Modding the lights

[stark23x]

I've read about the mod one of the members here came up with for having working hi and low in each light. As far as I understand it, his mod does not cut into anything, correct? It's designed to work with the stock setup without cutting?

Thing is my stock wiring harness was already hacked up when I got the bike. The guy who owned it last hacked in an HID setup...an old one, and poorly done. I took it all out and wired in two sockets to return to basically stock. I added a connector inline to each side so I can easily swap to something else in the future.

My question is, could I split the green wire, sending one side to each H4 low beam filament, then split the yellow on the other side, doing the same going to the high? Would that give me two low beams at all times, then when I flip on the highs, cut off the low and turn on both highs?

 

[Marcin]

Stock fz6 has one H4 and one H1 so no way for dual high beams as far as I know...

 

[ChanceCoats123]

Stock fz6 has one H4 and one H1 so no way for dual high beams as far as I know...

It's actually one H4 (high and low) and one H7 (only high beam). In a stock FZ6, the H7 is always on. The low beam filament on the H4 has no power so it never comes on. And the high beam filament in the H4 goes on when the high beam switch is turned on.

The BD43 light mod makes a connection in the stock wiring harness which was left open. This open connection is actually the low beam power source. So the mod makes it such that the H7 is still always on, but now the low beam filament in the H4 is on when the high beam switch is off.

 

[Marcin]

I always confuse H1 and H7. Still, in this setup no way to get dual low and dual high. Only dual low and one high. But if U mod the reflector part to fit another h4 instead of h7 than it might work.

 

[stark23x]

It was already modded, actually. The previous owner had two "H4" HID lights, by which I mean the bases were both H4 sized. If I used two H4 bulbs and two H4 sockets, would the wiring I described work? Or am I doing something electrically dangerous?

 

[Marcin]

In that case well. You might be looking at putting a lot of extra load on the wire from the light switch - twice as usual. U might lose some power there. Having said that there are people here (I am one of them) who made the dual headlight mod simply by connecting H7 and H4 wires directly at the lamp so we also draw 100% more power at the same wire and nothing bad happens.

So, summing up. The way U suggest seems to be logical. Two H4's for low and high beams switchable. And since U are in the USA Your lights have a different (symmetrical) shape so it shouldn't be a problem.

The drawback that I think of is that You will limit the amount of extra power You can leave for heated grips etc. So consider putting a switch somewhere on a wire to sometimes cut the second light when extra power needed for somewhere else.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

That idea should technically work. As said above, if you run the wires like you say, then you'll have the bulbs in parallel. Now I've never looked at the stock wiring diagram to see how the stock bulbs are wired, but my guess would be that your lights will be slightly dimmer since the current should split exactly in half.

 

[FIZZER6]

Spend $250 and put in dual Morimoto Bi-xenon HID projectors. You get high/low beam on both sides and 3X more light than stock halogen lights put down on the road. Your safety at night on a bike is worth $250 and the several hours it takes to take the lights apart, thread in projectors and put it all back together!

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/50891-morimoto-h1-mini-stage-iii-projector-retrofit.html

 

[stark23x]

Wow that HID project looks intimidating...but will ultimately give me exactly what I want with a nice safety boost as well.

That may be my winter project. I might just leave everything stock-ish for the time being and save my time and money for that.

 

[fb40dash5]

That idea should technically work. As said above, if you run the wires like you say, then you'll have the bulbs in parallel. Now I've never looked at the stock wiring diagram to see how the stock bulbs are wired, but my guess would be that your lights will be slightly dimmer since the current should split exactly in half.

There's no way to do it with only the wires that are there. Well, not properly. The rub is that the low beam stays on all the time, so if you just used that with H4s, the low beam filament would be on even with the high beam filament on. You could do it, but it would burn bulbs like a mofo when the high beams are used. You need to do the wire mod to grab the switched low beam out of the harness that isn't used, that way only 1 filament is powered at a time.

Also, you can't really 'split' current. Double the bulbs draws double the current. If that means drawing more than the charging system is providing it'll drag the voltage down, which will make the bulbs slightly dimmer. If you wired the bulbs in series, that would cut the voltage to each bulb in half, making them... probably hardly even illuminate.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

There's no way to do it with only the wires that are there. Well, not properly. The rub is that the low beam stays on all the time, so if you just used that with H4s, the low beam filament would be on even with the high beam filament on. You could do it, but it would burn bulbs like a mofo when the high beams are used. You need to do the wire mod to grab the switched low beam out of the harness that isn't used, that way only 1 filament is powered at a time.

Also, you can't really 'split' current. Double the bulbs draws double the current. If that means drawing more than the charging system is providing it'll drag the voltage down, which will make the bulbs slightly dimmer. If you wired the bulbs in series, that would cut the voltage to each bulb in half, making them... probably hardly even illuminate.

The way the OP described it, the low beams would be off. His idea was to do the BD43 mod to provide the low beam to both, and the high beam source for the high beam on both. The BD43 mod doesn't have both filaments on at the same time so neither would this.

Also, it's hard to determine how the voltage and current will be split. In parallel, the voltage should be equal across both, so the current would split. The real life situation might be different because if the charging system can't provide twice the voltage (which is needed for each bulb to receive the typical amount of current), then it would be dimmer. Incandescent bulb output is a function of both voltage and current, so without more information about the system, it's hard to say their exact behavior.

 

[fb40dash5]

The way the OP described it, the low beams would be off. His idea was to do the BD43 mod to provide the low beam to both, and the high beam source for the high beam on both. The BD43 mod doesn't have both filaments on at the same time so neither would this.

Also, it's hard to determine how the voltage and current will be split. In parallel, the voltage should be equal across both, so the current would split. The real life situation might be different because if the charging system can't provide twice the voltage (which is needed for each bulb to receive the typical amount of current), then it would be dimmer. Incandescent bulb output is a function of both voltage and current, so without more information about the system, it's hard to say their exact behavior.

Right, the extra wire from the BD43 mod is the key. With that, you're electrically golden, you don't even need the stock low-beam wire from the left lamp.

You've got them electrical terms all mixed up there. There's no splitting in parallel, you're just daisy-chaining in essence. The voltage isn't changing, it's still a nominal 12v. The current isn't splitting, if you wire another 60w bulb, you'd be drawing 120w. The only 'split' is what each wire is carrying- if you splice into the stock wiring for the right high beam, for example, then the stock wiring is carrying about 10A, whereas the wiring you added would only be carrying the 60w of the bulb it leads to, or about 5A. There isn't really a "the current", that's determined by the voltage of the system and the resistance of the loads.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

Right, the extra wire from the BD43 mod is the key. With that, you're electrically golden, you don't even need the stock low-beam wire from the left lamp.

You've got them electrical terms all mixed up there. There's no splitting in parallel, you're just daisy-chaining in essence. The voltage isn't changing, it's still a nominal 12v. The current isn't splitting, if you wire another 60w bulb, you'd be drawing 120w. The only 'split' is what each wire is carrying- if you splice into the stock wiring for the right high beam, for example, then the stock wiring is carrying about 10A, whereas the wiring you added would only be carrying the 60w of the bulb it leads to, or about 5A. There isn't really a "the current", that's determined by the voltage of the system and the resistance of the loads.

That was exactly my point. If the system can't output the necessary power for the bulbs, then it won't be a nominal 12v across the bulbs. Perhaps I'm just thinking about this wrong, but by your logic, you could run as many bulbs in parallel as you wanted and they would all have a 12 drop and all be just as bright as they usually are. For a voltage source with a set voltage and a known total resistance, the source pushes x amount of current. If your load is really 2 equal resistances in parallel, then the current doesn't technically "split", but each load resistance gets half. It's just Ohm's law at work.

My main point is that yes, with a perfect source the voltage and light output will be unchanged when adding more bulbs in parallel. But the stator, r/r and battery on the FZ6 do not a perfect source make.


Edit: to clarify, the bulbs will have the correct voltage drop across them, but incandescent bulbs have a required current to run at optimal output. Two small light bulbs in parallel and powered by a battery will both turn on, but they won't be as bright despite both having say 9v or 12v across them.

 

[Rabbitman109]

We've done a handful of FZ6's

for more, check here:

https://www.facebook.com/AffordableHIDRetrofitting

 

[stark23x]

I've definitely come to the conclusion that my best bet is to leave it alone for now until I can do the HID upgrade properly.

 

[FIZZER6]

I've definitely come to the conclusion that my best bet is to leave it alone for now until I can do the HID upgrade properly.

In case you second guess that decision just take a look at this! This is my lights I did a few years ago. I have better headlights on my bike than 95% of cars on the road.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/36737-ultimate-fz6-bi-xenon-hid-projector-retrofit-infinity-fx35.html

 

[ChanceCoats123]

In case you second guess that decision just take a look at this! This is my lights I did a few years ago. I have better headlights on my bike than 95% of cars on the road.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...non-hid-projector-retrofit-infinity-fx35.html

Holy crap! That light output is amazing!

 

[stark23x]

WOW. That's insanely great. OK. So I'm definitely going to be looking into this over the winter. Plus, projectors increase the "angry alien face" aspect of the front of the bike, and I sort of love it.

 

[FIZZER6]

WOW. That's insanely great. OK. So I'm definitely going to be looking into this over the winter. Plus, projectors increase the "angry alien face" aspect of the front of the bike, and I sort of love it.

Let me know when you are ready. I can do them for you if you are afraid to do it yourself if you send the headlights to me. I've done over 75 sets of retrofit headlights for cars, trucks and motorcycles. If you elect to do it yourself, contact me anyway. . . I can get you a discount on the parts.