Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Hi,
I have been told that LED lights are only legal if fitted as original equipment although I still intend using them !!

Is this true?

Keith

This post also links with Rob Jameson's thread re Halogen bulbs http://forum.arielownersmcc.com/viewt ... 3&start=40

See photo's - This is an LED headlight 'bulb', a 6v battery and a DC-DC converter.
LED Headlight is now around AU $25 delivered - 6000k, 1850 Lumens 6v - 36v
DC DC converter is around AU $10 delivered 6V - 30V, 100w rated

The headlight does work at 6v, and would be acceptably bright for daytime and city running (similar to 6v 35w globe).
At 12v, the light is very bright. Hence the DC DC converter. Brightness could be further increased with inc. voltage.
Bulb is triangular - 2 sides = low beam , 3 sides = high beam

* as the bulb will operate at 6v, the DC DC converter can be bypassed if it fails.

Via the multimeter, 13V * 1.16A = 15.1 Watts (low beam)
13V * 1.75A = 22.75 Watts (high beam)
There is perhaps a 10% loss - say 3W in the converter.

Advantages? -
Very bright headlight (maybe a bit safer).
Low current draw, lower load on generator.
Long Globe life - 3000+ hours
Low cost - no need to replace existing 6v regulator, battery, globes etc. Around AU$ 35 total.
Long beam life on a battery charge. For those who do not have a working dynamo, the light will last for several hours.
Access to 12v for other equipment (satnav etc.)

Disadvantages?
Not original equipment
White light - original is yellow/orange
Some "fettling" of globe to fit headlight reflector (50's or aftermarket reflector needed). Globe needs to be positioned so that the two low beam LED's point down (less dazzling). I have it fitted in a 6 1/2" MU42
Two voltages (spares etc) - it would be simpler to be 6V or 12V

This is not the only solution - but it is a cheap, easy and effective.
Brenton

I am planning on writing an article on this for chevalier when I get round to it, there are some legal issues surrounding some options, in the uk at least

Hopefully legal issues for the UK that are based on common sense!
Here in Aus, the ADR (rules) apply to over 2000 lumens - more HID territory. You then need to have some sort of lens washing system.
These bright lights can be dazzling though. It's important to do the right thing by other road users. You an see in the photo above the difference between 2 and 3 Led's.
When the globe is set in the headlight so the lower two sides face down and the top face is high beam, you can look at the light, so it won't dazzle anyone while on low beam. As can be seen, high beam is much brighter.
Focus is also important. There's a positioning screw and a slotted 'keeper' on the base of the globe that allows the led's to be positioned in the same place as globe filaments.
Regards, Brenton

News from the LED front.

After very good results with one mounted in my cammy I've ordered a second batch of 3 for other Ariels.

THE NEW ONES DOES NOT WORK WITH 6 VOLTS, the first one did. They start glowing from 8 Volts onwards and are good as the first one with 12Volts.

I've contacted the Chinese supplier but have no reply until now.

Markus

For further information please have a look into the other thread. 'Cibie.....'

Markus

As always, consistent quality is impossible with Chinese suppliers. I have done projects where they bought Chinese materials and had to buy twice as much as needed to get what was required to finish the job.

Frank

Just fitted one of these to my Huntmaster, straight replacement for the original BPF http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.c ... s-shop.php Expensive but I consider it worth it. The very white light is brighter than the QH I've tried before and much brighter than the standard bulb. I'm still running 6v but the same bulb is apparently good for 6-12-24 volts and comes in pos. or neg. earth.
With a standard bulb I needed to be showing 35 mph on the speedo for the ammeter to "break even, this is now down to 27 mph. I've just ordered a led stop / tail from them to see if it drops down even lower.
It's hard to describe but............... Although the road is much better lit up both on main beam and dip, white lines, cats eyes and signs glow back at you, the light seems somewhat "thinner"? Not restricted on width of vision or anything, but it seems that although I can see the road much better the light beam is lacking substance?
Still my conclusion is I can be seen and see much better and won't be draining the battery so much getting stuck in traffic so it's a thumbs up from me.
Colin

I bought two 12v LED headlamp bulbs from here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321699777091? ... EBIDX%3AIT

£22 delivered for BOTH. received in less than 2 weeks.

The light is much, much whiter and brighter.
HOWEVER, the usability of the light is seems much more dependent on the headlamp glass design. With my WNG, I get a halo across in front of me and the KH gets more of a scatter. In this respect, I don't think I have gained much additional visibility out in front over my halogens.
The headlamp glass can only be orientated in one way, I think.

Where there is benefit though, is with the power consumption.
With LED's in all the lights (front, back, panel, speedo etc) then there is no discernible drop in the ammeter and I can just about pick it up on a voltmeter across the battery ... even without the engine running. This would mean that in the event of a charging system failure, then I am going to get hours of "get me somewhere where I can fix it" light before things go dark.
Of course, the dynamo hardly has to do anything now and can easily make up the tiny draw at only a little above idle (on 12v).

I didn't try it in my 6v bikes ... but I will now.

Hi John, on vintage bikes the headlamp bulbs had to be focused manually, your description of halos and scatter being typical signs of an out of focus bulb. Perhaps moving the LED in or out may improve matters.