White wire lighting system

[jeffspeeder]

ok i know which ones ur talking about ill go take alook in a few days once i get outta here.

 

[DougC]

Here's what my friend the electrical engineer had to say to me about this:

"The LED solution should be pretty easy. ...... A bright LED light draws way less tha 0.5 amps. Each LED probably draws aroung 1/10th that amount. You could have a 10-LED array and still draw less that the original 6V/3W lamp. ..."

Just thought i'd throw that out there as more food for thought...

I can add a few comments here:
--Firstly, every multi-LED light I have seen hasn't worked nearly as well as a comparably-priced LED light that uses one, good, well-focused LED backed with a proper reflector. LEDs without proper optics don't cast light very far.
--Secondly, you can get good high-output LED's pretty cheap now. http://www.theledlight.com/ has CREE leds for $14 each or so, if you can find a good LED-light reflector to mate them to. All you'd need (I think) to run these off a 6V dynamo would be the 200mA DynaOhm ($6) and a couple power diodes ($1 each?) on both sides of the LED to protect it. A CREE led is 1W @ 350mA so 200mW is going to be quite a bit less than a watt, but CREE leds are also something like 50% more lumens output than a Luxeon.
~

 

[gone_fishin]

update: in order to get a white-wire lamp (6V/3W) to burn and not kill the engine, you have to reduce the plug-gap so much it starts to carbon-up and lose power very quickly.

imo, the trade-off's not worth it.

oh, well. the gearhead in me really wanted this to work.

 

[dr_clabo]

Just a thought - perhaps a dumb thought:

I know that I am whipping a dead horse here.
But, here goes my wild ideas.
And, there are others that have the tools and resources to check or modify the concept.
Engineer, I am not.
Basic - Yes, however.

What about using a bridge (or rectifier, I suppose might be better?) to convert the AC to DC and use a battery as a crude "regulator"? This is somewhat similar to the old Honda 90's - similar, not the same.

A 3 watt bulb (4 Cell LED Maglight?) at 6 volts would draw 0.5 Amps.

The battery would take up the slack, so to say.
When lights are in the off position, there would be charging.
In the on position, there might be a slight drain (especially with a rear light or low current LED).

If a zener regulator was desired, so be it for the consummate techs.

This is crude, but just a thought. I am certain it has been thought of and perhaps shot down. I just didn't see mention of it in this thread or in search.

Excuse the schematic below, it was done in MS Paint and is as cruse as the concept.

If someone with the tools and resources wishes to give it a try, Please post results in a new thread to be easy located.

Thanks,
DC

NOTE/QUESTION: HAS ANYBODY HOOKED UP A 6V BATTERY TO THE WHITE WIRE JUST TO SEE IF THE ENGINE WAS SMOOTHER AT LOWER RPM?

 

[wayde]

light on white wire

i just hooked a generator light on the white wire and it is working great all I did was put the positive to the swicth then from the switch to the white wire. i had to run a ground wire cause of my suspension the light kit came the way I put it on no bulb changes no battery and no engine lagging or stalling

 

[BSA]

I'm working on the idea myself right now. The old dynamo lights that use 6volt 2.4 watt headlamp and 0.6 watt tail could be powered from the white wire through some form of voltage regulator, would work well in theory.

BSA

 

[cooltoy]

There are these really neat lights that I use that I get fromm the dollar store. They use 5 led bulbs, use two AA batteries and have a great chrome-like housing behind bulbs. You push the botton to give you "strobe-light" or left to right.right to left or flash on and off . There is also just an ON. They don't like the rain though and am going to try to solder wires to it to get rid of the batteries and to solve the water probs.They are bright and can be seen from miles away. I figure that if two AAs can power it, the white wire may do it.

 

[wayde]

2 aa's is only 3 volts the white wire is fluttering around 6 so the advantage is they are cheap if you blow them up

 

[wayde]

Norman do you have a pic of the light

 

[wayde]

norm the link isn't working