Topic: Need some charging system / electrical assistance

[fitz101]

Morning! (at least in Indiana )

I need help on the charging system and what I would need to do to make this light work!

Brief background:

I have been working on my CB550K for awhile as it's always save money, hold onto the parts, save some more money, buy more parts. Now that I have my stockpile of parts, I will be rebuilding my engine and getting my bike back up on the road

I have been thinking about the light that I currently have on my bike (a.k.a Puddles). Its a small housing that I picked up from Dime City Cycles with an H4 bulb. Well, since I am diving in again on this bike, I would like to upgrade the headlight. There are tons of deer down here and I drive on back roads all the time. So having a light that can really put out some distance and width would be great!

The light:

I am leaning towards a Baja Design Squandron Driving LED ( http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail?ItemNumber=490003 ). Yes, this thing is insanely bright. While it is bright, I have done a lot of research on it, and it also distributes the light well. There is a dimmer switch  ( http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail?ItemNumber=639207  ) for this as well that I will get so I can drive the bike down the street and not cause blindness for oncoming traffic.

I contacted Baja Designs and asked if there would be anything needed or if they have ever had anyone put one of these on a CB... No luck (kinda figured that would be the case. However, they did say the following " but you would most likely need a Rectifier/ regulator, harness and switch and you would kind of be on your own for wiring as we do not have any information on those bikes electrical system thanks ".

This is where the gurus of these bikes can help me out!! I hope at least

So, direct questions:
 
1) How would I wire this up (I thought I could just put it off the battery on my bike), but I'm not sure because of the rectifier / regulator comment)? *I am running a ballistic battery http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/4cell.php if this helps...

2) I thought that the bikes were like a car and that the system will take the charging system inputs (AC) and turn them into DC to charge the battery?

Thanks again for any help!

-Aron

[fitz101]

A small bump for the late night crew

[calj737]

Are you considering to add this light to the bike AND keep your headlight? If so, I think you're in trouble. The specs indicate that this light consumes 42W. That's nearly as much as your headlight, and I don't believe the bike's charging system can handle the load.

Perhaps TwoTired will chime in with his electrical expertise.

[MiGhost]

calj737 is correct. That 42 watts would put a serious strain on the charging system. That DCC H4 wired through a relay should give more than enough light when properly aimed.

[fitz101]

Apologies, I will be removing the DCC light.

I suppose if I told you what I will be running when the bike is completed, it will help.

1) Tail light / brake: Radiantz flex led light bar (.5 amp per spec sheet).
2) Acewell digital speedometer and tach. Did not have a spec for current draw, but I don't think it would be tons. I would say nit more then an amp???
3) Headlight plan is the Baja designs squadron light (have a switch in line to turn it off when not in use). I typically don't run a light during the day...I know I know... not the best idea..

That's everything electrical I plan on running :-)

I thought I've read that the 550 stator output is about 150 watts? Perhaps I am mistaken. That's why I started this thread because I don't want to drop tons of cash and not have it work :-(

Thanks for your help!!
Aron


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[dave500]

300 bucks for a light?just use a decent h4 lens with a decent globe.

[Bodi]

300 bucks for an off-road driving light that will blind opposing traffic if you're nuts enough to pretend it is a headlight. Please don't.

[fitz101]

Thanks for the replies folks. While I know this light is extremely bright, I will be running a dimming switch to make it like a normal h4 output (low beam/high beam and then the brightest for the back country corn field roads).

I am ultimately looking for just the electrical output information and if my charging system can handle it.

Thanks,
Aron

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[fitz101]

Dave500 and bodi,

Please don't take my last reply as me not appreciating your input. I do appreciate it :-)  If it doesn't work out, I will install it on my jeep!! Hehe

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[trueblue]

Does the dimmer allow for light cutoff so you aren't blinding oncoming traffic, or does it only make it less bright?  I would highly recommend a decent H4 insert and bulb. I have a 7" hella insert with a 55/60w Phillips bulb. More than enough light.

[fitz101]

The unit is pulse width modulated since its an LED light. I can adjust the brightness in 10% intervals up to 100% power. Depending on the wiring, I can essentially have different outputs depending on the switch I install.

So, bottom line, it dims the light. This is my only light on the bike. So, I will not be turning it off at night. Unless I'm Batman....

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[calj737]

Your configuration is going to require some custom wiring (but you know that). What I will add, is that your plan is quite illegal. I'm completely unfamiliar with MI state inspection laws, but a driving light will not qualify as a headlight, regardless of your ability to dim it.

I'd strongly suggest you add two smaller, LED driving lights mounted lower (under triple tree stem, off side engine frame tubes) that will accomplish your goal of illumination, but still be safe for driving, and legal.

Consider that if your light is "On" and hits an oncoming driver, you greatly risk them driving into you because of light-blindness. Very dangerous and very foolish. I get the need for better illumination, but this approach reeks of hazards.

Your butt, your bike, your choice. But you'd best investigate state laws as an officer hit by these lights WILL not be tolerant nor amused.

[John Eberly]

LED is great technology and makes lots of cool stuff possible. It is still pretty early in the development of LED applications. You still need to be careful about doing stuff like this and you should understand the basics of lighting before you go with a "bigger is better" approach.

You may be confusing two important characteristics here - brightness and distribution.

The basic H4 lamp that is usually applied for bikes puts out 1500 lumens. Lumens are a measure of "brightness".  The reflector that gets used for a headlight aims the light so that you don't blind oncoming drivers - this is the control of the distribution. A typical high/low beam light doesn't just dim the light - the filiaments in the lamp are in different locations and the reflector projects the beams differently. High beam aims out farther, low beam is focused closer.

Your LED light puts out 4300 lumens of light. There are 4 distributions advertised - which one would you use? How do you plan to aim this? Punching out 3 times the light output with the wrong distribution would not only blind others, you might find that the illumination is poor for night visibility for the rider. You would have lots of light looking into the road but your eyes would not be able to adapt as well to look to the side or into your mirrors.

I'm not just blowing smoke - I'm an electrical engineer and I've done a lot of lighting design. I think a well designed and packaged LED for classic bikes would be a great product. I'm not convinced that this is the product.

Even if you don't care about these issues, you are pretty likely to meet with law enforcement if you head out at night with this flamethrower installed. Cops don't like it when they run across too bright lights with no DOT labeling -

[fitz101]

Your configuration is going to require some custom wiring (but you know that). What I will add, is that your plan is quite illegal. I'm completely unfamiliar with MI state inspection laws, but a driving light will not qualify as a headlight, regardless of your ability to dim it.

I'd strongly suggest you add two smaller, LED driving lights mounted lower (under triple tree stem, off side engine frame tubes) that will accomplish your goal of illumination, but still be safe for driving, and legal.

Consider that if your light is "On" and hits an oncoming driver, you greatly risk them driving into you because of light-blindness. Very dangerous and very foolish. I get the need for better illumination, but this approach reeks of hazards.

Your butt, your bike, your choice. But you'd best investigate state laws as an officer hit by these lights WILL not be tolerant nor amused.

Yes, you are correct. I am definitely playing with fire I no longer live in Michigan (thought I updated my profile??). I now live in Indiana. Neither of these states have a vehicle inspection process, so I have that going for me I suppose.

Yes, this is not the same as a headlight as its not DOT approved nor was it equipped from the OEM. In Michigan, any alteration to a vehicle that is not OEM, is illegal (father was a state trooper, so I know multiple laws pretty well). This includes the taillight on my bike already. I will say that I will not be foolish about this modification. I totally agree with you about blinding oncoming traffic, and by no means is that my plan. If this looks like its the case, I will not run it on the street Like I said, I will play this on the safety side of things. If it doesn't work, it will go on the Jeep  so, it won't be a total loss!

I am a personal trainer after my main job and I train multiple police officers as well. I will consult with them to see what there input is. I've already talked to them about not running turn signals as Indiana requires turn signals. They said as long as I am not being an idiot on the street, they don't pay attention to the bikes really. Once again, I know I will be playing with fire on that as well

Overall, I will get the light and take everyones advise into play. I believe in riding smart and being safe. I believe properly planned modifications done correctly, can benefit older vehicles and motorcycles. If this modification works and it does not produce a light that will affect oncoming traffic, I will post a new thread on it. If it doesn't work, I will update this thread and swallow the medicine everyone tried to give me the first time!

[fitz101]

LED is great technology and makes lots of cool stuff possible. It is still pretty early in the development of LED applications. You still need to be careful about doing stuff like this and you should understand the basics of lighting before you go with a "bigger is better" approach.

You may be confusing two important characteristics here - brightness and distribution.

The basic H4 lamp that is usually applied for bikes puts out 1500 lumens. Lumens are a measure of "brightness".  The reflector that gets used for a headlight aims the light so that you don't blind oncoming drivers - this is the control of the distribution. A typical high/low beam light doesn't just dim the light - the filiaments in the lamp are in different locations and the reflector projects the beams differently. High beam aims out farther, low beam is focused closer.

Your LED light puts out 4300 lumens of light. There are 4 distributions advertised - which one would you use? How do you plan to aim this? Punching out 3 times the light output with the wrong distribution would not only blind others, you might find that the illumination is poor for night visibility for the rider. You would have lots of light looking into the road but your eyes would not be able to adapt as well to look to the side or into your mirrors.

I'm not just blowing smoke - I'm an electrical engineer and I've done a lot of lighting design. I think a well designed and packaged LED for classic bikes would be a great product. I'm not convinced that this is the product.

Even if you don't care about these issues, you are pretty likely to meet with law enforcement if you head out at night with this flamethrower installed. Cops don't like it when they run across too bright lights with no DOT labeling -

Thanks for your input and I appreciate your advise. The light I would get would be the driving one (not the spot or the wide corning).  I am aware of the differences between bright light and a well controlled light. I am aware of the dual filament function on automotive lights as well. I worked for one of the big three as an engineer (studied mech. engineering and got an B.S in automotive engineering degree in the end). I currently work for a very large engine company that specializes in diesel production. So, I've been around the automotive scene a bit (no, I am not claiming to be the smartest person on this stuff, hence the thread ). Just wanted varied input, which I am getting 

Before I posted this thread, I did a lot of research on different companies. I didn't put this info in the thread as I wanted to know about the charging system and wiring it up. I followed another forum in which Baja Designs is a sponsor of and when they released this light. A lot of communication on how it projected the light and the kelvin used for the bulbs. I know that just because if its really bright, it doesn't make it better by any means. The information they provided was excellent and you can tell that they have taken consideration into light output and making it controlled.

I hope this doesn't break rules, but here is the link to the other thread http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745429&page=6. This is page 6 where the company breaks the measurements down a bit. If you go to the few pages prior, you will see a few photos of the output of this light as well (please keep flaming down on this as it was just a member pointing the light down the road). I will actually aim this light as I said in my last post. I will not go into this blindly (no pun intended ) and keep other motorists safety in mind (which is ultimately my safety).

John, since you specialize in electrical engineering and have dealt with lighting design, can you provide input on the link I posted? Specifically the graphs, charts the company posted and if makes sense? I understand the principle (I think), but since I worked mostly on engine design/building, I am not an expert as I stated earlier.

Thanks again for your input and to everone else!!

-Aron

[trueblue]

What I was talking about is low beam light cutoff, it will produce a light pattern as below, you need this on low beam to avoid blinding oncoming drivers.  Without, it will blind them no matter how bright your light is.  Think about someone shining a torch in your eyes, it's not very bright but will blind you momentarily.