SOHC.co.uk Forums > Project Board
400/4 build. Paused due to other commitments. But starting up again
Bryanj:
I have found that vehicle led bulb standards vary a lot, i have had 501 replacements in both orange and white where some only work one way round and others work both ways round, i have had led headlamps last for years or hours
Oddjob:
I've done hundreds of LED conversions in cars, my Astra G had a dash with over 300 leds in it, all blue and reds, it looked like a space ship in the dark. Depending on the colour LEDs have different voltage needs, reds take less volts than white for instance, IIRC a red is 1.2v and a white is 3.3v, so it's not a case of one size fits all, they need to have a resistor fitted to reduce the voltage down to what the LED actually needs, they are also prone to voltage spikes, so the best solution is to either over resist them or even better fit a voltage stabiliser, which I'm fairly sure is what Ash made It provides a constant set voltage, making it ideal for LEDs and making them last longer. Any spikes are absorbed by the circuitry in the box, I used to over resist mine, however when voltages spiked at over 15.5v as they often did even that can get tested to the limit. Over resisting also meant they weren't as bright as they would be with proper resistance but there's always a down side to all solutions.
A good LED these days will actually be soldered to a small PCB, micro small in fact. The resistors and surge protection will on the board, the better the board, the better the LED as a rule. Good boards cost more than bad boards, hence the price difference. Buy good LED bulbs and they'll last, get bad and they may or they may not. When an LED starts strobing you know it's on it's way out, replace before it goes completely.
If you want them to last buy LED bulbs which use SMDs not LEDs, SMDs are surface mounted diodes and are usually much more robust then LEDs, your cars dash is normally SMDs, you don't see them going much do you? Whereas high level brake light repeaters like on the tailgate are normally LEDs and you often see one or 2 of those not working on older cars.
McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
--- Quote from: Bryanj on August 01, 2023, 01:50:32 AM ---I have found that vehicle led bulb standards vary a lot, i have had 501 replacements in both orange and white where some only work one way round and others work both ways round, i have had led headlamps last for years or hours
--- End quote ---
I agree with you Bryan for the lucrative aftermarket there were/are lot of cheap but unreliable LED's on the market that is price driven.
The headlamp bulbs in our previous Jeep (WJ) had built in cooling fans, iirc they were not polarity specific. Essential that there was plenty of space around the headlamp fittings - an area quite limited on bikes.
Laverdaroo:
So anyway, Andy what you been doing to the 400 over the last couple of days, you had those cables off yet and the carbs checked and made sure they’re all set right. The mixture screws won’t effect the high reviving much but a contributing factor in the mix no doubt. I still think it’s the cable operation personally. I could bob over tmrw eve if you’re a bit stuck and suffering from ‘snow blindness’……….it happens.
Keep us all up to date bud.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
ComfySofa:
Yep - sure - ill try disconnectng the throttle cables tonight and see how it runs...
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version