6v LED bulb

[watts]

Hello

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for 6v LED bulbs to replace a 312 pre-focus bulb.

Thank you
Matthew

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

Have look on Paul Goff's website.

Dave.

[watts]

Hello Dave

Thank you.

Matthew

[Calum]

I fitted one into my parter's Ariel. What I did notice is that below a certain voltage it just turns off altogether, unlike an original tungsten bulb which will just dim as the volts drop. So if the battery isn't tip top, at idle the headlight was switching off! Other than that it has made a world of difference to her night time riding experience... if you go for a 'warm white' rather thab the awful harsh white/blue ones it really is a good compromise and still looks good.

[Jim S]

On my C11 with points and coil ignition, the LED headlight flashes in sync with the engine. It is like a strobe light. I think it is the sudden current draw by the coil that causes the system voltage to momentarily drop and the illumination to diminish.

On my A7 and B33 with magneto ignitions, the LED headlamp bulb gives full constant illumination.

All 3 bikes have 6v systems.

Jim

[Derek996]

On my C11 with points and coil ignition, the LED headlight flashes in sync with the engine. It is like a strobe light. I think it is the sudden current draw by the coil that causes the system voltage to momentarily drop and the illumination to diminish.

A bigger capacity battery, if that can be fitted, or possibly a capacitor across the battery would probably reduce if not eliminate this.

[Jim S]

Thanks Derek

Other forums have suggested similar recommendations to yours. I'm not sure if anyone has been able to eliminate the strobing on the 6v C11. It will probably require a few hours/$$ in engineering budget to solve this problem, unless you have a recommended capacitor size???

Personally, it doesn't bother me since I don't ride this bike at night and the light is pointing away from me while riding during the day!

On another note, everyone should do a thorough operational check of new  LED lights before they go out on the road, especially with tail light bulbs. I found an LED tail light bulb that had the same level of illumination with tail light on vs brake light + tail light on.

Jim

[rhyatt]

I tried to use an led Lucas/wassell bpf headlight , but to no avail.
Supposedly it covered 6,12,24 volts.

Worked fine without the engine running but immediately on starting and running the engine , started to flicker and switch on and off.
Only to stabilise again when I stopped the engine.

I had a long and sensible chat with a technical guy at Wassell and jointly explored voltages etc , but it wouldn't have it, so returned the bulb.

To give you a background, all earth's and connections were soldered and 100%. I even tried changing the reg/rec as it looked as though spurious AC was bleeding into the bike upsetting the leds.

I finished up sourcing the lowest wattage bpf bulb and sticking there.

[V500]

Indeed, and if anyone's not doing serious night riding, why change anyway?
As long as the charging system is adequate to sustain the ignition, stop light and occasional horn toot, why change?
That said, a small LED riding light for the front is a good idea.

[rhyatt]

That's all I did , found a decent led riding pilot light for visibility.
This by the way   did not suffer the same as the hlight bulb.

[Derek996]

Thanks Derek

Other forums have suggested similar recommendations to yours. I'm not sure if anyone has been able to eliminate the strobing on the 6v C11. It will probably require a few hours/$$ in engineering budget to solve this problem, unless you have a recommended capacitor size?

The size of capacitor needed depends on a lot variables, like the load current, the frequency (which will vary with engine speed) and the minimum ripple voltage required. At guess I'd start with something like a 2,200µF 25v electrolytic connected between the rectifier output and ground.