Head light relay

If you are going to use the original lens you might as well just use a candle.

If you want a decent light, use the sealed beam Trucklite or GE Nighthawk. They are heavier I must admit but for 1/3 the power consumption on hi beam, and possible twice the brightness, you cant beat it.
Over the years , various companies have made Halogen head lamp bulbs to fit in out dated light units and they are virtually a waist of time. If you want to use a good halogen bulb, then get a good H4 semi sealed beam unit to work it [ from a reputable manufacturer ] but better still, buy a sealed beam unit which will be set up perfectly for good lighting. That's what one of my bikes has still, and the other one used to have before the Nighthawk [ same as trucklite ] . With that setup, running through relays, it was a brighter light than a late model Moto Guzzie. I suggest anyone who wants good or better head lamps, must use relays.
Dereck

JimC said:

If you are having trouble reading electrical schematics this may help:

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From past experience I've found that for positive ground motorbikes that bourbon works better then holy water!

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This is what I am using. It has a flat lens which I didn't know when I bought it on eBay.
Oh well. I'll see how it works. Last night I moved the bike from the front of the house to the back alley at night.
It was so bad. This has got to be an improvement.
I'll be using 16 g wire and a 10 amp fuse.
I appreciate all the help.

I tell my kids its alright for me to park in the handicap space cuz I'm color blind.

Guido said:

I was going to put the fuse next to the battery for both relays. Are you saying I need to put one for each relay or are you just doing yours that way for your own peace of mind?
If I run just 1 fuse for the both what size should I use? Or is there a formula to figure out the rating myself ?
I really need help with wiring as I am color blind.

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My original relay kit had two separate red positive leads but later kits came with one fuse. see here:
http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Wiring_Ki ... egroundkit
hope that helps.
Cheers,
Thomas

Guido said:

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This is what I am using. It has a flat lens which I didn't know when I bought it on eBay.
Oh well. I'll see how it works. Last night I moved the bike from the front of the house to the back alley at night.
It was so bad. This has got to be an improvement.
I'll be using 16 g wire and a 10 amp fuse.
I appreciate all the help.

I tell my kids its alright for me to park in the handicap space cuz I'm color blind.

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Guide,
Looking at the box it says that it is an asymmetrical lens. That probably means that there is no cut off on the left side and top of the lens to prevent the light from blinding oncoming traffic. The lens itself (sticker) says for "off-road use only". I'm not sure how the laws are in California but you might have an issue with inspection.
One more thing, if you have a +earth system I like the put the fuse close to and on the - side of the battery, that way there is the least amount of un-fused wire that can short to the frame. Good luck.
Pete

I clearly didn't know what I was buying. I don't ride at night at all. To me it's like Russian Roulette.
I just want the light on during the day for riding.
As far as roadside inspections go, we don't have them. At least not where I live.
What I find far worse are those guys with the pulsating lights. Those should be outlawed.

Guido,
Then you should be fine. I try to avoid driving at night also. I have a LED bulb in my H4 lens that I run on high beam during the day. Bright as heck and very visible, just not really focused well for night time driving. Suits my needs fine. If I go somewhere at night I use my Wing, plenty of marker lights and a 55/100 watt headlight bulb w/relays.
Pete

Those should be outlawed.

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Why? Got your attention, didn't it? That's their purpose.

Getting ready to wire up the light and not sure which is the ground wire off the light. There is a black, red w/ red stripe and a solid red wire.
The black wire is on the left spade, the middle spade is red w/ blk stripe and the right is solid red.
Am I to assume the black is the ground and the other 2 are hi/lo beams? I am running the pos earth system. The switch gear is stock.

Do I ground the black wire from the bulb connector to the shell or run a wire back the the battery.
Is the halogen bulb polarity sensitive?
I'll be wiring the relays as if they are + to the power since they are isolated just like my horn relay is.

Common = Ground

Guido said:

Do I ground the black wire from the bulb connector to the shell or run a wire back the the battery.

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Connect the 'ground' wire to harness red. The shell is not a ground point for the headlamp (as it's often thought to be).

Guido said:

Is the halogen bulb polarity sensitive?

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No.

Guido said:

I'll be wiring the relays as if they are + to the power since they are isolated just like my horn relay is.

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Unless the relays contain diodes then they are not polarity sensitive.

Perfect!!!
I just might go for a night ride tonight.

It's worth considering running a fat red wire from the common (earth) straight back to the +ve side of the battery. No point getting all the volts to the headlight, if all the volts can't get back to complete the circuit.

Now that makes sense. Thanx for all the input guy's.