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CB Interference from EC LED headlights

10K views 32 replies 8 participants last post by  dadztoy 
#1 ·
So I was on a ride with a buddy a while back and noticed that my CB would not squelch... It took a squelch adjustment of 14 before it would quiet... Today I got a chance to troubleshoot it a bit and just playing a hunch, I pulled the 15 amp fuse for the low beams (LED's) and the CB quieted and the squelch was back to it's normal setting of 4...

I don't remember if there was a problem after the initial installation of the EC LED headlights and given the fact I only use the CB when riding with a buddy who visits once or twice a year perhaps I never noticed it... Still, I want it to work the way it should and did before the LED installation...

Has anyone else experienced this issue with excessive electrical noise from the EC LED headlights and if so what was the fix??? I will give Lewis a call when I get a chance but will be away for a day or two starting tomorrow...

TIA

Les
 
#2 ·
I was just talking to my son about the headlights on his 2006 Dodge pickup.


he told me that when he installed the LED type lights, that it caused his Bluetooth cellphone from connecting, and it also caused noise in the entertainment system in general.


He replace those 'brand new' LED lights with HID headlights, and the problem went away.


My '02 1800 has 35w HID low beams, and my CB squelch is also at about the '4' setting. might be a tad more, haven't used it in a year now.
 
#3 ·
You might see if you can get hold of EC, maybe they have a solution. I have the same headlights but don't have a CB. The original HIDs I put in 11 years ago caused no reception in the FM radio but updated ballasts cured that.
 
#4 ·
Sounds like you're getting rf interference.
RFI
Happens all the time even though it's not allowed according to the FCC.

Check out YouTube for rf chokes.
Many ways to tackle it, from very simple ferrite bead or ferrite choke, and many more.

What you're trying to prevent is the rf from coming in to the cb via it's antenna coax.
Or just by being too close to the RFI source.

Shielding the led by wrapping it or surrounding in into it's own cage if you will.

What you described is called front end over load.

The led has some components emitting RF. Read the label if you can for the led lights and see what the statement is about interference caused by that device.

It'll be some part of the FCC rules pertaining to interference.

Most of the time..... Devices are not allowed to emit RFI. At all!


But we all know that's not the case, in reality.


Good luck



Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
#17 · (Edited)
Sounds like you're getting rf interference.
RFI
Happens all the time even though it's not allowed according to the FCC.

Check out YouTube for rf chokes.
Many ways to tackle it, from very simple ferrite bead or ferrite choke, and many more.



I'm curious how the Ferrite Choke has worked out? Has anyone tried it and been successful?



I have the same issue with new LED Driving Lights I added to my GL1500. It takes out my CB and the FM radio is no longer usable. FM has very bad buzz sound drowning out any signal.


Interesting thing is that I had Sierra Electronics modify the radio so I could plug in a MP3 player, and that works fine with LEDs turned on. It just trashes the over the air RF signals.



I have already shielded the CB antenna cable with an additional foil wrap to try that approach. I have not done that on the FM radio antenna cable yet.




NOTE: My LED Lights are not from EC, but I'm having the same issue. Just want to insure that Lewis has nothing to do with my issue.



DJ
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys... Being a HAM for over 50 years I am quite familiar with RFI, EMI, etc... I'll call Lewis at EC in a day r so to see if has any words of wisdom...

Les
 
#10 ·
On a related note, I installed fancy new LED bulbs in my brandy new garage door openers last fall. Suddenly, I could open the doors, but they wouldn't close. Or after a while, I could close them, but not stop or re-open them.

Turns out, all the new-fangled garage door openers use wireless wall switches. The LED bulbs were putting out so much radio interference that the first button press would activate the door. And the light. Which now blocked any further button presses for a few minutes until the lights went out.

Back to Amazon, and found out there are "Garage Door Certified" LED lights you can buy, so that's what I did, and problem solved.
 
#11 ·
So I spoke with Lewis at EC yesterday and he was quite helpful, although he says I am the first he has heard of having trouble as they did a lot of research and work so as to not have RFI issues with their lights... Lewis is a stand up guy that I have dealt with before, and I have no reason to not believe him... I have also used some of their other products and have not had issues, so I'll see if I can find out what the issue is...

Anyway, he suggested disconnecting the lights one at a time to see if one is at fault more than the other... I asked him where they locate the driver modules when they install the lights and he said between the two headlights, so I may try that too...

Gonna go out to the garage shortly and start working on the issue - I'll report back on my progress later in the day...

Les
 
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#12 ·
Rerouted the driver wiring yesterday and got some improvement - squelching about 12 now, but I ordered some Ferrite Chokes today and will try those as well when they arrive...

Honestly, don't know why we are still fooling around with these "ancient modulation (AM)" type radios when there are so many other alternatives available...

Think I'm going to try and marry up one of my FRS radios to the bike just for grins...
 
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#14 ·
If you get a BaoFeng UV-5R or BF-F8HP (or clone) hooked up, let me know! I'd love to know how to do that.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174Mhz-400-520Mhz/dp/B00MAULSOK[/ame]
 
#15 ·
I just ordered some external mic/headphone leads off E-Bay... I've got a few ideas to try but it will take some time and I'll be on vacation for a few weeks starting next week...
 
#16 ·
No worries, I've just been thinking about the same thing as I ride in the Adirondacks a lot where there's no cellular service, but you can get 7+ miles with LOS and a BaoFeng set to FRS frequencies, which IIRC is allowable in an emergency at that wattage. Keying the mic is one challenge, I'm guessing.
 
#18 ·
So I added the chokes, and a bit more improvement - 1 each on each headlight line, 3 on the main CB harness under the saddle and one on the CB power lead under the saddle... Squelch now breaks at 6 and quiets at 8... Not quite as good as OEM performance but mostly acceptable...
 
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#21 ·
Pretty much the same set I bought, back when I was getting RFI from a USB charger in the truck. Helped some, the closer I got it to the end of the cable the better, and I had to loop the cable through it twice.
 
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#22 ·
the closer I got it to the end of the cable the better, and I had to loop the cable through it twice.

Thank you Both, Great Info... Just ordered a set to see if I can improve the issue



Just to be clear by "the end of the cable the better" you are referring to being closer to the LED light or other such device being powered and not closer to the (battery) power source.
 
#23 ·
Typically those are placed on the item you wish to reduce the noise on.
In other words, on the cb antenna coax, and the cb power and control lines.
What they do in simple terms, is soak up the offending radio frequency from the outside of the coax and hopefully block it from getting into the receiver

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
don't try to put a toroid on the antenna coax.
that is not where the problem is anyway, and it will kink the coax....


Unless, you have the split half type toroids.....
and those are only used on extremely high power transmitters anyway.
the KiloWatt types.
 
#26 ·
Yes, these are the split toroids.

Out of curiosity, I went out to the garage and turned the key on, then selected CB. I live in a very remote area, so there's nobody likely to be transmitting, on any channel.

During my cross-country trip last year I had already replaced the low beams with ECs and the driving lights with SoCalMotoGear PathFinder LEDs, and I apparently had the squelch set to 6 (that's what it was set at, and I haven't used the CB since somewhere in New Mexico). Now with the addition of having the high beams replaced with ECs the CB is full static at 6, intermittent static at 7, and silent at 8.

Not a perfect example of the scientific method, I know, but it's what I got.
 
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#27 ·
Sounds about what mine are like now with all the ferrite chokes in place... Still working on a solution for FRS radio on the bike but away from home for a while now... Have the audio interfaced into headset successfully but still have to integrate the mic audio... If I'm successful, I'll post the mod...
 
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