Driving lights

Post by **mistairs875** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:12 am

May be a stupid question, but, I'm looking to add driving lights to my 95 Voyager XII...

Here's where the stupid question comes into play, lol.

Anyone out there know the MAX wattage I can use, without causing battery drain issues while riding? Had a different bike before, and if I used 2x55W bulbs, I would park somewhere, and even after 5 minutes couldn't start the bike (with lights off while parked of course) so I figured it had to be excessive drain while riding, because if I didn't use the lights, I was fine... so, anyone out there have any luck using 55w lights? (Would honestly rather go LED, but, looking for a low price solution for now so I have all the wiring done and switch to LED later.)

Post by **stubabe** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:45 am

Have you checked Ebay lately? They have Cree LED driving lights for motorcycles for under $30.

Post by **mistairs875** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:47 am

Yes I know, but I have a friend that is a lot better with electrical than I am helping me to wire it up tomorrow, and I know where I can get a 55w pair of lights for $25 tomorrow, and they would be temporary, but includes all the wiring so the hard part would be over haha

Post by **Tonyvdb** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:51 am

Best $18 you will ever spend on LED driving lights
https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Driving- ... ing+lights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have them and they are fantastic.

Post by **mistairs875** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:54 am

I will agree that those look like good lights, and I will likely get them, but right now I'm just hoping to find out if 55w lights (110 total) will be ok to run with so I can get them and at least have the wiring done, cause I don't want to run the wires and not have them connected to anything, and having the help I will have tomorrow isn't something I can get every day as I'm a trucker and so is the buddy helping me, and it's not often we are home at the same time

Post by **Tonyvdb** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 2:00 am

55 watts is pushing it. The alternator is only 85watts

Post by **mistairs875** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 2:04 am

Ok, I appreciate the response, that's the main info I needed to know.... Well crap, lol, guess I won't get my lights installed tomorrow, I'll have to wait until I am able to get the right lights. Thanks!

Post by **triton28** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:52 pm

Actually the alternator is rated at 35 amps @ 7500 rpm, 13.5 Volts which would give 472.5 watts, or if using 12 Volts it would be 420 watts.
Remember though, these are NO LOAD figures and when all factory installed component systems are operating, the combined draw is the only way to tell if the 55 Watt lights, and any additional/other accessories would be too much draw for the output of the alternator. For example 2 of the 55 W driving lamps and the 55W headlight would total 165W which divided by 12 would yield 13.7 Amps.
As well, the alternator output only really starts around 1050 rpm and climbs from there so the killer is running at idle for extended time periods with a large draw on the charging system.
I think a forum poster once figured out the total "stock" draw on the alternator but I don't recall what it was.
Connecting a voltmeter across the battery terminals when running the engine and driving lights will give a good indication of draw. When you rev the engine above 1050 rpm the voltage should start to climb to 13 Volts.
Anything below 13 V is getting tricky so check what rpm and above you get 13 V at.
An onboard voltmeter is really the best way to go as one can see the charging rate while using cruise control, high beam, driving lights and listening to tunes on the tape player etc., etc. while riding.
Hope that helps,
Dave

Post by **Tonyvdb** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 8:08 pm

Thanks for the clarification Dave, boy was I off :bat:

But ya, LED is the only real option for driving lights if you want them to be bright enough to make a difference.

Post by **mistairs875** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 2:54 am

We're all allowed to be wrong once in a while lol. There's a few things I want to do to this bike over the winter (canadian so I only get to ride 6 months at best each year) so maybe I'll install a voltmeter then. Glad I found this forum. I'm quite sure I'll have other topics that I post. Like one that came up today and left me on the side of the road for 3 hours waiting for someone to come get me and my bike :bat:

Post by **timmerz_1** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:17 pm

Tonyvdb wrote:Best $18 you will ever spend on LED driving lights
https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Driving- ... ing+lights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have them and they are fantastic.

I like the looks of those, Tony..can you let me know where you mounted them, and how? The contained brackets don't look like they would work for our crash bars, and that's where I'd like to put mine...

Post by **Tonyvdb** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:41 pm

I mounted them on the lower front crash bars. This gives you a triangle of light for oncoming traffic to see you better.
I had a couple of stainless steel brackets laying around that worked well for mounting them but Amazon has clamps that will fit the 1" bars also.

Post by **Draxxis** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:15 pm

I have this pair in Cree brand. I have mine installed on the crash bars, angled slightly up and to the sides. I'm using mine more for lighting up the fields when I'm driving at night.

They work wonderfully! And I put a nice toggle switch just beside the CB Radio. Perfect placement for it. Wiring was easy to do.

Post by **SgtSlag** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:45 am

Most lights can be adapted to mount using clamps like these, from J&P Cycles. Cheers!

Post by **timmerz_1** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 11:06 am

Awesome, this helps immensely! Thanks much!

Post by **krasmu** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:01 am

this is the reason so many of us have converted our entire bikes over to LED. Helps with thel limited power the bike has to offer.

Post by **rdvrs49** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 10:56 pm

Picked these up off of Ebay last year. Over 10,000 miles, mounted low on crash bars with p-clamps.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181993207823?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Post by **Gr8wht** » Sat May 13, 2017 2:38 pm

Tonyvdb wrote:Best $18 you will ever spend on LED driving lights
https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Driving- ... ing+lights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have them and they are fantastic.

Looks like a great deal... I'm about to pull the trigger, but was wondering if you had to buy a mounting bracket kit for the crash bars, or did it come with what you needed already?

Post by **Draxxis** » Sat May 13, 2017 4:45 pm

I had older fog lights in my crash bars, so I just used those brackets. You will have to make something or buy something to wrap around the bars.

Post by **Michael** » Sat May 13, 2017 10:58 pm

mistairs875 wrote:Yes I know, but I have a friend that is a lot better with electrical than I am helping me to wire it up tomorrow, and I know where I can get a 55w pair of lights for $25 tomorrow, and they would be temporary, but includes all the wiring so the hard part would be over haha

No driving lights on my 2003, but on the 1993 I used 2 each Hella 500's mounted to the front tip over bars.
Never had an issue with battery drain in hot of very cold temps.
The Hella's put out an amazing amount of well focused light.

American Voyager Association

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