your on it today apple .....must have figure that wingabug out didnt you :mrgreen:
High powered headlight blub follow-up.
- Thread starter fastmover83
- Start date
Help Support Classic Goldwings:
sledge
Well-known member
As for me , and working on Trucks for many years ... how WE cleaned Electric Connectors , (First remove the Battery Cable ) then pull the connector apart , use a good spray cleaner , We Used Starting Fluid , just spray it right into each end , then plug it up , and UNplug it a few times, ... THEN , spray it down with WD40 to wash all the Starting fluid off and slick it up good........... then, put some Elec. grease on it and Plug it Back up . then hook your Battery Cable back up. ..... this is just my thoughts , but I did it for many years for a living .
I used to run an 80/100 watt bulb on my Bandit. It had the amps to run that big of a bulb (not so sure about an Oldwing), but everyone said it would melt the plug, etc. I just kept the plug clean and loaded with electrical grease and I never had a single problem. It lit up the road, too!
BigAndrew
Well-known member
Whos gonna be our guinea pig and try it out to see if it will melt the plug or not? :mrgreen: :lol:
Just make sure you clean the plug good and apply grease like these guys said :salute:
Just make sure you clean the plug good and apply grease like these guys said :salute:
fastmover83
Well-known member
After contacting Rider magazine I was surprised to learn that, because of the poor economy Rider is now only selling their magazine in Port Townsend Wa. That must be why everyone has been having so much trouble finding them. :lol: So here goes. It was brought to my attention years ago, by a friend, who was a Honda dealer and used his 82 Honda Aspencade for long distance endurance riding, until three engines and over 600k miles later he changed to an ST1100, that Honda GL1100's have a problem with burning the headlight plugs from the use of high wattage bulbs, because of the lack of venting around the plug. The fix to this problem is to run a venting duck from behind the headlight and out the back wall of the fairing and drilling air inlet holes in front around the headlight,which only helps if you are in motion, or carry a good supply of replacement plugs. Though the article was about BMW's the solution was relevant to the GL's problem. The problem isn't only with how clean the plug is or it's condition, or what wattage you use, it's with the quality and type of bulb you use, some super bright high wattage bulbs, both motorcycle and auto, especially auto, put out too much heat for enclosed use, in short not all bulbs are alike. So the answer is to stick to a good quality name brand like PIAA or their equal and stay away from the bargain brands. It all comes down to what you want to spend you hard earned money on, a good quality bulb or extra replacement plugs.
fastmover83":2ogyn4vp said:
Yeah,thats it,blame it on the economy.My not buying rider anymore has nothing to do with avaiblity.I just dont like it.Theres plenty of other rags on the shelves in this "bad economy". No offense meant to "fastmover83"
Correct me if I am wrong,but isnt the correct headlamp bulb for the 80-83 interstates and aspys a typical (h4 or h7 I forget wicth) that I can pick up at any autoparts shelf?Or should I be doing something differant?
If its just a wattage issue,I be more concerned about the extra load on the stator or melting the plastic lense anyhow.
Am I missing something here?
No Tory .. your not confused... some of the xenon and halogens run extremely hot and because some are also higher wattage they tend to melt coating on the inside of the headlight lens, reducing it's effectiveness across the bulb spectrum.. and yes the 1100's do use either H4 or 9003 they are the same base and wattage and are listed as interchangable... .. standard wattage for the 1100 is 65/50 high /low beams... if you can find a bulb 65/50 watt and equates to 100/75 output you would be in good shape.. but there is still heat put off by these bulbs but not as bad as running 100/85"s these are the brighter bulbs they are talking about..
