Basic Headlight Setup

ailgup · Jan 14, 2013

I was thinking about giving myself some light for night rides, they will probably be about 30 mins max but would like to have the ability for about 45 mins of light. My initial thought was a simple SLA
http://www.amazon.com/B-B-Battery-Series-Office-Product/dp/B0001XE11K

connected to these lights.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pcs-1500l...060394?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1e74f260aa

based on my quick calculations and the lights being 18w (when both are on) and the battery spec sheet http://www.zbattery.com/EP7-12.pdf it looks like this setup would last about 3-5 hours. Did i do my math wrong because this looks like something that could work very well if is true?? If possible a tail light would be awesome too if anybody has any suggestions i would be more than glad to hear them. I currently have one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3-In-1-...459?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c694a3af3
It works okay but is not bright enough.

Thanks
Chris

rudyauction509 · Jan 15, 2013

You will have plenty of time - I get 30 minutes easily running a 55 watt halogen headlight and a 10 watt tail light off of a 4.5ah 12v sla battery. The only problem: where to put the battery! mine's currently duct taped into the frame until I can figure out something better. And those led lights look really good. I might get a set for my high beam. Let us know how it works!

rudyauction509 · Jan 15, 2013

As for a tail light try a $5 red indicator light from a car parts store. You can make a mount out of metal plumbers tape and some nuts and bolts. Just get the thickest that you can find. It will be a little bigger and a lot brighter and run off of your battery.

ailgup · Jan 16, 2013

Thanks !! I'm getting a stop/tail light which has two intensities for night time and also for braking. I have an ammo can mounted to the side of my rear bike rack http://www.globalbikesonline.com/catalog/images/Rear Bicycle Rack.jpg

almost like a saddle bag. It has tons of room, was pretty cheap, is waterproof, and i can also mount my switches to the outside of it. Just waiting for the stuff to come in but when it does i hope to post some pics.

rudyauction509 · Jan 16, 2013

Sounds nice. how do you plan to hook up the brake light sensor?

ailgup · Jan 16, 2013

the cheap brake light setup i currently use has a decent switch already the only issue is the light it comes with is too dim, so the new tail light should solve that. I though about integrating one into the brake lever but since i have a duel cable lever it might be tricky.

rudyauction509 · Jan 17, 2013

you could epoxy 2 small steel wires (the kind that hold their shape), one on each piece of the lever and arrange them so they touch when the brake lever is not being pulled. They would trigger a $5 radioshack relay switch to turn the light on when the wires are apart. I was planning that until I managed to get my hands on an electric scooter brake lever that has a built in switch. Another simpler option is to epoxy a button onto the lever mount and a small piece of something on the lever to push it. I don't know where to find that kind of button but I'm sure they have them on ebay. Either way put everything under the lever so you don't see it as easily. Putting it inside the lever is possible but would take a lot of work depending on the lever. They're not designed to have anything other than the brake cable in them.

Do you have a link to the new light?

BarelyAWake · Jan 17, 2013

Just as a BTW, brake lever sets w/built in switches can be had for about $12 or so from various ebike vendors and/or ebay - they're meant to engage the regenerative braking function but would work just fine used for just a brake light switch instead;

Retrofitting a dual pull or levers with gear selectors remains a problem tho it's true...

rudyauction509 · Jan 17, 2013

I figured you could find them, he did mention he was using a dual brake lever, and I couldn't find one with a switch. And as for me, I like building things, even if it costs the same.
Seriously? e-bikes with regenerative braking??? that would be awesome where I live. Less brake pads and longer battery life on all of the hills. I wish that was possible with gas motors, my compression braking barely slows me down.

BarelyAWake · Jan 17, 2013

Yep, tho somewhat ironically I don't/can't use the switched levers (due to stock, built in gear selectors) for the regen function, instead utilizing a disused switch (horn) to engage the regen separate from the brake levers, which tho initially an act of desperation just to test the function, I've come to appreciate the separation and actually prefer to use it that way - only using the brakes to come to a full stop (regen disengages/ineffective at walking speed or less) or in a "panic stop" situation.

None of this helps w/the brake light lol, but the switches in those levers may be of some use, I've thought about a conversion for my combo gear selector/brake levers - but due to the above I've not bothered

ailgup · Jan 17, 2013

rudyauction509 said:
Do you have a link to the new light?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160953198206?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

got it for a good price and it should do the task.

ailgup · Jan 20, 2013

This is my idea of what i am thinking of doing. My main question is whether there is a better way to wire the headlights. I am currently using a spdt (on-off-on) switch. The first position will have one of the two headlights on and the second will allow both of the lights to be on. Without the blocking diode i think the second light would get backfed and turn on in both situations. I have some silicon diodes that i think will work, they are rated for 50V 1A max. Will this setup work??

rudyauction509 · Jan 25, 2013

I used a similar setup on my electric scooter. it worked great until I wrecked and destroyed the whole light. the circuit you drew looks like it should work great, but I would recommend using 3-amp diodes. They are $2 for 2 at radioshack and will handle the current much better. 10 watts at 12 volts is about 1 amp. Note that the low beam light will be slightly dimmer when you are in high beam because of the diode voltage drop.

locutus_1 · Jan 26, 2013

ailgup said:
I was thinking about giving myself some light for night rides, they will probably be about 30 mins max but would like to have the ability for about 45 mins of light. My initial thought was a simple SLA
http://www.amazon.com/B-B-Battery-Series-Office-Product/dp/B0001XE11K

connected to these lights.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pcs-1500l...060394?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1e74f260aa

based on my quick calculations and the lights being 18w (when both are on) and the battery spec sheet http://www.zbattery.com/EP7-12.pdf it looks like this setup would last about 3-5 hours. Did i do my math wrong because this looks like something that could work very well if is true?? If possible a tail light would be awesome too if anybody has any suggestions i would be more than glad to hear them. I currently have one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3-In-1-...459?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c694a3af3
It works okay but is not bright enough.

Thanks
Chris

way to big battery go 6 volt 5 amp... there only 10 bucks on ebay free ship

and go with a 3 watt headlight and 1 watt taillight.. so totall you will pull 400 mah an hour so do the math 400 mah by 50% of the battery 2.5 hours of light.. you dont want to go lower because the battery will never come back up so 50% is good.. that should be plenty of time..

ailgup · Jan 26, 2013

Thanks for all the advice I did notice a voltage drop across the diode, but when hooked up to the lights it is really not noticeable. Created a bracket for the rear light and it looks awesome. Still trying to figure out how i want to mount the headlights. As far as running a 6V system it might be better for some people but the amount of 12v lights out there ans the fact that i was able to get one of those 12v SLA's for free It seemed like the way to go for me.

Hope to get some pictures uploaded soon. Thanks for all the help.

locutus_1 · Jan 27, 2013

ailgup said:
Thanks for all the advice I did notice a voltage drop across the diode, but when hooked up to the lights it is really not noticeable. Created a bracket for the rear light and it looks awesome. Still trying to figure out how i want to mount the headlights. As far as running a 6V system it might be better for some people but the amount of 12v lights out there ans the fact that i was able to get one of those 12v SLA's for free It seemed like the way to go for me.

Hope to get some pictures uploaded soon. Thanks for all the help.

the vdrop can be up to 2 volts.. so if you need 12 volts use 14 and so on

12 volt sla backup batteries are heavy man just my opinion ive got one in front of me for my old ups backup heavy and there like 20 bucks where a 6 volt you can get for 10 bucks and free shipping on ebay.. and the company i used gave me 10% off my next purchase i cant remember who it was but they only sell sla batteries.. just dont let yours go down below 11 volts or your done for.. these dont like it.. its all up to you.. i see alot of 10 watt stuff and 12 volts thats for offroad bikeing where you are in total darkness on the street with street lights you just need to be seen by drivers and maybe alittle light thown out front to see

ailgup · Feb 6, 2013

Finally finished my lighting setup and it looks awesome!! Some details:
-12V 7.2Ah SLA Battery mounted in a ammo can (see pics)
-2 1500 lumen LED headlights
-1 stop/running tail light

There is a running light switch as well as a headlight switch mounted to the ammo can. The headlights can be either both on or only one on depending on the switch position. There is a switch inline with the brake line that closes when the brake is pulled engaging the brighter brake light. The whole things draws about .3 amps when fully on so it should be able to run for a good amount of time. Wiring diagram and exact items are available in previous posts.

ailgup · Feb 6, 2013

Some more pics, ya the brake light is pretty bright, it is DOT approved so I should have max visibility even during the day.

rudyauction509 · Feb 7, 2013

That looks great! Can you take a pic of the headlight shining on the street or a wall at night? that would show just how bright they are.

ailgup · Feb 19, 2013

Finally got around to taking some photos. The first one is with both lights on, the second is only one light, and the third is with nothing. These lights are very visible to cars and give me upwards of 40' of visibility. I'm still trying to play with the angle to give me the best lighting situation without blinding drivers. Once the weather gets nice I hope to use it more and determine how long the battery will last in between charges. Pardon the non rotated images.

Basic Headlight Setup

Member

New Member

New Member

Member

New Member

Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

Member

Member

Attachments

New Member

New Member

Member

New Member

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

New Member

Member

Attachments