Headlight options w/o a stator rewind?

[rider119]

I've done some digging but haven't seemed to be able to find anything concrete on the topic. I need to replace my headlight, bulb is burned and the previous owner decided to chop the top of the plastic off the housing. Anyway, I know the stators are not the greatest on these bikes, but are there any LED options out that give sufficient lighting for night riding but don't require a rewind? At least good enough light to make it home is all that I need, but actually bright enough to ride would be nice.

Thanks

[roleyrev]

14 hours ago, rider119 said:

I've done some digging but haven't seemed to be able to find anything concrete on the topic. I need to replace my headlight, bulb is burned and the previous owner decided to chop the top of the plastic off the housing. Anyway, I know the stators are not the greatest on these bikes, but are there any LED options out that give sufficient lighting for night riding but don't require a rewind? At least good enough light to make it home is all that I need, but actually bright enough to ride would be nice.

Thanks

I think that most LED lights will be brighter and draw less current than the standard halogen lamp.  I think that the lamp circuit is AC so a rectifier is required to run an after market LED lamp on the bike.  There are a few to choose from.

[rider119]

I think that most LED lights will be brighter and draw less current than the standard halogen lamp.  I think that the lamp circuit is AC so a rectifier is required to run an after market LED lamp on the bike.  There are a few to choose from.

Thanks for the response. So the charging system on this bike uses AC for the lighting circuit but DC for everything else if I understand correctly. Would running a LED straight off my battery, albeit with a hi/lo

/off switch, work? Would the battery get a better charge since the AC circuit wouldn’t be powering anything?

 

If I got a rec for the AC circuit, I assume that just get wired in line just before the light itself?

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Also, would running a 55/65w bulb hurt in the mean time? I know the stock unit is 35/35w

 

[roleyrev]

1 hour ago, rider119 said:

Thanks for the response. So the charging system on this bike uses AC for the lighting circuit but DC for everything else if I understand correctly. Would running a LED straight off my battery, albeit with a hi/lo

/off switch, work? Would the battery get a better charge since the AC circuit wouldn’t be powering anything?

 

If I got a rec for the AC circuit, I assume that just get wired in line just before the light itself?

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Also, would running a 55/65w bulb hurt in the mean time? I know the stock unit is 35/35w

 

I'd think that the 55/65w light would be ok.  The AC part of the generator is separate to the part that charges the battery.  You would be best to fit a rectifier to the headlamp supply as the battery circuit charging is marginal it best. Some of the better brand of aftermarket LED lamps have rectifiers as an option.

[rider119]

How many watts can i expect to get out of a rec in the headlight ac circuit?

[roleyrev]

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 6:26 PM, rider119 said:

How many watts can i expect to get out of a rec in the headlight ac circuit?

Everything that I can find says about 60watts. You may want to do some research on a rewind, which, I believe can achieve about 100watts or stick to LED lamps, I'm sure you can make it bright as a bright thing with 60 watts worth of LED's 

[kxlubber]

Any updates?

[wielywilly-g]

This is interesting.  If I replace the 35W stock halogen with a 12V LED bulb same shape and size, I should get something out.  After all, LED is just a diode, it should turn on half the AC cycle.   I am going to look into this.

[odd401]

ive been trying out leds on mine and none ive tried are worth a crap,they work,but flicker at idle,kinda funny these companies that make these leds dont tell you that you need a rectifier or sell them or offer them as an option,most people wouldnt know they need dc power, i thought the headlight on the klx was dc powered,ive tried the 55/65 watt and it doesnt light up bright enough to ride,what ive tried is a lower wattage single filament bulb and just wired it to the bright side lead and light output is ok for now.so this means the stock computer is ac as well?im wiring a trailtech voyager and was gonna tap the power off it,but id better just run power off the battery for now

[DroppinDeuces]

3 hours ago, wielywilly-g said:

This is interesting.  If I replace the 35W stock halogen with a 12V LED bulb same shape and size, I should get something out.  After all, LED is just a diode, it should turn on half the AC cycle.   I am going to look into this.

These folks have complete kit for a good price. Takes out some of the guess work.              http://stores.advmonster.com/led-lights/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               This diagram is for TOYOTA Land cruiser LED conversion, but it's a POLARISED version and shows the proper wiring for relay operation via a switch, with the bonus of driving lights operated via the high beams.                                                                                                                                                                             

Edited November 17, 2019 by 00boob

[DroppinDeuces]

On 2/6/2019 at 9:34 AM, rider119 said:

I've done some digging but haven't seemed to be able to find anything concrete on the topic. I need to replace my headlight, bulb is burned and the previous owner decided to chop the top of the plastic off the housing. Anyway, I know the stators are not the greatest on these bikes, but are there any LED options out that give sufficient lighting for night riding but don't require a rewind? At least good enough light to make it home is all that I need, but actually bright enough to ride would be nice.

Thanks

You may need to buy one of their headlamps as that is the output these regulators are designed for but here is a place to start. GOOD LUCK!    https://www.bajadesigns.com/kawasaki-lighting-technical-support/              http://i2admin05.webstorepackage.com/baja2/virtualweb/images/klx450r-regulator-installation.pdf                                                                                                                                                                       

[rider119]

I have actually sold this bike, never did anything with the lights, didn't feel like it was worth the time. I am however looking into making a self contained total loss LED headlight for my YZ250x. Just use 3s large 5000mah LiPo rc car batteries. 3s batteries will give off a bit over 12v fully charged and can be run down to around 20% charge. So at 12v and 5000mah I can get 60watts. So at 80% efficiency I can get 1hr of light for every 1amp worth of LEDs I power. This will all be in a self contained unit that I can quickly strap on or take off, even move to another bike. Might be worth looking into for these KLX's. Good luck!

Edit: each battery pack is around 6" x 2" x 2" and the weight is around .75lbs. Add as many batteries as you need.

Edited November 18, 2019 by rider119

[wielywilly-g]

On 11/17/2019 at 11:27 AM, odd401 said:

ive been trying out leds on mine and none ive tried are worth a crap,they work,but flicker at idle,kinda funny these companies that make these leds dont tell you that you need a rectifier or sell them or offer them as an option,most people wouldnt know they need dc power, i thought the headlight on the klx was dc powered,ive tried the 55/65 watt and it doesnt light up bright enough to ride,what ive tried is a lower wattage single filament bulb and just wired it to the bright side lead and light output is ok for now.so this means the stock computer is ac as well?im wiring a trailtech voyager and was gonna tap the power off it,but id better just run power off the battery for now

It is DC, as is the stock meter, relays, and the starter.  AC Headlight, AC to the rectifier, and AC to the ignition sensor.  There is a nice schematic in the service manual.

[crazyal426]

Cyclops Adventure sport can hook you up with the proper LED upgrade with an LED rectifier to make it all work.

 

[NYMXer]

12 minutes ago, crazyal426 said:

Cyclops Adventure sport can hook you up with the proper LED upgrade with an LED rectifier to make it all work.

 

^^^ THIS^^^

Going LED is your best bet without breaking the bank

[crazyal426]

You really need to have the stator rewound.  It is a great upgrade and you won't be overworking the lighting system.