Auxilliary lights 55 watts total?

[Guest]

Not really a performance mod but more of a safety issue I think.

On a couple of previous bikes (Yammies) I had installed small halogen driving lights mostly for conspicuity. I got in the habit of flicking them on as I approached intersections and when in heavier traffic.

I don't ride at night much if ever so I didn't really consider them for that and as they seem to draw lots of juice I figured not a good idea to run them all the time.

Today I was in the mood for a little project and I had recently been thinking of finding some white LEDs to mount on the front. I visited a few electrical type stores but couldn't find anything suitable. As I was meandering through Princess Auto I started looking at the driving lights thinking I'd look at what they had. What clinched it for me was a set of 3" "cats eyes", 55 watt halogens with complete wiring harness, switch and relay for $19 (Pilot made in Taiwan) .

Slick as butter install and they work well. I mounted them on the brackets for the horns so they are lower down and form a kind of triangle with the headlight. I figure that will work to help me stand out a bit more.

As I was testing them, I found that even with them on and the bike at idle it was still charging in the low 13Volts. Running it up to 3500 rpm and it still charges at better than 14V. So my question is ( and I couldn't find this written anywhere in the packaging) are the two lights rated at 55 watts each or in total and what would the draw actually be?

I couldn't locate my camera today for pics but I'll post some as soon as I can.

Cheers all,
Spyug

[Texas Don]

Ohm's law tell us in a closed circuit that P=IxE with P being the standard symbol for power expressed in watts, I for current in amps and E for voltage in volts. To solve your question just divide each side of the equation by E and it becomes: P/E=I or 55 watts divided by 14 volts equals 3.9 amps. This is electrical theory and doesn't exactly give the actual results. If you drop the voltage in the previous equation to 12 volts, the current draw increases to 4.5 amps. Hope this helps.
Don

[spyug]

Thanks Don. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd have gotten out my manuals and refreshed my memory. Unfortunately for me, electrical theory doesn't stay in my brain. I have always found electricity confusing. I can follow voltage around a circuit ( with a tester) but that's about it without help.

When I first put auxiliaries on my Yammies I hadn't thought much about the strength of the stators to power them but with delving into the charging issues recently I am now always concerned when wiring in more stuff.

So far, it seems like a working project so I'll chalk it up as a success.

Cheers,
Spyug

[pntrdave]

I've had the same aux. lights on my GS1000 ever since I lost my headlight one dark night. I don't run them often but if my headlight ever goes out again light will only be a click away. And I won't care if it drains my battery, as long as I can see to get home. I was about 5 miles from home one night about 11pm when my headlight went out. I switched to high beam and it was fine for about a minute then that went out also. Luckily there was a little moon, but it was still a long slow ride home. The next day I bought a new headlight, and a set of the cheap driving lights, the peace of mind is worth it.