Another Freaking Headlight Thread

Started by Professor XR, Jan 29 2012 03:20 PM

25 replies to this topic

Professor XR

Posted 29 January 2012 - 03:20 PM

I know, I know! I'm an electrical moron. And I've spent the better part of the day debating a full dual-sport kit or just a headlight. Fortunately for the wallet, I've settled on just a headlight. This is what I bought:

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Now, here are my requirements:

-The ability to turn the light on and off so I don't have to waste it during the day, so a good handlebar switch.
-An HID kit that would be compatible with this headlight.
-Not running it directly off the battery.

So, what else do I need to make that happen? Thanks!

It does not come with a wiring harness--will I need one? Can I just get an HID harness?

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chuck4788

Posted 29 January 2012 - 03:51 PM

You'll need to know what type of bulb fits the lens unit, some common types are H6m, H3, and H4. HID kits are available for all but I think they only provide one beam. The pic of the back side shows a white and blue wires, common Honda wire colors for hi/lo beams. If the lens unit is plastic I suspecrt it takes a H6M bulb.

On one bike I use an old Honda handle bar switch that provides on/off and hi/lo. BD, TrailTech and others sell handlebar switches, some with all functions. Be careful with ebay switches some ground the horn which IMO is not good wiring practice.

Professor XR

Posted 29 January 2012 - 04:02 PM

chuck4788, on 29 January 2012 - 03:51 PM, said:

Thanks, Chuck. The headlight is actually designed for an XR250/400 and the rest of the XR family, so maybe I should seek out XR250 wiring/electrical components? That Trailtech light switch is really nice and I love the fact that it combines a kill switch--I'll probably end up getting that one. So with the headlight (I'll find out what bulb it uses when I get here) and a Trailtech switch, what else will I need in order to make the HID happen?

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chuck4788

Posted 29 January 2012 - 09:12 PM

Here is the info that I have on the Honda lens units:
Headlight plastic lens (uses a H6M bulb) #33123-KN5-671 $25 used on 86-87 XR200/250, 85 XR350
Honda plastic lens use a H6M bulb; 6v 25x/25w or 12v 35w/35w (also used by Maier)
Honda glass lens: #33123-MK2-671, uses H3 bulb, used on 1984+ XR250/350/400/500/600Rs
Honda glass lens: #33120-KV6-672, uses H4 bulb 60/55w 33100-KV6-672 used on XR250L/650L
And on bulbs:
H6M Bulbs

Type D base (aka H6M) is used in Honda plastic lens. used on XRs and CRF250/450X.

Honda 6volt 35/35watt #34901-383-611 (H6M bulb) used on 84-85 XR200/250, 83-85 XR350

Honda 12V 35w #34901-MN1-671 used on 88+ XR200/250, XR400/600/650

There is also a 12volt 35/36w bulb #34901-GJ1-003 used on the ATC350X & CRF250X/450X

I understand there is a 45/45 watt version.

H3 Bulbs Used in XR glass lens

Honda 12v 55w Halogen #34908-SA0-811 $1736 used in glass lens, used on 84-85 XR200R, 84-04 XR250R, 83-85 XR350R, 96-04 XR400R, 83-84 XR500R, 85-00 XR600R

H4 Bulbs Used in street glass lens

H4 bulb is Hi/Lo, (100W H4 bulbs can be purchased over the internet)

H4 bulb is physically the same as HB2 & 9003 bulbs

Honda #34901-MC7-601AH 12v 60/55watt, used on street bikes from 81-02

Honda #34901-MC7-602 12v 60/55watt, used on street bikes from 02 and on

Professor XR

Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:18 AM

Does this help?

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chuck4788

Posted 30 January 2012 - 06:40 PM

I don't recognise that bulb. The H6M bulb (called type D) has a flange around the metal base with three indexing notches.

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150ron

Posted 31 January 2012 - 08:59 AM

What you have is the same headlight type and same bulb i had on my 230, just check out my thread, and you'll see how i wired it to be turned on and off, whenever i wanted.

why not run it off the battery? imo thats the best thing to do.

that light is not the brightest tho.

Professor XR

Posted 06 February 2012 - 04:29 PM

150ron, on 31 January 2012 - 08:59 AM, said:

Hey Ron, I got the headlight in today. I put the rev box under the tank, wedged it between the two frame rails and zip-tied it so it won't go anywhere. I was checking out your thread, but can't seem to figure out how you did the wiring. Did you have to cut, splice and solder/electrical tape the switch wires to the headlight wires? Also, are the Trail Tech switch wires long enough to run all the way from the handlebars to the battery? Any help would be much appreciated!

I plan to put an HID kit on anyway, so I'm probably opening up a whole other can of worms.

150ron

Posted 06 February 2012 - 05:51 PM

ProfessorCRF, its pretty easy,

you have the light, and 3 wires coming out of it (you are lucky, my light had no wires at all, i had to figure out what was ground, hi/low and solder wires on the housing), one of the wires is ground, the others hi, and low, since you have a dual filament bulb,

get this switch

http://www.trailtech...040-HBS-02.html, but call and ask them if this is the one with the INLINE FUSE holder, thats what i got, if anything goes wrong, the fuse will blow, i cant seem to find the switch with the inline fuse on the site.

mount the trailtech switch,

disassemble your stock kill switch

TrailTech switch to the battery, RED to plus, BLACK to negative

Ground (BLACK WIRE) from switch to ground from light, and all together grounded at the frame, for headlight

hi to hi beam (YELLOW WIRE FROM SWITCH) to headlight

Low to low beam on light ( RED WIRE FROM SWITCH) to headlight

Remove the stock kill switch, and the wire that goes to the button, connect with the WHITE WIRE on the TrailTech switch, then the ground from the stock kill switch wire, connect with the BLACK GROUND WIRE from the TrailTech switch, and both of those to the frame, then your new kill switch will be on the new TrailTech switch.

Blue wire from the TrailTech switch is power to connect your tail light/brakelight

there you go, you will need to cut that harness of your headlight, and find out which wires is which, easy, just touch the yellow and red wires from the trailtech switch, and you will see which one is hi and low, have it grounded when you do this.

since you are allready doing this, you should really go ahead and spend the extra $35 bucks and get yourself one of those brakelight/running light dualsport rear brake light housing and a K&S mechanical brake switch, then with the supplied blue wire from your trailtech switch, it will power the rear brake running light and give power to the K&S mechanical brake swich, so when you step on the rear brakes, the brake light will get very bright,

post up some pics, id like to see what its gonna look like.

oh btw, i also put my stock rev box in that exact same spot that you put yours, with zip ties too, lol, it was solid tho, never moved.

if you need anymore help, let me know, its actually a really fun project.

Professor XR

Posted 06 February 2012 - 06:37 PM

#10

150ron, on 06 February 2012 - 05:51 PM, said:

Awesome--thanks so much! Just a few questions. How did you actually ground the wires? Did you just find a screw in the frame and tighten it down over the wires? Is this the switch you're talking about? http://www.trailtech.net/3600-PWH.html

I will post pictures as soon as I get that switch in!

150ron

Posted 06 February 2012 - 07:44 PM

#11

That is exactly the switch i am talking about, thats the one i got, dont know why i couldnt find it today, red and blk to battery, blue to back light, white and black to kill switch, red and yellow to light, hi/low, and ground,

what i did for ground, is the ground from the switch+ the ground from the light + the ground from the kill switch, soldered those all together with another long wire, then the single wire, i hooked that up, to the stock place where the stock number place bolts too, you wont be using that anymore, so just take the stock bolt from your number plate, wrap the wire around that bolt, and thread it into the same place it used to go into to hold the number plate on.

so you getting a rear light too? they look nice on there, and if you ever wanted to ride at night, it looks street legal.

before i got my DS, i used to go on night rides with the crf on the street, lol, cause at night its dark, and the headlight and brake light/rear running light, seemed like it was street legal, never had any issues, and i used to cruise around at night quite a bit.

Professor XR

Posted 12 February 2012 - 10:21 AM

#12

150ron, on 06 February 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

Cool--that switch should be in this week. But before I mess with it, I wanted to ask you about hooking this up: http://www.ddmtuning...orcycle-HID-Kit

travellinjack

Posted 13 February 2012 - 09:03 PM

#13

I have a 230 that has a headlight that is wired to the battery directly via a switch, but I really would like to rewire it so that the ignition key will shut off power to the headlight (if I forget to shut off the light).

The manner in which you are wiring your headlight to the TrailTech switch, does the ignition key cut power to that switch? How would you do that if you wanted to?

I do like that trailtech switch; my switch needs to be replaced anyways and I think I'll get that one.

chuck4788

Posted 14 February 2012 - 08:32 AM

#14

150ron, on 06 February 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

....................................................

What i did for ground, is the ground from the switch+ the ground from the light + the ground from the kill switch, soldered those all together with another long wire, then the single wire, i hooked that up, to the stock place where the stock number place bolts too, you wont be using that anymore, so just take the stock bolt from your number plate, wrap the wire around that bolt, and thread it into the same place it used to go into to hold the number plate on.
.............................

The fork triples and handlebars are not a good ground because the steering head bearings separate them from the chassis and the grease in the bearings is not a good electrical conductor. For safety reasons Honda always brings the kill switch ground back under the tank to a frame ground, battery ground, or coil ground point A better ground is to connect the long wire back under the tank to a factory ground point.

For better mechanical and electrical connections I suggest using crimp connectors and lugs, and then applying solder to seal the connection to prevent corrosion. A lug under a bolt is a much better connection than bare wire especially for something as important for safety as head light or kill switch operation. Also make sure the ground attachment point is clean bare metal.

150ron

Posted 14 February 2012 - 09:37 AM

#15

chuck4788, on 14 February 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

Gr

The fork triples and handlebars are not a good ground because the steering head bearings separate them from the chassis and the grease in the bearings is not a good electrical conductor. For safety reasons Honda always brings the kill switch ground back under the tank to a frame ground, battery ground, or coil ground point A better ground is to connect the long wire back under the tank to a factory ground point.

For better mechanical and electrical connections I suggest using crimp connectors and lugs, and then applying solder to seal the connection to prevent corrosion. A lug under a bolt is a much better connection than bare wire especially for something as important for safety as head light or kill switch operation. Also make sure the ground attachment point is clean bare metal.

hi, it wasnt on the forks or the triple clamps, it was on the actuall frame, the part that extends out and then the forks and all that stuff attache to, (slides into) but yes, i see what you are saying and agree.

Professor XR

Posted 15 February 2012 - 04:08 PM

#16

Okay, that eBay headlight I got uses some weird bulb, so screw it: Plan B. Plan B consisted of me buying a 1997 XR250 headlight off of eBay and planning to sell the other one. Now, I got the Trail Tech switch in today, which is very nice!

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I wired it to the battery first.

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Then yanked out the old kill switch wire and connected the new plug.

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I grounded the TrailTech kill switch at the frame.

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Now what do I do with this ground wire? Is this needed for the old kill switch, or is it for the clutch?

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Awaiting the new headlight and HID kit, coming soon.

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Professor XR

Posted 05 March 2012 - 02:40 PM

#17

I ditched that eBay headlight in favor of a 1997 XR250 headlight, then I installed a DDM tuning kit, thanks to lots of help from Gabechroust. This is a perfect setup for the trails, as the Trailtech switch enables the light to be turned on and off and combines the kill switch in the same housing. There's even a wire for hooking up a tail light if I feel like installing one down the road. Look at how bright this damn thing is: