SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB500/550
H4 headlight
Lobo:
Rob... recently discussed in the 400F area under, Stanley Light Bulb.
As a general comment on a 55/60W headlamp, there seems to be a focus on fuse size, little has been said on battery charging .... which too will be adversely affected.
Given the age of our bikes, and the endless topics on corrosion, gremlin connections, corrosion, decrepit fuse holders, corrosion, bodged looms etc my gut feeling is that sticking bigger fuses in is not the way to solve electrical problems. Unless of course, your loom and components are new / verified tickety-boo.
A 55W lamp will indeed be brighter than a 45W bulb, but given there are LED offerings out there quoting 18W with the equivalent illumination of an 80W Halogen.... why wouldn’t you if needing to ride at night? Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
In the Stanley Light Bulb post, K2-K2 offered this... take a look at the numbers / specs - very impressive.
https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/latest-led-headlights-p45t
EDIT - sorry Trig...our posts crossed and I’ve only just seen yours. Doh!
JezzaPeach:
All helpful stuff 👍
deltarider:
--- Quote from: Lobo on August 12, 2020, 11:17:30 PM ---Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
--- End quote ---
Maybe you can explain, I see quite some cars that have only one side lit (DRL). I would not expect to much reliability of Chinese products. I myself will not buy any product from China, be it for more than one reason... The tabulation of ampères in reply #5 is all too simple and may lead to confusion. Riding we'll see a higher voltage than the theoretical 12V, which implies less current drawn. The 15A main fuse has proved to be quite capable of dealing with the 55/60 Watts H4 on mine for the last 40 years...
Furthermore there's more needed to have a good vision (beam pattern) than just replacing an incandescent bulb by a LED. Leds need their own, special projectors.
Here's a question, I have not solved yet. Due to a lame PA switch, I sometimes had both filaments in the H4 on. On entering a tunnel, I would detect this by the lit blue idiot light. I've fixed the PA switch some years ago. But te question remains: why did it not blow the 15A fuse?
Bryanj:
Delta you may think you are not buying from China but a lot of the big firms you buy from do
sye:
--- Quote from: deltarider on August 13, 2020, 07:13:42 AM ---
--- Quote from: Lobo on August 12, 2020, 11:17:30 PM ---Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
--- End quote ---
Maybe you can explain, I see quite some cars that have only one side lit (DRL). I would not expect to much reliability of Chinese products. I myself will not buy any product from China, be it for more than one reason... The tabulation of ampères in reply #5 is all too simple and may lead to confusion. Riding we'll see a higher voltage than the theoretical 12V, which implies less current drawn. The 15A main fuse has proved to be quite capable of dealing with the 55/60 Watts H4 on mine for the last 40 years...
Furthermore there's more needed to have a good vision (beam pattern) than just replacing an incandescent bulb by a LED. Leds need their own, special projectors.
Here's a question, I have not solved yet. Due to a lame PA switch, I sometimes had both filaments in the H4 on. On entering a tunnel, I would detect this by the lit blue idiot light. I've fixed the PA switch some years ago. But te question remains: why did it not blow the 15A fuse?
--- End quote ---
55 + 60 = 115W. 115W @ 12v = 9.5A. 115w @ 14v = 8.2A.
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