high wattage bulbs with hi-temp receiver but stock wiring

[traderpro2003]

Jeff - Ha ha...just ripped mine out b/c it was kluge. I'm going to measure the V-drop and wire diameter. Yes, 130 watts is over 10- amp. The Big Cee website suggests some are upgrading the wires...how when they use the wires going through the switches? I'm not sure what power level is harmful for the contacts. But you can't upgrade the wire without major surgery if at all possible and certainly the contacts could be an issue. Which is why the relay setup makes sense. Well, it's not difficult to re-install that's for sure because at the moment the patient is still hot on the table and fully- exposed. My bulb is an 80/80 I got from Fred vs. thought it was a 90/130. So at 80 watts/12V that's closer to 7 amps. I'll measure and report back. From Big Cee KLR site... "Can I use a brighter headlight bulb? KLR owners often run a higher-power bulb like an 80/100W, 55/100, etc (stock is 55/60, type 9003 H4). Your local NAPA should have the Wagner BP1210-H4 80/100 bulb for around $13. Some people have had problems with the headlight socket melting; the NAPA LS6235 socket (or one from an '84 Honda Accord) is a close replacement, and is made of heat-resistant Bakelite. Others, however, have ran these bulbs with the stock socket and wiring with no problems. The one thing you definitely want to do is replace the 10A headlight fuse with a 15A one. "

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote: > > On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:49:47 -0000 "traderpro2003" > writes: > > Anyone running 90W or more with the stock wiring? I upgraded the > > wiring (including recepticle) awhile ago but just ripped it all out. > > > > The kit was from totally wired and served a good purpose as a light > > cut- > > out switch in add to hi-temp recepticle and thicker wiring. Anyway, > > I > > upgraded the left controls to push-to-cancel blinkers and love the > > new > > setup. Fred at Arrowhead hooked me up. This switch has the > > headlight > > off feature in the cluster...and it rocks. Anyway, I no longer need > > > > the over-ride kit and I'm wondering if the stock wiring (sans the > > OEM > > light recepticle) is ok to run with a 90W/130W bulb. I haven't > > asked > > Fred yet... Thanks all. - Brian > <><><><><><><><> > <><><><><><><><> > > Brian, > > With that set up I think I'd be using relays for sure. Figure roughly 90 > watts is about 7 amps and 130 watts will be about 10 amps. Maybe a tad > more or a tad less depending on voltage and a few other factors. But > either way that's a lot to put through the stock switch contacts. > > I think I'd control the relays using the stock wiring and add new wiring > to make sure those lights got all the power they require. > > I've said it before but I'll say it again. Most of the stock KLR > headlights have a voltage drop. I think Norm found 1.5 volts drop on his > wiring. That's HUGE!!! And if I recall correctly a 1 volt drop on our > headlight will be about the same as a 50% reduction in light output. If > I got that correct it sure is a good argument for fixing the headlight > wiring on a stock KLR. > > So if the stock system has a voltage drop like 1 volt... I wonder what > almost doubling the requirement will produce for a voltage drop. I'm > sure it won't get better. : ) > > I've got the parts to put relays into my system this winter when/if it > becomes important enough. > > 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 >