Sealed beam to halogen headlight conversion in Vetter fairing

[Guest]

Has anyone converted the sealed beam headlight in the Vetter 4 fairing to the halogen type that uses a single bulb and separate reflector? I'm almost finished with the fairing addition project on my 1980 GS1000G but am really disappointed with the light output of the halogen sealed beam that I purchased for the install- a cheap 9 dollar unit from the parts store. It does say "halogen" on the glass but it's nothing to write home about.

Its light output is noticeably less than the stock headlight on the bike and it seems to REALLY suck the battery such that even a turn signal now causes the headlight to modulate. Is there a direct replacement kit that anyone would recommend? I can see my alternator/ battery having some real problems with this setup and I don't want to get stuck with a dead battery because of this.

I've already ordered LED 1157 bulbs to reduce current to the turn signals and running lights but from experience, I know that crappy sealed beam is not going to produce enough light to ride safely at night.

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks, Mark

[Mickeymoe]

BTW, I just took apart the original Suzuki headlight and noticed that the housing and bulb are a direct fit into the fairing in place of the sealed beam so I switched them over no problem. MUCH better light and seemingly less drain on the battery. This is probably common knowledge on the forum- I figured I'd check and lucked out.

[azr]

I installed an LED H4 bulb in my Vetter 4 but I did have to cut the back of the headlight housing a bit in order to make it fit. Nice bright, white light. Great for the dark winter days.

[Mickeymoe]

I installed an LED H4 bulb in my Vetter 4 but I did have to cut the back of the headlight housing a bit in order to make it fit. Nice bright, white light. Great for the dark winter days.

Rob, Do you know how many amps and/ or the power rating of the H4 bulb? Nice bright, white LED light sounds mighty good with these drivers that say "they never saw him...."

Also, and again, probably the subject of another discussion, has anyone found an LED replacement for the headlight bulb? I hear "stories" here and there, and, I see some on Ebay but am looking for a recommendation based on someone trying one.

Mark

[Steve]

Has anyone converted the sealed beam headlight in the Vetter 4 fairing to the halogen type that uses a single bulb and separate reflector?

I see that you already have that sorted out, so I'll just answer your next question.

I've already ordered LED 1157 bulbs to reduce current to the turn signals and running lights ...

First of all, why do you feel the need to "reduce the current" to the signals? Reducing the load on the stator is only effective if you have also converted to a series-type R/R. Otherwise, you are actually stressing the stator more by forcing the R/R to shunt more current back through the stator that is not being used by the bike.

Next, if you simply substitute the stock bulbs for LEDs, your flasher will not work. The lights will come ON, but they will not flash. You will either need to install a load resistor to simulate the orignial load (and there goes any current saving you had in mind) or you will have to install a flasher that will work with the minimal load of LEDs. There, you are going to have some fun, because the ONLY flasher in the world that will work is the stock one from Suzuki, unless you do some wiring modifications.

There are three pins in the flasher socket. Your new LED flasher has three pins. Great. WRONG. The third pin on the LED flasher is meant to be connected to a chassis ground. The third pin on the stock flasher goes to the Turn Signal Control Unit (TSCU), which determines when the flashing cycle stops for the auto-cancel signals. It is NOT a chassis ground.

One solution is to cut the wire that goes between the flasher and the TSCU and connect the side that goes to the flasher to a ground point. This will work, but you will lose your auto-cancel signals.

Another solution involves some electronic gadetry in the form of a micro relay that the TSCU can use to control the chassis ground wire on the LED flasher.

One other thing to keep in mind: You may have to look for a while to find an LED 1157 that works and has an acceptable difference between the LOW and HIGH 'filaments'. A
nd then you need to make sure it has a dispersion pattern that will fill the reflector and lens, not just be a bright spot in the center.

Bottom line: It's not gonna be "plug and play". And if you DO find something that's "plug and play", it's not gonna be cheap.

Also, and again, probably the subject of another discussion, has anyone found an LED replacement for the headlight bulb? I hear "stories" here and there, and, I see some on Ebay but am looking for a recommendation based on someone trying one.

We have had a few discussions about LED replacements for the headlight. Some have found modest success with the offering from ADV Monster. I tried one in the rectangular Hella reflector I had on my 850 (in the frame-mounted fairing seen in my signature) but did not like it AT ALL. Tried the same bulb in a couple of stock 7" reflectors, they were better, but still had no beam that projected down the road. They lit up the foreground for about 50 feet like daylight, but I tend to outrun a 50-foot illumination patternn rather easily. Instead of replacing just the bulb, many of us have changed the entire light assembly (lens, reflector and bulb) for a unit from TruckLite. Make sure you are sitting down when you see the price, it's possible that you got your bike for less money, but the light output is FANTASTIC.

.

[azr]

Steve's got some great info there. I put the LED bulb in mine from ADV monster but again Steve's right, at night it's not project far enough. I've never put the money out for one of the Truck Lite headlights but I bet they are amazing, and they had better be for the cost, $300 Canadian for the 27012 model

[cowboyup3371]

The Trucklites almost turn night into day - I have one on my bike and one on Charmayne's and we love riding at night now with them.

[Steve]

... $300 Canadian for the 27012 model

Down here, $300 will almost get you a pair of them, with enough change left over to grab a burger. CLICK

Not sure why you are looking at the 27012 model. It is apparently a nice reflector assembly, but with a standard incandescent bulb.

The one that we like so well is the 27270C.

.

[Mickeymoe]

The reason I'm trying to reduce the load on the alternator is simple- THE BIKE HAS NO KICK STARTER! I rode my GS850G with a full Vetter setup for 25 years and went through almost as many batteries. If I was riding around the city with a passenger at lower RPMs, stop for coffee, etc, many times I'd come out to a dead battery and have to roll start the bike. Granted, I had some extra lights in the Vetter top mount trunk but if the system is designed to only supply enough output to keep the battery charged with the factory load (nothing wrong with that), than I have to resort to LEDs and other power savers now that I've put on the faring, bags, trunk etc.

BTW, I'm only going to run LED 1157s in the front (fairing) and I think the heating effect of the current draw of the rear signals will trip the flasher. It may take longer, but it will probably work. I'm also going to put some type of single-filament LED bulbs in the Vetter trunk so I don't want to end up with the same scenario as my GS850. Am going to install a high-impedance DVM (digital volt meter) to keep track of the charge voltage.

I know there are all sorts of things one can do to improve the existing system like increasing wire gauge, removing resistance by removing plug in connectors that reduces current flow and resulting voltage, etc. Every connection that I make is soldered and shrink tubed- no crimp connectors. It bothers me to even add a fraction of an ohm into the circuit because of the resultant voltage drop.

I'm also adding a radio/ speaker/ Vetter setup above the dash that will draw current too. On my last bike I ran the whole system off a small 10ah battery hidden in the fairing, which I would charge after each long ride.

I'm not ready to take the bike apart and install a larger alternator yet, will see how much I can reduce the current draw in the lighting system (at least) with LEDs.

A millennial told me the other day to put one of those small "solar panels" on the dash and that will solve my problem. Then he went back to fingering his cellphone.

Yea. 25ma in FULL SUN is really going to make a valuable contribution!

Mark