916 Headlights (powered by candle)
 

Wow, i forgot just how poor the low beam was on the 916. what can i do to either
A - make it brighter without risking meltdown of the loom etc etc
B - make is to both lamps are on

bimblimg over to wales lastnight i nearly ran over a badger which was in the road, only just missed it but would have seen it much sooner with some kind of useable lighting on the front.

Cheers all

Better Headlights
 

Check out this thread ...

http://ducatisportingclub.com/contro...d.php?tid=4116

Switching a Higher Bulb Wattage

The stock light switch is designed to switch 55 watts. In order to switch more than 55 watts you should use a relay that is sized for the higher wattage and then use the stock light switch to energize the relay. You also should use a thicker gauge wire between the battery, relay and bulb to handle the additional current draw. Also, even though the light assembly is glass the additional heat of (say) a 110 watt H1 bulb has the potential for melting any non-glass components nearby.

Electrical System Overload

Just the use of one 110 watt bulb exceeds the design capacity of the 916’s charging system. The reason that early 916’s only operated one headlight at a time is that the marginal charging system design can’t handle two 55 watt bulbs simultaneously. The problem stems from an electrical system design that includes a charging system of marginal capacity that results in constant high electrical demands on the components to maintain an adequate charging rate. The weakest link is the regulator. The problem is compounded by faulty stators, poor electrical connections, small-gauge wires, and inadequate cooling of the regulator itself.

[Edited on 11-30-2003 by Shazaam!]

well thats good news then .... lol, thanks Shazaam ...

what about those phillips blue ones...are they better??
Paul

If I need to ride in the dark at this time of year I just take the R6 out, at least on that I can see the corners/bends before I arrive at them, on the 916 by the time the headlight picks out anything your already on top of it unless your only doing about 30 MPH.

One option you might like to consider, although expensive, would be a HID conversion kit. They are about £300 and you'd need to stuff the balast box somewhere. They only draw the same 4.5 amps as the standard kit so all the charging & loom fear can be ignored. Another clear (excuse the pun) benifit is the fact that you can take the kit off when you sell the bike and transfer it to the new P&J.

Regards,

Rob

Change my bulbs for those Xenon jobies which helpd a lot !!!

I put Halford's own brand blue-tint bulbs in when one of mine went. I'd put these in the car and they do seem to produce a better quality (if that's the right word) of light than the more yellow bulbs.

They were about a pound more than ordinary bulbs so I thought it was worth the gamble and I think it has helped.

There's also the blue tinge to the light which is quite noticeable at a distance, and if that helps to get you noticed more on the bike by half-asleep car drivers, then that's a bonus too.

The plot thickens - noticed the light (candle) getting brighter and dimmer in quick bursts and not rev related. i reckon a bad earth is the likely culprit. it was actually sort of bright when it was at normal level, just a shame that it was only 50% of the time.

Bily - come pick the bike up please !!!