e-mails now jennifer

[irun2hills]

Greetings, I put in a Napa 80/100 headlight bulb (Wagner # BP1210 / H4 Auxiliary Off Road). As a test I left in the stock 10A fuse and drove for an hour in city traffic with the high beam on. The ambient temp was ~ 60F. It didn't blow, so I'm assuming that the OEM circuit/switches can handle the load safely. Afterwards I upgraded to a 15A fuse. I haven't checked the lamp socket yet. The Big Cee FAQ mentions that some folks have problems with melted sockets with this bulb, and some don't. My electrically inclined friend explained that this could be caused by a loose or dirty connection at the socket, which causes the socket to act as a resistor, creating additional heat. So I used dielectric grease liberally on the connectors to avoid this. I bought the bakelight high-temp socket from Napa (see the FAQ for p/n) just in case. Could I remove the wires from the OEM socket with the connectors intact and just insert them into the bakelight socket, so that I wouldn't have to cut the OEM wires? The extra light is easily noticable. This upgrade was quick, easy, cheap, and adds zero extra weight. Any comments appreciated, Eric A13 The Beef

[Glenn]

Eric I've been running that same 80/100 NAPA job since the spring with a 15A fuse and the stock connector. No problems with melting the connector or blowing the upgraded fuse. I do at least half of my driving at night(the benefit of a midnight shift aircraft maintenance job) switching between hi and low beam as the 100W is pretty blinding. During the day I just leave it on hi. Good light although I can't run my aux lights(2 55W mini's) along with the headlight. Too much draw for my weak stock stator. If there was a quality high output stator I would certainly consider it however I keep reading bad reviews on the high output units that are currently available. Short lifespan I hear. I think you've got the best setup you're going to find. Good luck. Glenn 03 KLR650A17

[a14@att.net]

> I bought the bakelight high-temp socket from Napa (see the > FAQ for p/n) just in case. Could I remove the wires from the OEM > socket with the connectors intact and just insert them into the > bakelight socket, so that I wouldn't have to cut the OEM wires? > > Eric >

It may be possible. You need a tool to remove the connectors from the sockets. Various sized paper clips will work with patience. Mark from Marknet KLR650 tried it and didn't like the fit. I have done it many times with different connectors but never this particular combo. You may get satisfactory results by tweaking the tabs. Walt

[Jeff Saline]

On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:09:18 -0000 "irun2hills" writes:

> Greetings, > > I put in a Napa 80/100 headlight bulb (Wagner # BP1210 / H4 > Auxiliary Off Road). As a test I left in the stock 10A fuse and > drove for an hour in city traffic with the high beam on. The > ambient temp was ~ 60F. It didn't blow, so I'm assuming that the > OEM circuit/switches can handle the load safely. Afterwards I > upgraded to a 15A fuse. > > I haven't checked the lamp socket yet. The Big Cee FAQ mentions > that some folks have problems with melted sockets with this bulb, > and some don't. My electrically inclined friend explained that this > > could be caused by a loose or dirty connection at the socket, which > > causes the socket to act as a resistor, creating additional heat. > So I used dielectric grease liberally on the connectors to avoid > this. I bought the bakelight high-temp socket from Napa (see the > FAQ for p/n) just in case. Could I remove the wires from the OEM > socket with the connectors intact and just insert them into the > bakelight socket, so that I wouldn't have to cut the OEM wires? > > The extra light is easily noticeable. This upgrade was quick, easy, > > cheap, and adds zero extra weight. > > Any comments appreciated, > > Eric > A13 The Beef

<><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><> Eric, On the surface it sounds like you found an easy way to get some better light. If you dig deeper I don't know that that will really be the case with how you've done the job. I think the extra load, either low or high beam in operation, will push the limits of the stock wiring and switch contacts. I've heard multiple times on this list about people putting a 15 amp fuse in to replace the stock 10 amp fuse. If the system is working correctly and you are making decisive switching between high and low beam the 10 amp fuse should be just fine. If you are slow on the switch and hang up with both beams lit I think that's what blows the stock 10 amp fuse. I've never put a 15 amp load on the stock wiring to see how it reacts but I bet it get darn hot. Fuses are put into a system to protect everything downstream from the fuse. The stock wiring isn't very heavy and the switch contacts on many bikes are also kind of light. I suppose but don't know for sure that the KLR also has fairly light switch contacts. Asking the wiring and switch contacts to handle an extra load in my opinion is asking for trouble. Adding a larger fuse is just begging to burn some wires and let the smoke out. Your system worked fine with the 10 amp fuse. Why not continue to use a 10 amp fuse until you have a problem with it blowing? Then examine your wiring before you install the 15 amp fuse. I think if I wanted to run an 80/100 watt light I'd add new fused wiring, relays and the NAPA connector. And the relays would be controlled by the stock low and high beam wiring. That would put almost no load on the switch contacts. And if you do a good wiring job with large enough wire using relays you should have virtually no voltage drop at the headlight. I think your friend explained it pretty good with the loose connector acting like a resistor. Maybe your friend could help you do a voltage drop test at the head light (positive and negative sides) to see how your wiring is doing. I bet you have over a 1 volt drop with the stock wiring. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

[a14@att.net]

> What was her family name?

I don't know but maybe someone on the list does. She didn't die when the fish taco truck hit her though as has been reported. I found her picture on the DSN KLR650 members photo site. She is living in Taconite MN. still likes fish and has a chopper. http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650/photos/252231> Walt