Yet another Passing light wattage question

[okiestar]

Hope everyone had a great Holiday.

 

06 RSTD, I swapped out the stock headlight bulb with the Silverstar H4, same wattage. Nice.

 

THEN, I just swapped the passing lamp bulbs with silverstar H3's. I know they're 55 watt vs the 35 watt originals.

 

I run no other accessories on the bike. Should the additional 40 watts of power be of any concern? My DC electrical math is not working anymore!

[tsigwing]

You should be fine. I added some 55w aftermarket lights, heated grips and heated vest during the winter and never had any issues.

 

Should also add that my stock battery lasted until this year (5 years) and didn't actually crater, just one day this summer when it was really hot, and I stopped and restarted it in a short span of time, it had a hard time turning over, so I bought a replacement to not get stranded.

 

I have a short commute to work (8 miles) and typically don't rev the motor real high.

 

YMMV.

Edited November 30, 2010 by tsigwing

[V7Goose]

Hope everyone had a great Holiday.

 

06 RSTD, I swapped out the stock headlight bulb with the Silverstar H4, same wattage. Nice.

 

THEN, I just swapped the passing lamp bulbs with silverstar H3's. I know they're 55 watt vs the 35 watt originals.

 

I run no other accessories on the bike. Should the additional 40 watts of power be of any concern? My DC electrical math is not working anymore!

If you often ride when the temperatures keep your carb heaters on, then you will be causing long term damage to your battery (meaning it will hit the checkout lane sooner than it needed to).

 

In addition, if you do not ride long enough each time you start the bike, you will be doing the same thing. Without a volt meter or good ammeter, "long enough" is hard to actually quantify, but the extra 40 watts means there is less available current to recharge the battery; therefore, it will take quite a bit more time to bring it back to full charge every time you ride. Most people grossly underestimate how long it takes for the battery to reach full charge, and that, coupled with how many short trips many riders make, is the primary reason so many bike batteries only last two or three years. In comparison, my stock battery went six years. In fact, it has not yet given any "noticeable" problems, other than having low voltage when the passing lights are on and it won't hold 12.9 volts for more than a day.

 

Personally I do not recommend increasing the wattage on those lights. What I DO recommend, even if you don't make any changes, is to have a decent digital volt meter and keep an eye on it. While riding, your voltage should NEVER be below 12V - if it is, you either have a battery heading south or a problem with your charging system. In reality, your normal riding voltage should always be above 13.5 after the battery has reached full charge, and two hours after shutting off the bike the battery must still be at 12.9 or you have a problem.

Goose

Edited November 30, 2010 by V7Goose

[Sylvester]

I had to change out my 55W passing lights to 35W when I started using a heated vest. I have always used heated gloves without a problem but with the vest it dropped my voltage meter under 12V. Now it is under 13V but I only use the vest heat off and on since it is so warm and holds the heat.