Need some lighting help. By scudder (Read 1,124 times)

[scudder]

I am going to try and add halogen lights to my scoot so I could actually see at night. My question is this: If I get an 11 pole stator do I also need to get a new rectifier? If so, what kind? If anybody has a better idea I would love to hear it. Perhaps HID lights would work out better?
Thanks for the help.

[monkeywrench]

I'd definitely prefer HID's over halogens. Halogens require more power than your stock headlights--which you would compensate for with the 11 pole stator--but then they heat up your headlight housing more which worries me about melting plastic. And the HID's put out more light even than the higher power halogens.

I don't know for sure what your 150 is running, but if it's supporting two 25 or 35W headlights stock, then you could put in two HID's-they are usually 35W. If it runs only one now, you'd probably want to just put in one. That way you don't have to worry about overloading your charging system. Changing everything else over to LED's would give you an extra margin.

I'm assuming you've determined the format (H4, etc.) so you can get a bulb that will get along with your housing and reflector.

[mthomas]

Just an FYI, I installed 45w standard bulbs in mine and have had no issues with melting the housing. I have NOT ridden at night so I can't tell about the visibility. I got the bulbs from Bulbtown and they were $1.25 each with a $6 flat rate so I got 4 bulbs for a little over $11.

[Cruiser]

All of the above info is good, scudder. There is one additional item to remember and that is HID's require a DC feed. If your scoot is the same as many 50cc and 150cc scoots, then the headlights are running on AC from the stator and not off the battery. HID's have to be connected to the battery and would add an additional load to the DC charging circuit that might be too much for the system. Changing over to an 11 pole stator and matching magneto would require a rectifier that matches the wiring connections for the stator. Some people have converted their scoots to full DC (combining the AC and DC portions of the stator), but that also requires some rewiring and a new regulator/rectifier. Scoots with 17 or 18 pole stators are usually all DC and make excellent choices for the HID conversion. Like jrryan suggested, go with LED's. This might save you enough power to run the HID's off the battery without overloading. I would try this before changing over the stator.

[scudder]

Thanks for all the info. I think the main problem with the headlights on my scoot is a poor optic design so I am going to try and use a new housing. I looked at HID lights on ebay and that does seem like the most bang for the buck. I only need the lights to last for an hour, so maybe I can just hook the battery up to a float charger every night and I will change out to LED lights for the blinkers and tail/brake lights. I will post the results as I go!

[monkeywrench]

I'm not familiar with the divided AC/DC electrical system. If indeed the stator output that powers the headlights is not available to charge the battery, HID's are going to be problematic. They definitely need DC, and it really needs to come right off the battery for best operation. The best HID hookup is to power just a relay from the regular headlight circuit, and use the relay to switch power from the battery to the HID ballast. And unless the power required by the HID's is being supplied to the battery by the stator, the battery will discharge. Assuming the battery has sufficient storage to supply the need until you get home, the float charger idea should work.

[scudder]

I have been looking at the local auto parts stores and have found the LED's and a buddy gave me a stator to try out of a totaled scooter. I will keep everyone updated.

[turtle8]

Apr 17, 2010 20:01:30 GMT -6 scudder said:

Thanks for all the info. I think the main problem with the headlights on my scoot is a poor optic design so I am going to try and use a new housing. I looked at HID lights on ebay and that does seem like the most bang for the buck. I only need the lights to last for an hour, so maybe I can just hook the battery up to a float charger every night and I will change out to LED lights for the blinkers and tail/brake lights. I will post the results as I go!

On my scooter, I think the reflector is of bad design. The light is distributed in a hap-hazard manner. Is this what you mean by "poor optic design"? If so, where would find a better housing?

[scudder]

Apr 20, 2010 19:28:19 GMT -6 turtle8 said:

[On my scooter, I think the reflector is of bad design. The light is distributed in a hap-hazard manner. Is this what you mean by "poor optic design"? If so, where would find a better housing?

Yes, the reflector design on my scoot is useless. I am afraid that if I simply put an HID bulb in the current housing the results will not be that great. Adding a new housing will be neccesary, but I have not found anything that will work yet. Any suggestions?

Here is a pic of my scoot for reference, it's the one on the left.

[Cruiser]

Part of the problem with upgrading headlights is the fact that the original reflectors are not always designed for the particular bulb that you are installing. In some cases, they don't even work well with the OEM bulbs. HID bulbs have the light source turned 90 degrees from a conventional bulb. This will definitely give you a different light pattern. Using the adjuster screws to re-aim the headlights will help. I have not seen any replacement reflectors which can match to different bulbs. The fact that HID's are much brighter helps to overcome to some extent the mismatch with the reflector. Another HID plus is that you definitely will be seen much better in daytime driving.

[scudder]

I tried to remove my flywheel but the flywheel puller would not thread in. I am sure it is the right size (27mm). It feels as though it may be the wrong thread pitch. A guy at my work suggested trying out some lights called PIAA. Any thoughts? So needless to say, I have not made any progress so far, but this weekend should prove productive.

[Cruiser]

The flywheel pullers for these scoots are almost universal. 27 X 1 MM left hand thread. Make sure you turn counterclockwise when mounting it on the end of the flywheel.