LED Headlight Install - 5th Gen

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by zoom-zoom, Dec 14, 2013.

  1. vfrcapn

    vfrcapn Member

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    Yes, was good with the light output up to failure and happy with the replacement light output.
     
  2. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    So after a LONG time, I finally fitted my LED bulbs, as per everyone else I had removed the fairing to do this & did some spring cleaning whilst it was off. So no pics of the strip etc as others have covered it, so here is the result. I also added a 5 bulb LED that I had spare from my instrument light install as the parking lamp. Please not the camera picks up more light than the human eye & the drive is a down slope, with bike on main stand, so low beam is higher than it would normally be from in front. I could not see the flair that the camera shows in the low beam shot !

    Parking Lamp
    [​IMG]

    Low beam looking at bike
    [​IMG]

    Low beam from lip of screen
    [​IMG]

    High beam from lip of screen
    [​IMG]

    High beam looking at bike
    [​IMG]

    Instruments with new LED bulbs
    [​IMG]
     
  3. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    Went for a trip to the movies last night with a couple of friends and this marks the first time that I have actually RIDDEN the bike with the new lights installed (thank The Lord, winter has finally ended in the Okanagan and the street sweepers are now clearing the roads) at least for a longer period in the dark than my earlier report. Went up to a friends house who lived up one of BC's most infamous stretches of road known as Westside Road, and I was very impressed with the overall light output. Though I might hesitate to say the lights are brighter (that would require a lux meter and THAT I do not have yet) the beam spread seems much improved especially to the sides of the road, and the whiter light cast by the LED's makes everything illuminated by the headlights easier to see. I think the whiter light provides far better contrast between objects.

    Overall i I am very impressed with the LED's and I will have to keep an eye on the bulbs and see how well they last. Hopefully the issues experienced by vfrcapn will be a limited event and that all will be well with his install soon. After reading vfrcapn's post I went out to check the connections on my bike and noticed the connector that plugs into the bikes headlight harness seemed a bit loose. I used a pair of small needle nose pliers to squish the spade connectors inside a bit and they now fit much tighter. Perhaps a loose connection in there might have caused some of issues that vfrcapn experienced.

    I too too will keep everyone apprised of how the LED's function over the upcoming season.
     
  4. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Does the US/Candian model not have proper H4 connectors ? On my UK bike, the bulb connector has to be squeezed on both sides to release it from the bulb ;) that's what the holes in the bulb prongs are for !

    As a foot note, I have been using my modified ones in my car for a few months & they are brilliant. I hope the same is true of the bike.
     
  5. nookiaz

    nookiaz New Member

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    Hey Mr.Z , did you have a chance to check if all is well with the charging system after the LED headlight install? I just wanted to do a follow-up on the post made by Allyance earlier on this thread...
     
  6. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    Hey Nookiaz

    i changed out the R/R in my bike a while back to a series R/R. Twice actually. I changed it once because I figured there was a problem with my voltage off idle and soldered the stator wires direct to the R/R wires. Not long after I suffered a second failure and discovered some less than stellar wiring fixes that were done by the PO. Haven't had an issue with the charging system since.

    i did check the charging system before, after and kept an eye on my voltmeter during the ride and all was well. I think Allyance's post about the R/R shunting excess voltage as heat is certainly a valid one if you still have the stock shunt style R/R. I don't think it would be as much of an issue with one of the newer style MOSFET R/R's or a series style R/R like the Shindengen SH775. According to the voltmeter I had a rock solid 14.31 VDC the whole time with nary a fluctuation. I felt the R/R after the ride and it was warm, but not so hot that you can't touch it and leave your fingers on it.
     
  7. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Yeah but no you just saved 4 amps, you can add the heated grips or any other power sucking accessory with impunity. Alternately if you want more power, you can replace the generator with something a bit smaller like they did on the new 2014 bike ! Less power sucked by genny means more to the wheels 1
     
  8. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    Hey Mohawk

    we do have the same style connectors that must be squeezed on the side as you mentioned, but inside the connector they have the spade style electrical connectors. Just like the connectors in the R/R connector. Since the connectors slid together very easily I simply used the smaller needle nose pliers to pinch the spade ends within the black factory headlight connector together a bit to tighten the connection between the two pieces. I also wrapped the cooling fan connector in some electrical tape as it did not look as weather proof as the bulb / power supply connector.

    On an interesting note, I did read from a member on VFRD that the UK (and possibly other countries) use an actual standard style H4 bulb in the headlights whereas the US and Canadian versions have an H4 style bulb that has different positioning of the tabs on the retainer ring. From what I understand there is also a slight difference in the shape of the reflector itself.

    The actual connector itself though is more universal I would venture to say.
     
  9. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    First I need to add an accessory power center like this one from twisted throttle.

    http://www.twistedthrottle.com/rowe...tribution-module-with-user-programmable-cable

    Then I can start adding accessories galore. I have a heated vest that I use in the earlier months of spring as it can still be quite a bit cooler at some of the higher elevations around where I live. Since I suffer from chronic low back discomfort the extra warmth comes in handy.
     
  10. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Hi zoom-zoom, yeah in the UK the VFR800 5th gen came with H4 55/60w bulbs as standard, as its a standard fitment in the UK on most vehicles before HiD came along. In the UK our headlights have a left side high caste. To explain that if you put low beam on, then from the centre to the right the light is level, but tom the left it rises at an angle, thus lighting more of the road side without blinding drivers. This appears to be achieved by mounting the bulbs with a slight twist to the right. On old glass front headlights the bulb was always mounted level & the glass cut to produce this effect. In europe they tend to leave their lights flat, so lo beam is just straight across.

    When we go to Europe, we have to add black occulters to stop this hi angle blinding riders o the other side. Not sure if USA has hi angle on one side or not.
     
  11. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    Here is a copy of a quote by JZH on VFRD in response to a question I had posed in my thread there on the LED install about the shape of the reflectors. I found it illuminating (pardon the poor pun) to say the least. I had originally posed the question when one of the members on that site posted pics of their own LED install and they showed pictures of the back of a 5th gen headlight housing and the photo showed that the spring clip and the mounting tab indents on the headlight housing were completely different than on the headlight in my bike. There was also a different part number stenciled on the rear of the housing. The different part number didn't really surprise me much but the fact that the tab indents and spring clip location were completely different was certainly interesting.


    Post by JZH

    The US headlight standard (aka "DOT") is different from the European headlight standard, even for LHD countries. The relevant markings on the backs of the headlight housings are "A" (country code for the USA) and "UK" (country code for the UK). The most obvious difference is that in Europe there is a distinct cut-off, whereas in the US there is a design element that is supposed to direct a small amount of light upward to help illuminate overhead road signs. Yes, really.


    As for RHD countries, such as the UK, the reflectors are completely different, as are the bulbs' positions within those reflectors. Somewhere on the Web is my photographic comparison of ST1300 UK, US and German-spec headlamp units (all of which I have used in my US-spec ST1300, which now resides in Italy). Otherwise, the RHD and LHD "euro" standard appears to be similar, albeit mirror images of each other.

    I don't know about the other types of bulbs, but H4s used on Honda motorcycles in the USA, Japan and Australia are not the same as the H4s used in the rest of the world. They have a different base, such that they cannot be interchanged easily (without snipping tabs or modifying headlight units), as the wattages of the different types of H4 are different.

    As for the headlights here, when I look at the beam pattern photos I took originally, the standard H4 style headlights seem to show a fairly flat line for the headlight beam as you describe for the low beam at least, but it does look a little different with the high beams. The LED's by comparison do certainly seem to show a pattern that is slightly higher on the right side of the beam as opposed to the left. Another interesting comparison might be that the bulbs on my headlight housing are installed with a slight twist to the right.

    I noticed on your latest post on VFRD and in the photos here (at least I think it is you, LOL) that there is a blue zero above your instrument cluster. I can see the change to LED's on your instrument lights, and the blue voltmeter reading down to the right of the gauge cluster but the picture showed a blue "0" above the instrument cluster. What was the zero, a gear indicator or something, or perhaps a digital speedometer gauge of some sort??

     
  12. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    The 0 on top of the dash is a gear indicator, I did a thread about it somewhere, search for cheap gear indicator.
     
  13. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    Thanks Mohawk, I'll check it out. :)
     
  14. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    Forgot I'd taken a pick of the modified bulb !

    Factory on the left in first pic, my mod on the right.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Skifreak

    Skifreak New Member

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    So to those who have done this conversion, how have the long semi-long term results been? Lighting still good? Any ballast or fan failures yet?
     
  16. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    No idea on longevity on my bike, only used it a few times since fitting them, but been in my car for months & still going strong.
    Forgot to post these pics from the bike with new bulbs.


    Low Beam
    [​IMG]


    High Beam
    [​IMG]

    Enjoy
     
  17. vfrcapn

    vfrcapn Member

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    I started with a fan failure right off the go and a month or so in I had a bulb/ballast failure. Not sure as they both weren't working. The replacements have been ok for about 6 weeks.
     
  18. Skifreak

    Skifreak New Member

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    All good to know. Thanks.
     
  19. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    I have been commuting for nearly a month now with my bike and so far, no concerns of many kind. The lights have been performing flawlessly. I've not been using mine as long as vfrcapn, no winter season really in his area, so I would say capn's experiences certainly account for a much longer time period. So far I've racked up about 1000 km's including one 350 km journey and all was well.
     
  20. Skifreak

    Skifreak New Member

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    Is the lighting truly that much improved? Sure looks like it from the photos, but sometimes pics do not tell the whole story.

    By the way, a big thanks to those of you who were first to jump on board and test new technology and be guinea pigs while the rest of us watch. Would be nice to start converting my vehicles over to LED bulbs.
     
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