Tecate LED Headlight Project *almost* Complete. PICS!

[Frankencelery]

Ok, I've got this project almost done and I wanted to share it. This was started in another thread about LED headlights. I bought two of these CREE 6-emitter LED lights from Online LED Store's Ebay store:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-18W-1-600lm-CREE-LED-Off-Road-ATV-Power-Sports-Street-Bike-Head-Light-Flood-/111366263950?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19edf2548e&vxp=mtr

I bought one spot and one flood. The plan was (and is) to use the flood as a low beam and the spot as the high beam.

Here they are mounted up. My 84 Tecate is the only one I've ever seen in real life (sheltered, I know), so I don't know if it's stock, but I've got a little shelf with ready-made mounting holes on the radiator guard. It isn't centered, which I admit bugs my sense of symmetry, but it was too good a location to pass up:

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That was the easy part. Then I had to get some stable DC power to run them. So I bought this Trail Tech Regulator/Rectifier on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Tech-7004-RR150-Regulator-Electrical/dp/B00JGRATRM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401334100&sr=8-2&keywords=trail+tech+regulator+rectifier

You can just see it in this picture. It's mounted underneath the standard round electrical plate:

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Then I had to add a headlight switch, and while I was at it, I replaced the crappy tether-style kill switch:

http://www.amazon.com/Technologies-Headlight-Switch-Function-12-0050/dp/B000GU0B80/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1401334332&sr=8-5&keywords=motorcycle+headlight+switch

Here's a picture of the switch on the trike:

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The bad news is that the switch is defective, and doesn't work in the high beam position unless you have it just in the right spot.


Then there's the wiring. I was thinking about using an outlet box of some kind and just stuffing the connections inside. Then I was inspired by Flyingw using a terminal block on his awesome 70 project, and decided to go that route. It makes troubleshooting easy if you have a problem, and also if I want to add a taillight later on. Note the round electrical plate mounted to the holes where the airbox would be. Since I don't have an airbox, this was the perfect place.

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Last, I used a big old computer capacitor that has to be there for the regulator to work properly. Trail Tech recommends their battery that costs $50, but I didn't really see the point. My mounting leaves something to be desired here, so that may need to be redone. I also noticed that something already pinched one of my wires, so I might need to do a little re-routing to the capacitor. BTW, I didn't do that horrible thing to the frame, it was that way when I got it! That not-Kawasaki green paint too....not my doing!

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...and finally, here's one with one of the LED headlights actually working. I am very impressed with the amount of light they throw.

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What's left to do is replace the bad headlight switch, and then run a diode between high beam and low beam so that when the high beam switch is on, both headlights are lit.

[jb2wheels]

That's excellent.

That "tray" is the stock mounting location for the original headlight. I've had 5 or 6 radiator guards pass through my hands in the last year or so and only one had the headlight mount intact.

I run the LED on my "Cyclops" red 85 of the stock AC lighting system using a $10 AC regulator. It flickers at idle but otherwise works fine.

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I like the capacitor setup. I might try that on my next project.

[toki]

gotta ask questions... even tho they have been answered 100 times im sure... and im sorry lol. i've been planning on stuffing 2 of those same lights into a 350x shell for my 83 250r

I'm not familiar with the tecate wiring, lighting, whatnot system at all. i'm assuming that it is the same as a 200x, 250r, whatever that does not have a battery? meaning that it outputs ac for the lighting? I thought that you had to float the ground from the lighting coil to use a DC reg/rec?

I would like to run the lights off the stock lighting ac current with a capacitor. but what kind of capacitor would be needed?

annnnnd. got a shot of how well they light up the night?

[jb2wheels]

Some LEDs run off AC and some wont.

Before I did any fab work, I actually used my bone stock 85 350X to test the lights.
I fired it up and, while it was running, connected the LED to the tail light plug (easiest to get to). The light came on so I figured it would run fine off AC.

I also have an LED headlight on my stock TRX70 - AC lighting and no battery. I use the same type of regulator on the TRX as the Tecate.
The 350X lighting system is regulated from the factory.
Having a regulator is a must. Without it, you will over-volt your LED and it does not matter AC or DC.

In theory, you should be able to plug the LEDs into the stock 350X lighting system with no other changes.

I actually have a set of lights like Frankencelery's for my 350X. I have not installed them. I will use them with the stock lights.

[Frankencelery]

gotta ask questions... even tho they have been answered 100 times im sure... and im sorry lol. i've been planning on stuffing 2 of those same lights into a 350x shell for my 83 250r

I'm not familiar with the tecate wiring, lighting, whatnot system at all. i'm assuming that it is the same as a 200x, 250r, whatever that does not have a battery? meaning that it outputs ac for the lighting? I thought that you had to float the ground from the lighting coil to use a DC reg/rec?

I would like to run the lights off the stock lighting ac current with a capacitor. but what kind of capacitor would be needed?

annnnnd. got a shot of how well they light up the night?

I don't have a shot of how well they light up yet. I will get that as soon as it's done and I can run both lights on the high beam position. I think the combination is going to be perfect. The "low beam" flood throws a very wide glow and you can see very well to the sides. Front view is good, but not exceptional. Then the "high beam" has a good throw but is rather narrow. So the combination is going to be very good, but I haven't actually seen them together yet.

The capacitor I'm using is from an old linear computer supply, and it's 50000uf/50v. I've long since forgotten the math to calculate the correct size to use, but I needed something big enough to prevent flickering at low RPM, and I had this one handy. Also, this particular regulator/rectifier requires a capacitor or battery to be there for it to work.

Floating the ground- I read that too, and I did not float the ground from the coil. The idea of taking apart my new Ricky Stator bugged me, so I was thrilled to hear when RS support told me that I do NOT need to float the ground. However, the ground on the lights IS floated, connected only to the black wire on the regulator/rectifier, and not using frame ground for the 12vdc output.

Lots of people have connected these LED lights to AC with no problem. However, I first hooked mine up that way, and though they're supposed to handle 12-30v, one of them blew instantly when I revved the engine. So you need an AC regulator at the very least. I don't like that because there's really no way of knowing what circuitry is in those lights that might not like extended reverse voltage. If it was just an LED, reverse voltage shouldn't hurt, but you have to imagine that there's some support circuitry in there that might not tolerate that over time.

[jb2wheels]

Lots of people have connected these LED lights to AC with no problem. However, I first hooked mine up that way, and though they're supposed to handle 12-30v, one of them blew instantly when I revved the engine. So you need an AC regulator at the very least. I don't like that because there's really no way of knowing what circuitry is in those lights that might not like extended reverse voltage. If it was just an LED, reverse voltage shouldn't hurt, but you have to imagine that there's some support circuitry in there that might not tolerate that over time.

I agree! I'm curious to see how long mine last. Not a real good test, though - I might only ride the things 4 or 5 weekends a year.

[shovelryder]

How to the bulbs work that ya buy at the parts store??? Ya know.....Take your 1157 out of its socket and plug in the new replacement LED version???? And ya dont need all the hassle? LEDs confuse me.

[Frankencelery]

How to the bulbs work that ya buy at the parts store??? Ya know.....Take your 1157 out of its socket and plug in the new replacement LED version???? And ya dont need all the hassle? LEDs confuse me.

I would think that the replacement LED bulbs should be fine for something like a taillight, but for a headlight, the directional-ness (new word, deal with it) is important. LEDs really don't throw light like an incandescent, so you have to do it differently. The reason for this project was that OEM Tecate headlights were nonexistent at the time I started this project, although I do see a couple on Ebay now. Go figure.

[toki]

ahhh so the 4 wire reg/rec has its own ground wire for the dc.? right? I've read some info in other posts that made me say "oh hell nah!". some people suggesting putting a rectifier on and using the frame as ground for everything without floating the ground, some people claiming that ALL atc's have regulator/rectifiers and there is no such thing as a shunt. bad info has me confused as to whats true!

i'll probably pick up a cheap 4 wire rectifier and see what happens. i dont want to have to pop my flywheel off and dork around in there again.

[Frankencelery]

ahhh so the 4 wire reg/rec has its own ground wire for the dc.? right? I've read some info in other posts that made me say "oh hell nah!". some people suggesting putting a rectifier on and using the frame as ground for everything without floating the ground, some people claiming that ALL atc's have regulator/rectifiers and there is no such thing as a shunt. bad info has me confused as to whats true!

i'll probably pick up a cheap 4 wire rectifier and see what happens. i dont want to have to pop my flywheel off and dork around in there again.

Well, on the average "cheap 4-wire" rectifier, you wouldn't get any regulation, and the overvoltage WILL destroy LED lights. That's exactly what I did the first time. I might have mis-spoken and said I hooked it up to the stator, but I used a full-wave bridge rectifier, and it still blew one of the LED units in about 5 seconds.

You're right, the Trail Tech Regulator/Rectifier has a separate ground for the DC circuit. Look at the wiring diagram here. I used the one on the first page:

http://gallery.trailtech.net/media/instructions/lights/regrec/010-ELV-116.pdf

So I connected the two yellow wires as follows: 1 to the stator output and one to frame ground. That's the ONLY connection that goes to frame ground. Everything on the output is grounded to the black wire coming out of the regulator, and not frame ground.

Does that make sense?

[jb2wheels]

... some people claiming that ALL atc's have regulator/rectifiers and there is no such thing as a shunt. bad info has me confused as to whats true!...

Here's what I know:
Most Honda hardtails and first gen 200X have an un-regulated (no regulator or shunt) AC lighting system. The lights are the regulator. Lose 1 and the others will blow when revved.
350X and 3rd gen 250R have a regulated AC lighting system.
First gen Tecates also have an un-regulated (no regulator or shunt) AC lighting system.

I run LED lights on my TRX 70 and 85 Tecate using the stock AC lighting system and a shunt type regulator (the little square aluminum box).
I will add LED lights to the 350X and possibly the 250R and run them along with the stock headlights. These trikes have lots of lighting coil. No need to add a regulator either. I just need to make mounts and wire 'em up.

I know zero about the 4 wire regulators or any of the DC conversions other than what I've read here.

[Frankencelery]

Got it done! The replacement switch came in, and while it does work, I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Poor quality.

I installed the diode between the positive on the low beam and high beam LEDs so that with the switch in the high beam position, both lights are lit.
Anyway, here's a couple pics, and a short video.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU8b_e4R2fQ&feature=youtu.be

[toki]

any update on how these lights are holding up?

im close to biting the bullet and buying a few.... its only been a year since i planned on doing it lol

[Xpress]

Just so everyone knows.... LED lights don't like AC power at all, and that's how you can easily burn them out. Make sure you get as clean of DC power as you possibly can running to the light, otherwise it might just go out on you when you're in the darkest place.

I had an LED light setup on my Tecate before the widespread availability of cheap and bright LED lights came about. I had a TT reg/rec that ran to a basic 12v gel battery that I mounted under where the airbox used to be, then I ran the power off of that to a switch, then to my LED. This way I at least had juice to run the LED light if my engine died for whatever reason. But it also required some careful thought to ensure I would still have enough power to charge the battery after running the LED. Running with just a capacitor is a much simpler setup, but then if your engine quits on you, you have no way to see. And as Murphy's law dictates, it will quit when you're the farthest away from home/camp and in the darkest area.

The lights I was using are a pair of Rigid Dually spotlights. I still use them, but just on my KLR to assist the high beam. My next plan is to use a pair of Baja Designs Squadron Sport LED's, one spot, one wide.

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[Frankencelery]

any update on how these lights are holding up?

im close to biting the bullet and buying a few.... its only been a year since i planned on doing it lol

Still working fine Toki, but with very few hours on the machine since I last posted. The headlight bracket broke, and I had to get it welded twice. The machine came out and ran yesterday and today, and that was the first time since September.

If something kills these LED headlights, it's going to be vibration. I'm really unhappy with the mounting. The brackets are hard-mounted to the bracket on the trike, causing a lot of vibration. If someone can think of a better way, I'd be interested in hearing it. Some kind of rubber grommet maybe?

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Sorry so filthy, everything is thawing out and is a mudhole.