[twisty]

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stretrod48 wrote:

I have been told a 2057 taillightbulb is brighter than a 1057 bulb. Has anyone tried this or know why it would not work. (excessive heat or other reason):dance:

stretrod48, actually the 2057 bulb is a little dimmer on tail light (a little over1 watt per bulb) than an 1157. Not sure how it compares to a 1034 bulb. The 1034 has basically been replaced with the more heavy duty 1157 bulb. The 2057 bulb was developed for newer cars & trucks that run the lights more (or all the time). That little savings in power is used to slightly increase the fuel economy ratings. The stop light filament in the 2057 is about the same as an 1157.

Both 2057 & 1157 bulbs are about 26.8 watts (2.1 amps) on brake light,,, but the 2057 is 6.7 watts (.48 amps) on tail light & the 1157 is 8.3 watts (.59 amps) on tail light.

I run the 2057 bulbs in my personal Wing & can't tell the difference in thetail light intensity as bulbs loose some output as time goes by so anything new is probably better than old bulbs. Those 2057 bulbs do save a few watts when multiple bulbs are used.

Twisty

 

[twisty]

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Goldwinger1984 wrote:

A lot of people don't realize that light bulbs diminish in output over time. So it's a good idea to periodically replace the light bulbs with new ones even if the old bulbs are still working.

Vic, that is big reason that when people install one of those supposedly brighter bulbs they see an improvement over the old one & think that new wazzo bulb is a lot brighter.

I found the headlight supply voltage a bit low on my personal 1200 Wing so fused it directly to the battery & used a micro relay powered from the original light circuit for my high beam. That made a noticeable difference in light output on high beam.

Twisty

 

[twisty]

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Dadoo wrote:

Right Twisty. I've done the same on my older bikes. In fact I take all the power that goes through the ignition switch and run it through a main relay that is connected to a fused battery connection. The switch just powers the relay. It really brought the lighting to life. The wiring to and contacts within an ignition switch are often marginal at best. Also, the grounding on older bikes is suspect and should be maintained by either cleaning the grounding points or adding heavier grounding wires, especially if more lighting or accessories are added. DON'T FORGET THE GROUNDING.

Dadoo, that's a good point. I do have the headlight ground run back directly to the battery as I ran it with the 14 gaugepower wire (that works for both high & low beam but am only enhancing the power on high beam. It would only take a second micro relay to also do the low beam. If I add a second relay it would also hook to the starting circuit so the headlight would shut down on engine cranking (maybe someday later for that)..

Twisty

 

[twisty]

imported post

Goldwinger1984 wrote:

Well done guys.

Installing a relay that takes the load off the ignition switch could conceivably improve the life of the hard to find and expensive Hondaignition switch and put the load on ageneric and inexpensiverelay that would improve electrical continuity to all affected circuits.

Any chance you guys have color coded drawings/schematics showing which wires you eliminated from the ignition switch and ran to the relay?

I just love it when folks come up with bona fide improvements to Classic Wings that help save money and improve the Wing's reliability even further.

Vic, not much of a schematic on my conversion as it is pretty simple.

First, ran 14 ga black wire from battery (-) post to headlight ground terminal at back of headlight,, then ran a fused (sealed 15 amp fuse above battery) red 14 ga wire from battery (+)torear of headlight area.. Covered both wires with black plastic convoluted wire covering & tie strapped to original harness.

Removedhigh beam wire from rear of headlight plug & added 1' 14 ga pigtail,, used a micro relay (don't havepart number handy) with the large (NO)contact terminals hooked to the fused 14 ga from battery & the14 ga pig tail from light plug. Hooked relay's ground (low side) terminal to original headlight ground wire & hookedrelay's energizing terminal to the the original headlight high beam wire. That's it.. When on low beam the headlight works like normal except it has a direct 14 ga ground.. When on high beam the original high beam wire energises the relay & connects the 14 ga from the battery to the light plug. I now get just under 15 volts to headlight at running speed.

Twisty