LED headlights: the 2014 edition

[Craig]

Andy York's excellent install. He said it wasn't exactly "plug & play."

 

That's not exactly what he said, but he curses so much more expertly than I.

 

Was this what he used?

[docc]

 

Andy York's excellent install. He said it wasn't exactly "plug & play."

 

That's not exactly what he said, but he curses so much more expertly than I.

 

Was this what he used?

 

That is it, for sure.   Not sure what he had to go through to get it rigged.

 

Even with the earlier Bosch metal bucket headlamp, I do dread getting caught out on curvy, or fast, roads at night.

[Gottagetone]

I was going to put the truckle version on my V11 and went over to Revival to talk to them about it because they use that light on some of their bikes.  They talked about producing a ring to fit our bucket, if there is enough interest I can ask but they won't be cheap.  I think you can find a Yamaha ring and bucket to fit that light.  

 

I did add LED turn signals along with a LED plate light and LED brake / running lights with a bracket that I fabled up.  I was able to basically create my own tidy tail and it has worked great.  I have LED headlights in my truck and will say that HID kits work just as good if not better, I have he HID in V11 bucket.

[JBBenson]

I finally got the H4 LED from Guzzitech.

 

It is plug-n-play, all the wires and the little ballast fit fine in my 2001 V11 Sport headlight bucket, plenty of room in there, no squeezing or crushing needed.

 

Nice bright headlamp now, even during the day. Much better. Also should be a lower draw on my original alternator, so thats a bonus....

[68C]

How does fitting LED units affect charging?  I understand our voltage regulators are set up with the standard headlight voltage drop, if we fit a lower current item will this not result in an under charging alternator.  I seem to remember this was covered in earlier posts about fitting relays to save headlight current going through the dip switch.

[Lucky Phil]

How does fitting LED units affect charging?  I understand our voltage regulators are set up with the standard headlight voltage drop, if we fit a lower current item will this not result in an under charging alternator.  I seem to remember this was covered in earlier posts about fitting relays to save headlight current going through the dip switch.

No the Guzzi system is flawed in that the regulator senses voltage off the light circuit and when the lights are turned on there is a voltage drop in the circuit that isn't reflected at the battery. The reg then thinks battery voltage is low and overcharges the battery. Lower draw LED's would minimize the effect but the solution is to either wire the headlight circuit or the reg directly off the battery.

I went the former and included some relays in the system to remove the load from the handle bar switch assy.

The problem with the reg wired directly from the battery is that its always "live" and will drain the battery over time.

Ciao 

[Kiwi_Roy]

As lucky Phil says the standard Ducati Energia regulator is set at 13.8 Volts but due to the Voltage drop it will charge the battery to around 14.4 Volts, I expect it was designed allowing for some Voltage drop. I think of it like a seesaw with the battery at one end, the headlight on the other with the regulator sitting in the middle.

 

There are 2 different wirings for the V11s, the early ones like my 01 have two relays contacts in series, the normally closed start relay and the normally open headlight relay (twice the drop). Later versions only have the headlight relay contact, the start relay normally closed contact just switches the milliamp signal to the headlight relay coil.

I have seen the Voltage drop as high as one Volt after sitting all winter drop to about 0.6 after wiggling the relays in their base.

(measure from battery + to the female connector of the male/female regulator plug)

 

You will lose some battery Voltage with LEDs because with less current there is less Voltage drop between the battery and the seesaw fulcrum. On the plus side it will be more consistent because relay contact resistance has less effect with the lower current.

 

The Ducati Energia needs to be wired to a switched circuit because it draws about 15mA which would flatten the battery in no time if it were left permanently attached. The modern direct connected type draw much less current (about 0.3 mA) but over the winter they still seem to flatten the battery.

You can do the math based on the battery Amp Hour rating but don't forget the battery may be only half charged to begin with.

 

It's a smart move to add headlight relays bypassing the wimpy dimmer switch wiring it made a big difference to mine.

I added a single relay to mine tapped in at the large connector on the left hand side where it splits to go to the dimmer switch.

[Kiwi_Roy]

BTW, I have no experience with LED headlights, they may compensate for low Voltage with an in-built regulator?

 

JBBenson / anyone, do you know if that's the case?
 

[JBBenson]

BTW, I have no experience with LED headlights, they may compensate for low Voltage with an in-built regulator?

 

JBBenson / anyone, do you know if that's the case?

 

Not sure if it is a regulator or some kind of heat sink, but there is a larger metal finned thing at the base.

 

In any case, having put on 1000 miles or so since the install, now the instruments lights are out, although all idiot lights still work.

 

Maybe coincidence?

[Kiwi_Roy]

The tail light and park light are on the same circuit, fuse 6. If the fuse is ok might be a broken wire on the ignition switch.0


Sent from my shoe phone!

[JBBenson]

Fuse 6 was blown.

 

I replaced it, started the bike, and at idle, the tailight stayed on. All good.

 

When I revived past 2500 RPM the twilight went out = fuse 6 blew again.

 

Maybe a bad ground in the ignition switch?

 

Anything else?

[docc]

Fuse 6 was blown.

 

I replaced it, started the bike, and at idle, the tailight stayed on. All good.

 

When I revived past 2500 RPM the twilight went out = fuse 6 blew again.

 

Maybe a bad ground in the ignition switch?

 

Anything else?

Wiring to the tail light is known to get pinched in the fender panels along the rear subframe. Also, the contacts inside the light fixture itself can get weak and bent  - usually that just means no (or intermittent) contact, but they're worth looking at.

 

I've see a bad bulb filament blow a fuse, but that's not as likely for you as the pinched wire. Or a frayed wire in the ignition switch.

[docc]

It occurred to me that the 4 watt "city light" in the headlamp bucket could have been affected by your LED installation, either crowding it somehow or impinging its wiring? That could also blow Fuse 6.

[JBBenson]

 

Fuse 6 was blown.

 

I replaced it, started the bike, and at idle, the tailight stayed on. All good.

 

When I revived past 2500 RPM the twilight went out = fuse 6 blew again.

 

Maybe a bad ground in the ignition switch?

 

Anything else?

Wiring to the tail light is known to get pinched in the fender panels along the rear subframe. Also, the contacts inside the light fixture itself can get weak and bent  - usually that just means no (or intermittent) contact, but they're worth looking at.

 

I've see a bad bulb filament blow a fuse, but that's not as likely for you as the pinched wire. Or a frayed wire in the ignition switch.

 

 

 

 

Arg, more dismantling!...OK I will check that, thanks.....

[JBBenson]

It occurred to me that the 4 watt "city light" in the headlamp bucket could have been affected by your LED installation, either crowding it somehow or impinging its wiring? That could also blow Fuse 6.

 

Is there a "city light" in my Sport's headlamp? I don't remember seeing one.

 

I do have an "always on" US version headlamp, which has no on/off switch. When I installed the LED bulb, it plugged right in, there was no wiring that needed any modification.

 

I am thinking about why the fuse blew when I revved the engine. The LED draws less power than the stock H4 bulb.

 

I interpret it as maybe this: when revving, the voltage surged, the tail light circuit got more power, the weak local ground couldn't handle it, and the fuse blew. Could this mean the regulator is not working correctly? But I feel I would have more electrical problems if that was the case. I did see when I put the new fuse 6 in, the tachometer light was still out, although the speedo bulb was lit.

 

Like most electrical problems, it feels like a bad ground somewhere. Everything else works fine, so I think the issue is local, i.e. bad ground in the tail light circuit. The dead bulb in the tach is either a coincidence or another bad ground.

 

After checking the tail light wiring around the fender, I think I need to pull the ignition switch and the clocks to see whats up.

 

Thanks for the advice.