| Author | Message | ||
     Dio |
A question for those who have switched the low beam and running light wires in the 4 pin headlight plug. The original wiring allows for the headlight power to be interrupted while the starter is in use. When the wiring is changed, the low beam will be on even when starting, because the power then comes from the accessory circuit. The accessory circuit is only powered with a 10 amp fuse, whereas the lighting circuit is 15 amp. Has anyone had any problems after changing the wiring in the headlight connector? | ||
| Bigkuri |
Not the answer, but I strongly recommend you mod the wires in the left hand control. It only takes 15 mins, and you don't get any of the considerations like you are worried about. See http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/329497.html?1200110631 | ||
| Portero72 |
I have done this mod, also installed xenon bulbs from American Sport Bike at the same time. That was 4000 miles ago and no issues to report. Great use of 30 mins of your time. | ||
| Baggermike |
I put in two Hid lights in and rigged them up to run together and this is only 70 watts while one light is 55 watts and you would be amazed at the difference, go to www.starrotors.com and check them out 100 for a pair and go to digital for 25 and the boxes are small to fit behind the shield. Mike | ||
| Chrisgrant |
Mike, Did you install them in place of the factory lights. If so, how long does it take for the bright light to ramp up as you turn them on and off? I'm planning on getting the PIAA super-brights and aux light to match. At 100 bones, the HID's sound pretty good. | ||
| Baggermike |
I installed them my self and not the digital kit but was able to get the big boxes and starter behind the plate, digital are smaller and start up quicker and I got the 8000k that have a more blue tint and they stand out in the day time really good and is why I wired them up to run together for day time riding, I would say about 5 to 8 seconds but like I said digital are quicker and have the starter built in, there are more expensive ones on the market so I got that info from another source and they are also suppose to be 15% brighter to, if you want the most light go with 6000k the higher the number the bluer the tint but less light, also 50 watt hid kits are just starting to hit the market and if I was riding off road I would want my high beam at 50 watts but 35 watts on the street is really bright and you have to be care full with high beam. Mike | ||
| Dio |
I went in and installed a relay to run the low beam all the time. That blue wire looks so tiny to power both headlights, although a lot of you have no problems with it this way. I tapped into the blue wire under the cowl to run the switch coil in the relay so the headlights are both off when the starter is engaged. I ran a pair of 12 ga. wires from the battery up front to run a pair of PIAA 510 driving lights and whatever else gets added in the future. I tapped off this to feed the relay. Probably a lot of extra work, but it gives me peace of mind having done the switch this way. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Funny you should mention the tiny blue wire. I don't run both lights at the same time but I now have both headlights getting power straight from the battery via a couple relays using 16-14 AWG wire. This way there's never more than a half an amp of power flowing through those small wires and that small hi/lo switch and there is very little voltage drop to the bulbs. I was losing over a volt from the battery to the lights stock, now I'm losing .03-.06 of a volt. The lights are a little bit brighter now and I never need fear burning out the switch or any small 20-18 AWG wires. | ||
| Darthane |
To answer Dio's question, no, having that light on while the starter is kicking is highly unlikely to cause any issues unless your battery's teetering on the edge of having enough juice to crank in the first place. Honestly the only thing I'd expect is that the bulb dims while you're waiting for the bike to catch. Just for the record, automotive-grade PVC 20GA wire can handle 10A continuously even in 130F+ ambient temperatures. 18GA can handle 3-4A more than that. Crosslinked (high-temp) can handle those same currents at over 220F. Unless you're worried about the voltage drop for some reason or have an upstream fuse that's larger than 10-15A, there's really no reason to go bigger than the base 20-18GA wires for the bike's lighting system. 12GA...phew...I use 12GA in auto applications that draw 35A continuously in the engine compartment, or for rear blowers (6m+ wire length). That's major overkill for motorcycle headlights - but as you noted, it would certainly give you peace of mind! | ||
| Metalstorm |
Darthane, thanks for the gauge info. Good stuff. I didn't realize 20GA was good for 10A. I was always concerned about the 110 watts flowing through the blue wire whenever I held the hi beam flasher down. That's close to 9 amps. So I guess there was still 1 amp of capacity to spare  | ||
| Darthane |
It's largely a function of ambient temperature. The colder the surrounding environment is, the more current the wire can handle continuously. 'Normal' PVC automotive wire insulation is usually rated to about 85C before it's considered to be in danger of overheating and destroying the insulation, thus opening the way for a short or 'thermal event' (in non-PC terms - a fire...LOL). Crosslinked is rated to 125C. You can use the following as a guide to determine the proper wire size based on current and fuse size: PVC insulation @ 55C ambient 22GA - 8A - 7.5A fuse 20GA - 10A - 10A fuse 18GA - 13A - 15A fuse 16GA - 16A - 20A fuse 14GA - 21A - 30A fuse 12GA - 28A - 40A fuse 10GA - 38A - 60A fuse TXL (crosslinked) insulation @ 100C ambient 22GA - 9A - 7.5A fuse 20GA - 12A - 10A fuse 18GA - 15A - 15A fuse 16GA - 19A - 20A fuse 14GA - 26A - 30A fuse 12GA - 34A - 40A fuse 10GA - 46A - 60A fuse The fuse ratings are actually a tad on the conservative side to protect for type 2 shorts, which will cause more heat build up before the fuse fails open. To give you an idea of how much of an impact ambient temperature has on these ratings, here's the crosslinked table again, but at 'room temp' (25C): 22GA - 18A - 7.5A fuse 20GA - 21A - 10A fuse 18GA - 27A - 15A fuse 16GA - 34A - 20A fuse 14GA - 46A - 30A fuse 12GA - 61A - 40A fuse 10GA - 81A - 60A fuse As you can see, it plays a very large part in determining ampacity of wiring. | ||
| Dio |
I knew that 12 ga. wire was overkill, but it's what I had readily available, since it was a 2 conductor cable with a nice heavy outer cover. I think most people will agree that fewer problems occur with oversizing wire for an application, as opposed to the catastrophic failures (fire), that can occur when a circuit is undersized! Thanks for the application information. This could come in handy. |
