OK - well, I might just keep my eyes open for one of those.
Thanks 5T!
Pete
Thanks 5T!
Pete
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LED headlight conversions, ideas; good and bad
- Thread starter gggGary
- Start date
How are you adjusting the height of the light? What I usually do is get behind a car, about stopped at a light distance, and move it up or down until the top of the low beam is barely lower than the rear window. That gives you the maximum practical "throw". I'm sure that would vary from light to light, so maybe some of the weaker ones in the test could be adjusted better.
5T - good find! Quick look at eBay for XS750/850 headlights shows this "bulge" one advertised as '79 and '78's no bulge, so prospective buyers, be careful what year to look for. '79 headlight fiche does not show a P/N for just the shell, so I couldn't compare year-to-year to see if '78 has different P/N.A larger bucket alternative could be the XS750-850 Special one. And '79 and later ones use a factory H4 light. The chrome ring is the same as the 650 so that tells me the headlight is the same size .....
I've tried the measuring and using the garage door to aim lights, not the greatest. I get on a flat straight road at night and adjust the high beam till I can see the farthest, the low beam falls where ever it will, that's what works best for me.
That's a good point about oncoming traffic, especially when using a bulb in a reflector that it wasn't specifically designed for.
Lately I have had oncoming pickups come at me with those blue tint lights that have made me go "HOLY SHIT" and have to pull over on the side of the road, blinded so much that I'm not really knowing where the pickup or road actually is. Worse yet would be a vehicle behind me that is blinded from seeing me.
Scott
High beam and low beam are NOT independently adjustable, adjust the high beam.
Scott
Scott
^That would be fine, except that the first thing is you don't want to blind people you're sitting behind, so adjust on low to the highest level that doesn't blind them. FWIW it seems to put the high beam at a good level too. If it didn't, I'd have to get a different light. OTOH, if your only concern is how far your brights reach, then adjust it for that, and if it doesn't coincidentally work out like I said to adjust in the first place, expect some road rage 
About a month ago I rode the RSV (7" reflector Broview S5) about 4 hours at night. I had to stop and adjust headlight as i was getting flashed,
adjustment stopped the flashing. Great to ride behind a quality light. I also rode Madness with the Broview the last 3 hours home from Arkansas in the dark, also good. The trip to Peoria in rain, resulted in water in the reflector/ lens. revealed the importance of a goodbulb/reflector seal, After some testing, it turns out the problem was a poor lens to reflector glue joint on the "made in india" headlight, Those these bulbs don't fit the stock rubber shield, slit, install and electric tape the shield, seems to do the track. Need to rain test the fix but not rushing out to do it. 
Got a good 20-30 hours on this set up, no issues with overheating, takes just a bit of pushing n shoving to get everything in..
adjustment stopped the flashing. Great to ride behind a quality light. I also rode Madness with the Broview the last 3 hours home from Arkansas in the dark, also good. The trip to Peoria in rain, resulted in water in the reflector/ lens. revealed the importance of a good
Got a good 20-30 hours on this set up, no issues with overheating, takes just a bit of pushing n shoving to get everything in..
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XS650D
XS650 Junkie
I installed one of those LED bulbs in my headlight and my Voltage went up to 16 Volts Yikes!!
Had to pull it out, not enough draw and the Regulator (not stock) couldent compensate for the
much lower draw.I also run an LED break light bulb.Not sure how to solve that but the light was much better
than the stock unit with out a doubt.That was last year, still have the bulb if anyone wants it.To bad as
I waited almost a month to get it.Was the same unit on the first page of posts I believe.As it is now my Voltage
will still run up to 14.7 even 14.8 spikes.In my Chlymer manual it states ok up to 15 volts is acceptable.
I run at 13.2 at idle well warmed up after a ride which is good I believe.
Had to pull it out, not enough draw and the Regulator (not stock) couldent compensate for the
much lower draw.I also run an LED break light bulb.Not sure how to solve that but the light was much better
than the stock unit with out a doubt.That was last year, still have the bulb if anyone wants it.To bad as
I waited almost a month to get it.Was the same unit on the first page of posts I believe.As it is now my Voltage
will still run up to 14.7 even 14.8 spikes.In my Chlymer manual it states ok up to 15 volts is acceptable.
I run at 13.2 at idle well warmed up after a ride which is good I believe.
Throw in a 27watt ceramic wound resistor or two into the headlight circuit? Commonly sold for LED turnsignal conversions.
PM sent.
No, Auto, so some compensation was inevitable.
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Spooky! I just read this whole thread earlier this morning. My experience with the LED headlights is cheap are not particularly good except for a daytime warning to on coming traffic. Although I have not tried a Broview LED it seems to fit my opinon of what an LED H4 needs to be designed like:
Note: For the experimenters the LED power supplies can be bought on Ebay if you search for "Voltage Converter". I have seen 6Amp ones for about £5 and all you need to do is set the output voltage. I use them in my metal detector to give me 9V and 18V all from a single rechargeable 4.2V Lithium cell.
- The individual LEDs are very small so give a better approximation to the incandescent bulb filaments. This is important for correct focusing in the head light reflector/lens.
- The shift from Hi to Low is achieved by using different sets of LEDs in different locations which mimics the filament bulbs so again gives better focusing. The cheap bulbs usually only dim the LEDs by using a resistor in series, so no focal adjustment actually takes place.
- They have a power supply (step up voltage converter) which provides the correct voltage/current for optimum light output irrespective of the voltage on the harness. This means the light is stable and bright at 12V during idle or 14.5V at higher rpm. Without this power supply the bulb would probably flicker at idle because the voltage is near the cut off point. The supply is a bit more bulk to deal with but at least it is on a lead so can be fitted external to the headlight bucket.
- That flexible heat sink gives options where to locate in a crowded headlight bucket.
Note: For the experimenters the LED power supplies can be bought on Ebay if you search for "Voltage Converter". I have seen 6Amp ones for about £5 and all you need to do is set the output voltage. I use them in my metal detector to give me 9V and 18V all from a single rechargeable 4.2V Lithium cell.
Great comments Paul. The broview also uses a tab on the low beam to block light up and left (oncoming eyes). 
This is what happened to my chopped up cheapy H4 LED:
This new brake light is bright, but the lower tail light incandescent bulbs are brighter - But I feel safer.
This new brake light is bright, but the lower tail light incandescent bulbs are brighter - But I feel safer.
Gary asked for pics of the Broview installation on my XS650, so here ya go.
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Looks like I reached the post limit above, so here are some details. In the upper photo, the connector on the left joins the box to the "bulb." The connector is waterproof and can be located outside the shell. The 3-way spade connector on the right is made to plug into the headlight socket. I cut it off, doubled and twisted the small gauge wires, and crimped on 3.5 mm. bullet connectors and covers, bulking up the wires a bit with shrink tube to give the covers a good seal. I unplugged the OE headlight socket,removed the the switch wires from the shell, crimped on 3.5 mm. socket connectors and covers, and plugged in the bullets from the box. I also fabricated a shroud to cover the connectors for a little added protection and water resistance. The only potential "gotcha" is that the OE high beam wire and the Broview low beam wire are yellow, so plug Broview yellow to Yamaha green, Broview red to Yamaha yellow. And yeah, I know, I put sockets where Mama Yama, for some perverse reason, put bullets. Bad idea, Ma! A loose bullet connector on the hot end can ground, but socket covers won't let that happen. Do it right and put sockets on the hot side!
The lower photo shows the headlight tilted down to show the installation. The box is supported on zip ties for vibration damping, and the box and cooling mesh are pretty well hidden when the headlight is aimed. Wires and cooling mesh exit the shell through a 3/4"x1.5" slot lined with split plastic tubing. (And yes, guys, that's a Honda repop key switch in the top hole of the shell--don't hurt me!)
The lower photo shows the headlight tilted down to show the installation. The box is supported on zip ties for vibration damping, and the box and cooling mesh are pretty well hidden when the headlight is aimed. Wires and cooling mesh exit the shell through a 3/4"x1.5" slot lined with split plastic tubing. (And yes, guys, that's a Honda repop key switch in the top hole of the shell--don't hurt me!)
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