Brighter Headlight Bulb

[Steve2242]

The light bar should be on except when you have the high beams on. I have replaced both the main bulb & the light bar bulbs with PIAA. Common sense will tell you that for safety, you want the light bar on most of the time. The beauty of the PIAA bulbs is that they do not pull more power even though they give off almost 2 times the light.

[howrad]

Thanks Steve!

[Dudester]

The Silverstar I installed this past July has already burnt its' highbeam, so now I have to buy another kind of light bulb, cause the Silverstar's lifes spand is wayyy too short. I was happy with the light it gave me though. I'm thinking of a Wagner BP1210-H4 and give it a try. If it doesn't last, then I'll try the PIAA, and if that don't last, then I'll just go back to the stock bulb and leave it alone I guess, although I really hate the stock bulb lol.

[freezeradio]

Got me one of those bulbs.Never would have without this post

[OSWHollowpoint]

I got my bike on Thursday. Found the headlight to be way to dull. I run the Silverstars in my truck so I grabbed one for the 900. Much better. Hey, does this count as my first mod??? lol

[Spaceprobe]

You may want to read my post on the subject. The company will ship worldwide free of charge. I am well pleased with it.

http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/fo...lamp-bulb.html

[stargazertony]

It SHOULD be wired through a reulay to the accessory power circuit, with either the high beam, low beam, or master headlight power feed being used to trigger the relay.

Hi Rich: Seems you're fighting a losing battle here. As many times you have said this, some still don't understand.

[Mercury]

i run the 80/100W bulb it is much better then any of the other "hype" bulbs in my opinion

kenny

[Dudester]

I am still using the Silverstar 9003-ST H4 bulb, because the one that burnt on me had a one year warranty, so I took the burnt one back, and they simply gave me a new one last fall..no questions asked. So far, it hasn't burnt out, and I love the light it gives out, compared to the stocker. The Silverstar is rated at 60/55W but its so much brighter and whiter than the stock bulb for some reason. If this one burns out shortly after the warranty is over, I'll give the Wagner 1210 a try, as I hear it's about the same as the Silverstar in brightness, but better in longevity, although I have read on here about some experiencing a short life span with them too. PIAA, is apparently the best bulb you can buy, but to me, it's not worth spending that kind of coin on a bulb, no matter how bright it is. I have read some public reviews on the PIAA where people complained about their short lifespan as well so.....I don't know if they have a lifetime warranty or if they have a one year warranty like most high performance bulbs do, but for the price, I hope they have a very good warranty.
Anyway, one thing I did different with the new replacement Silverstar, is wash it down with rubbing alcohol before putting it into the socket. Even though you handle the bulb carefully with gloves etc, there still could be some contaminates on the bulb from the factory in Germany. So lesson learned in my case, even if you wear playtex gloves, clean the bulb with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol, which could make all the difference between having a long, or short bulb life, but at least you'll know you did everything right in handling and installing it. I think you should handle any high performance bulb this way....then again, it's your dime.

[kws9999]

Hey..... Has anyone tried using the 80/100 watt headlight bulbs that Gadget mentions on one of his lighting pages.
Talking about the BP1210/H4 headlight bulb made by Wagner and the
Sylvania 2357LL bulb for the taillight.
Was going to get some of these bulbs from NAPA and was a little concerned about the headlight bulb being too hot and melting the headlight lense.

This headlight bulb should be a hell of a lot brighter than the stock bulb.

Anybody using these ???

I installed one of these about two months ago and all was fine until yesterday. The 10amp headlight circuit fuse blew with only the low beams on. There are no other loads on this circuit. I'm not running a light bar. Not sure if it's a factor but it was 90+ degrees here yesterday. Checked the bucket wiring and all looks normal. No evidence of melted insulation. Replaced the fuse and all is well again. Anyone else had any issues with this bulb blowing fuses? Thanks

[Mercury]

fuses blow cause of the heat... current through a small element makes heat, too much current = too much heat... a hot day may blow the fuse...

better off to run a relay to the head light circuit... but me i just threw a 15A in there i think... solved it for now - if there is a direct short it will blow the 15 i checked it


kenny

[RichLockyer]

Never, ever, ever install a larger fuse. Bluntly, that is one of the dumbest things people do when they have an electrical problem.
A lot of houses have burned down because people put a penny in the fuse box, or installed a larger fuse.

The fuse is not there to protect the device, it is there to protect the wiring harness. Additionally, a fuse (and wiring) should never be run continuously at more than 80% of it's rating.

Running a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is allowing that circuit to carry 50% more current than it was designed to carry. It might be fine for a day, or a week, or a month, or a year...
Yes, a dead short will blow the fuse, but a high-impedance short won't. If something on that line pulls 13a continuously, the fuse will never blow, but the wiring will run hot and eventually burn the insulation, possibly starting a fire.
Would you replace a 15a breaker in your home with a 25a breaker in your home? Didn't think so... but that's exactly what putting a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is doing on the bike.


The Napa bulb should not have blown the 10a fuse. 80/100w is 6.7a/8.3a... the 100w high beam is a little over the recommended 80% rating of the circuit, but it's still well below the fuse's rating and it should be fine.
Too many people have been running that lamp for too many years for that to be the problem unless you have a defective bulb. There's something else in the bike that is drawing current from that circuit if the fuse blew on low beam, OR, the original fuse was defective (it happens)...

Replace it with another 10a fuse and monitor closely, or better, remove the fuse, get everything up and running, and put an amp meter on the fuse contacts.... that will tell you how much current is being drawn. Flip the headlight between high and low beam... then remove the headlight and see if there is anything else drawing power.

[BillyBobby]

Try a PIAA bulb.Amazon.com: PIAA 10934 H4 Series Intense White Bulb: Automotive This is not an over voltged 50 watt bulb.

[kws9999]

Never, ever, ever install a larger fuse. Bluntly, that is one of the dumbest things people do when they have an electrical problem.
A lot of houses have burned down because people put a penny in the fuse box, or installed a larger fuse.

The fuse is not there to protect the device, it is there to protect the wiring harness. Additionally, a fuse (and wiring) should never be run continuously at more than 80% of it's rating.

Running a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is allowing that circuit to carry 50% more current than it was designed to carry. It might be fine for a day, or a week, or a month, or a year...
Yes, a dead short will blow the fuse, but a high-impedance short won't. If something on that line pulls 13a continuously, the fuse will never blow, but the wiring will run hot and eventually burn the insulation, possibly starting a fire.
Would you replace a 15a breaker in your home with a 25a breaker in your home? Didn't think so... but that's exactly what putting a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is doing on the bike.


The Napa bulb should not have blown the 10a fuse. 80/100w is 6.7a/8.3a... the 100w high beam is a little over the recommended 80% rating of the circuit, but it's still well below the fuse's rating and it should be fine.
Too many people have been running that lamp for too many years for that to be the problem unless you have a defective bulb. There's something else in the bike that is drawing current from that circuit if the fuse blew on low beam, OR, the original fuse was defective (it happens)...

Replace it with another 10a fuse and monitor closely, or better, remove the fuse, get everything up and running, and put an amp meter on the fuse contacts.... that will tell you how much current is being drawn. Flip the headlight between high and low beam... then remove the headlight and see if there is anything else drawing power.

Thanks for the response. I've replaced the fuse and if it blows again, I'll perform the current measurements.

[Mercury]

Never, ever, ever install a larger fuse. Bluntly, that is one of the dumbest things people do when they have an electrical problem.
A lot of houses have burned down because people put a penny in the fuse box, or installed a larger fuse.

The fuse is not there to protect the device, it is there to protect the wiring harness. Additionally, a fuse (and wiring) should never be run continuously at more than 80% of it's rating.

Running a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is allowing that circuit to carry 50% more current than it was designed to carry. It might be fine for a day, or a week, or a month, or a year...
Yes, a dead short will blow the fuse, but a high-impedance short won't. If something on that line pulls 13a continuously, the fuse will never blow, but the wiring will run hot and eventually burn the insulation, possibly starting a fire.
Would you replace a 15a breaker in your home with a 25a breaker in your home? Didn't think so... but that's exactly what putting a 15a fuse in a 10a circuit is doing on the bike.


The Napa bulb should not have blown the 10a fuse. 80/100w is 6.7a/8.3a... the 100w high beam is a little over the recommended 80% rating of the circuit, but it's still well below the fuse's rating and it should be fine.
Too many people have been running that lamp for too many years for that to be the problem unless you have a defective bulb. There's something else in the bike that is drawing current from that circuit if the fuse blew on low beam, OR, the original fuse was defective (it happens)...

Replace it with another 10a fuse and monitor closely, or better, remove the fuse, get everything up and running, and put an amp meter on the fuse contacts.... that will tell you how much current is being drawn. Flip the headlight between high and low beam... then remove the headlight and see if there is anything else drawing power.

I agree 100%, even though I performed the largest sin of all by increasing the fuse size... going back in my records... It was not the head light circuit i replaced the fuse on, it was actually the light bar circuit which is tied to the front running lights.

I was mistaken i did the fuse on the running light circuit not the headlamp, still a big no no and i don't recommend it, i was just mentioning what i did in a jam, and have yet to get a relay to those lights... thinking about it now I think maybe ill do that this weekend, was supposed to ride to ny state tomorrow but they call for rain, and i have some extra relays so ill tie my light bar to a relay, not only will I then have the correct fuse size for everything, but with the larger wire to the running lights i should get more light out of them. The light bar lights were not the standard 25W kawasaki provides i think i found either 35W or 50W bulbs for it and used them.


Rich brings up a good point though, and as I said I am with him completely

Definitely do not run a larger fuse for long term, ok in a jam or for testing.

sorry if i made it sound like it was ok to boost the size, it really is not, i should have made that more clear - but i was rushing before and could not type it all out...

anyway - glad rich got in here to set it straight.

Kenny

[RichLockyer]

Definitely do not run a larger fuse for long term, ok in a jam or for testing.

+1... if it's a matter of getting home or spending $200 on a tow, do it and get home.

Likewise for testing, if you don't have an ammeter, it'll let you know if the basic circuit is sound and you're just slightly overloaded.

[kws9999]

+1... if it's a matter of getting home or spending $200 on a tow, do it and get home.

Likewise for testing, if you don't have an ammeter, it'll let you know if the basic circuit is sound and you're just slightly overloaded.

It's unfortunate that the next largest fuse seems to be a 15 amp. A 12 amp would seem to be better for the proposed testing.

[Mercury]

yeah the blade type its hard to get between 15 and 10 A

kenny

[Mercury]

i come across this thread everytime i need new headlight bulb... i want to order online... but cant seem to find the 80/100

anyway i have a 80/100 here and it says wagner on the package it also says federal mogul...

i guess ill hit up the napa and get 3 on order.... was hoping to do it from the chair i am sitting in right now though

These things burn out more often then i would have liked... but they do last for a good 7000 miles if not more...

10 bux every 7k, im game

kenny

[Mercury]

hummmmmm AutoParts2020 :: Wagner Lighting Mini Lamp

kenny