run power thru it for my passing lights, GPS, and tach. I used velcro to stick it to the inside fairing. Relay for passing lights is also velcroed to the fairing (sticky backside).

 

As for passing lights, I use the GE H7616 narrow beam bulbs. I don't think I've seen anything brighter or more focussed. They draw 37.5w and have a 7 degree spread. My left one points slightly ahead and my right on slightly right to touch the shoulder of the road. Height is set to the same height as my low beam. They are 3000 to 3999K, Warm White.

Here is a link to one site...I've never bought from them and pricing on the H7616 varies from seller to seller.

http://www.replacementlightbulbs.com/lamph7616.html

 

I also have a fuse block inside the passenger back rest to power my two Stebel horns and rear lighting and trailer lights.

[Atoolnut]

my mistake ..par 36 is what it is..ebay has them ..http://www.techspan.ca..at bolts plus ..part numbers 735434 spot or 735435 flood pattern,..also i mounted these on lower crash bar725213....gives lots of lower light

Edited October 14, 2016 by Atoolnut

[gggGary]

I have 4000 miles on an ebay H4 LED in my main headlight, much brighter great light pattern lower draw. BroView S5 8000LM 9003 H4 LED Headlights pair for $45. Uses copper strips for cooling no fan needed, spent some quality time in high heat road construction backups, no probleemo.

[djh3]

I dont remember the stator/alternator specs off top of my head. But the 2 driving lites @ 35w ea is 70w. Then add the 80/100w headlight I think your talking about and your up around 150w plus on just front lights. The battery is just a storage box for electricity. If it dont have the voltage to support the ecu, fuel pump, radio, lights etc it has to come from somewhere right? So say the stator is rated @ 100w if your sucking more than that its workin overtime to just keep up.

[baylensman]

Thanks for the replies guys, & the LED suggestions, much appreciated.

I don't understand why adding lighting should damage the stator, lights would be wired from the battery, so the stator isn't asked to put out any more. It just means the battery will discharge quicker with more load on it.

I did look at the Yamaha LED lights they look fantastic but prices were nuts... Can anyone provide a description/ model/ part number for an LED "bulb" that would fit into the 4 1/2" sealed beam light bucket? (Just so I don't sound quite so dumb when I go into the auto store!)

ps I found a PAR 36 but can't find a 32?

THE BATTERY IS NOT MEANT FOR CONTIOUS DRAIN this is not a deep cycle or Marine style battery onboard your bike. Guys with big stereos often add a second alternator and a seperate battery and voltage regulator for just this reason. Just like on older cars when you turn the a/c on with the radio on you could actually see the headlight go a little yellow. Same with the bike, LED is the way to go, the more lights you can replace (turn signals stop lamp head light) the lower the load on the battery, the quicker it recovers and less heat on the recharge cycle all mean longer battery life. I'm going on 7 years with this bike/battery, it is a yamaha don't know if the original owner every replaced it or not.

 

as far as the 4 1/2 sealed beam [h=1]VSTAR PAR36 LED Bulb 6W 600-700LM,6000K,12V AC/DC Lamp Landscape Waterproof (Eq to 35W Halogen) (Cool white)[/h]

on Amazon for $23. more light and 1/6 the wattage. If thats too much $$ try a Tractor Supply if there's one in the area they also carry the LED version of the 4415. Don't go to a Marine supply store! They sell the same bulb with a little hot glue on the contacts for three times the money

[Kretz]

Guys thank you so much for all the input! I think from everything that's been said I will be going the LED route.

I'm all for reducing the load on the overall electrical system. I just wasn't aware of exactly what would work as far as LED's go, so the input from people who've already tried it is extremely helpful.

I had previously looked at the LED tail light cluster but at around $85 I thought it was a bit much for what is effectively a "bulb" so I was assuming (wrongly it seems) that 4.5" auxiliary or 7" Headlights would cost even more.

So to summarize, looks like I'll be getting:

Aux lights:

VStar PAR36 LED Bulb 6W 600-700LM, 6000K, 12VAC/DC (equiv to 35W) Cool White, (I see there is also a 50W equivalent too) too bright???

Headlight:

BroView S5 8000LM 9003 H4 LED (bought in pairs so I'll have a spare (or one to help a friend out )

May have to get both from over the border as Amazon Canada doesn't carry same items as are available in the USA

Thanks Again!

Edited October 18, 2016 by Kretz

[Kretz]

So the lights have arrived & on checking I find that they have sent the H3 Halogen lights not sealed beam as ordered.

I really don't want the hassle of returning them so my question is:

Can the H3 Halogen light units that I've been supplied be fitted with the PAR36 LED Bulb 6W 600-700LM, 6000K, 12VAC/DC (equiv to 35W) Cool White sealed beam units? OR do I need to find H3 style LED bulbs to fit instead?

Thanks again

Edited October 19, 2016 by Kretz

[djh3]

Well yes if you have a housing they will go in. Thats what I had. I swapped out the PAR 36 lamps for some ADJURE light like these. I found them for about $30 bucks or something. I ran the H-3 bulbs for awhile, but as they are Halogen and 35w or something they are a juice sucker. Then I swapped the H-3 bulbs over to some LED something like these. Also ran an HID headlight. Yammer Dan I think has a way of wiring it up so first time you hit the brake it allows the headlight to start, so you dont have to wire it up on a switch separate. Remember to, all this power has to run thru the ignition switch. Which on these bikes can cause issues down the road. Unless you run a ignition by-pass relay. I know its a selfless plug, but hey I dont want the guy to have a switch failure either.

Here is a short clip explanation.

For those who wonder why this is needed or desired the ignition switch has the majority of the power going thru one wire to feed lights and ignition requirements. Needless to say the switches contacts take a beating over time caused by overheating & normal wear & tear. The accessory part of the switch seems to never have this type of failure so this does lend credence to overloading on the one line being feed.

By adding in a common 30 amp auto relay to that part of the circuit we can take the majority of the power off the switch before it gets there and route it directly to the line the switch powers, thus saving the switch.

[Kretz]

djh3 thanks for the input, I've always wondered the why Yami have their lights coming on as soon as the ignition switch is ON. So you're really pulling the power, startup amps plus lights & whatever else. I didn't realize that it all goes through the ignition switch.

On my Kawasaki the lights only come on after the bike has started. Just seems more sensible to me.

Looking at a lot of the H3 replacement LED bulbs they all seem (but may not be) a bit big (long) for that reflector housing.

Wish they'd just sent the damn things I ordered! I'm thinking the Yami lamp bucket is the same for sealed beam or H3 type so in theory I should just be able to put a sealed beam (as I'd planned to) into the lamp bucket. Or am I missing something.