H4 headlight

[mike the bike]

The fuses are 1¼".  Domestic fuses are 1".

[JezzaPeach]

Some more info on fuse limits:
https://www.pat-testing-training.net/articles/fuse-operation-characteristics.php

[JezzaPeach]

Update. New led headlight bulb fitted. Better clearer beam. Thanks Trig 👍

An H4 headlamp only takes less than 1amp more than the original spec.
A 15amp fuse can take more than 25amps for brief periods, so normal running with H4 full beam and other constant drains will only use about 9-10amps. Brake and indicators going on momentarily will be well within the 25-30amp ‘blow’ capacity.

The main benefit of a super bright led headlight seems to be just that. Better light at night. And the main cause of a 15amp fuse blowing may be a fault somewhere.

[Rob62]

Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.

Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.


Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?

I have had the cob type fitted to a 750 and a 550 for about a year or so and the 750 is just over a couple of thousand miles, since fitted with no problems. They are white light and not the yellow light you get from basic H4's.
I bought a trade pack of them and they worked out around £3 per bulb. I am no expert when it comes to electrics and can't understand why some of them have a cooling fan (which will not fit in the headlight bowl) and the cob type don't.



(Attachment Link)


(Attachment Link)

I bought some of these bulbs by following the link that trigger posted.... that particular item was sold out but i did manage to find an exact same item for something like £1.98 each iirc. So i bought 3. They were due to arrive in mid sept but actually turned up in about 3 or 4 days, so i fitted them yesterday and they work and look great. I put one in each of the yamaha’s but kept the third as a spare since it wont fit in the Honda as it is still running the original sealed beam type unit and i would need to buy a replacement shell to fit it... prefer to keep her original if i can.. But if and when it ever fails i will definitely go with the leds.. at 6 quid for 3 bulbs its a no-brainer!

[JezzaPeach]

Even cheaper! Agreed, I can already see my light reflected off car boots in daytime. Feels safer anyway!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-4-Side-LED-Headlight-660W-72000LM-Bulb-Kit-9006-9005-H4-HB2-9003-H7-H8-H9-H11/233294327251?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

I upgraded our old Jeep WJ with some LED bulbs I purchased from e-bay the Jeeps have some weird bulbs so it took me a while to find the right type of H4 without Canbus they were about £15.00 for a pair. Mine have a variant 9005 & 9006 our other Jeep has straight H4's. Luckily plenty of room behind our lamps for the quite large alloy heat sink that has a small fan built into it. My bulbs came with adapters so no change of wiring was required for the Jeep.

I will certainly look at fitting this type of bulb as they use less power than a standard QI H4 bulb and push out a whopping amount of high frequency white light with a slight tinge of blue but not enough to detract. Unfortunately there is quite a lot lost in translation they are about 66 Watts including the fan not 660 Watts as stated. Our old bulbs would usually blow every 18-24 months so far I am not sure if the claimed lifespan is true. To date they have been in place for 8 months or so with no issues.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.

Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.


Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?

I have had the cob type fitted to a 750 and a 550 for about a year or so and the 750 is just over a couple of thousand miles, since fitted with no problems. They are white light and not the yellow light you get from basic H4's.
I bought a trade pack of them and they worked out around £3 per bulb. I am no expert when it comes to electrics and can't understand why some of them have a cooling fan (which will not fit in the headlight bowl) and the cob type don't.



(Attachment Link)


(Attachment Link)

I bought some of these bulbs by following the link that trigger posted.... that particular item was sold out but i did manage to find an exact same item for something like £1.98 each iirc. So i bought 3. They were due to arrive in mid sept but actually turned up in about 3 or 4 days, so i fitted them yesterday and they work and look great. I put one in each of the yamaha’s but kept the third as a spare since it wont fit in the Honda as it is still running the original sealed beam type unit and i would need to buy a replacement shell to fit it... prefer to keep her original if i can.. But if and when it ever fails i will definitely go with the leds.. at 6 quid for 3 bulbs its a no-brainer!

I have had quite a range of LED bulbs & lamps over the last 5 years or so - maybe things are improving with quality now but my early experience was that within 6 months -or  much less in some cases  LED clusters would either start strobing, flashing or just pack up completely. Depending on your MoT station retrofitting of LED bulbs can be an automatic fail especially if the dip cut off is poor.

[Bryanj]

Havent read the testers manual for a while but it used to be rears had to be red(not pink) fronts have to white and a definitive dip pattern to the left, all lenses to have the correct e number and rear reflector the correct BS number which is why Honda fitted the small red reflectors at the bottom of the long plastic mudguards, failed a lot of 250 N for having L plate over the reflector

[Erny]

At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.

There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.

[deltarider]

At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.

There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.

Spot on, Erny! So far what buyers have 'seen'*, has not been confirmed by independent tests. What has been found however by the British AA, the German ADAC, the Dutch ANWB and the Austrian ÖAMTC, is that blinding headlights are the number one annoyance in todays traffic...
* What others, including me, see, is mostly: choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.

There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.

Spot on, Erny! So far what buyers have 'seen'*, has not been confirmed by independent tests. What has been found however by the British AA, the German ADAC, the Dutch ANWB and the Austrian ÖAMTC, is that blinding headlights are the number one annoyance in todays traffic...
* What others, including me, see, is mostly: choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization.

Most of the blinding headlamps I have experienced have been from manufacturers Bi Xenons not folk with old vehicles wanting something brighter than a candle as the reflectors go dull with age & the Polycarbonate goes milky. lol

[deltarider]

Brightness is not a quality, not in itself. There is so much more to lights than brightness. I know special H4 all weather lamps that have been coated inside 6 times with blue and 4 times with yellow to perform better in rain, fog and snow, especially on unlit roads. If you're looking for just brightness, you can limit yourself to reading the advertisements but... you will be trapped in a spiral as others want more brightness than you have. What you need, is good vision at night and be seen during the day, street legal and not irritating to others, just like you don't want to be irritated by them. That's all. The rest is a childish projection, if you ask me.

[Erny]

I'll add one 2 more experience with LED headlight - I have factory fitted LED headlight on my 2 other bikes - BMW R1200 GS (2016) and Honda CB650R (2019). While one on BMW performs excellent (perfect beam shape) one on Honda is total fail (at least on my bike), I wonder how it could gain approvals for road use. Having there any standard H4 would be much better. Fortunately, I do not ride outside city when dark..

[sye]

There are LED H4 lamps currently seeking approval. They have come a long way and are undoubtedly what everyone will be using in a few short years. The bulb below mimics a halogen H4 perfectly and has an ideal beam pattern. It's also the same size as a standard H4 and fits in any headlight shell.

The downside is that they currently cost around £30 each but that will drop to around a fiver in the next few years.

[Erny]

Interesting. If they will get approval, I'll go for it for my 550K1 due to permament charging issues
Can you share more details who is manufacturer / seller, where to find more details?