NE0

I Had to replace a blown tail light bulb the other day, first time since the 12v conversion. Which is not bad after over 18 months of use. (I did blow a speedo bulb at the beginning but it was 2nd hand to start with) This led me to develop a way of monitoring the replacement bulb (as i was unaware it had blown) read about this project here.

Not very likely!.......especially now that i've 'published it' for free on the internet! knowing my luck, somebody will see this and then market it, making themselves a millionaire! but...hey! why would anybody want to buy a purpose made one, when they just need to buy a fibre optic audio cable for £2.........or 99p from ebay via china!! and now I've been pinned too!!............

.........unless authorised to do so by a police officer.

I found 6....I guess I'm a genius

A few weeks ago I was riding home in the dark when a car pulled alongside and the driver shouted various obscenities about me riding without my lights on,...........what he meant was my tail-light was not working....everything else : the headlight, brake light, indicators, horn was all working fine! Nonetheless, I was unaware! I'm sure it was on when I left but it wasn't on now! Without a spare bulb or screwdriver to remove the lens, I nursed it home using the brake light to show cars where i was, and rode home taking my hand off the brake when there was nothing behind me. The journey took a little longer but there wasn't that many cars about at 11pm. Afterwards, I set about solving the problem. In the first instance, I've now got a LED bicycle light connected to the back rack. so if the rear tail light ever goes off again i've got a 'get me home' solution. The other aspect was how do you know when your lights are not working? Seeing the light bulb working when you pull away is fine but if it fails how do you know? I tried changing the angle of a mirror, but its fiddly and its difficult to see the actual back of the bike, equally head over your shoulder........well you can't keep doing it every minute! I wanted something at the front to tell me if the bulb was working! Heres how i did it..... By chance I saw the red light glowing on the back of my DVD player at home! It was the optical output! I then found the short optical cable that went with it and went down the shed! Sure enough held against the lens the other end glowed red, not brightly but it worked. With the principle working, I purchased a 2m Fibre optic toslink cable for a couple of quid off ebay and fitted it to the bike. There is no need to do anything to the cable, it's a 100% plastic, no metal parts to rust and it works underwater! To improve the performance it works better aimed at the bulb. So I drilled the reflector and fixed it in position. I could have easily drilled the lens and plugged it in there too, but fitting it inside looked better. A quick bit of threading from back to front I ended up at the dashboard with little to spare. a cable tie later and its very discrete. I also found leaving the clear rubber protective cap on spreads the light better. it's down to personal choice Its very discrete and gives you that reassurance that the bulbs are working at the back, all visible from the riding position and even better...... uses NO electricity! The bonus is it glows even brighter when the brake is applied, checking the state of both filaments. One solution for two bulbs......anagram of one is NEO...........I've called it a NEO-light. .

Hi rosa, You don't need to post anywhere else, there is a risk that my post will go off thread. Afterall it was about a DT175MX The headlight WILL go dim at lower revs, it can't not do The output would have shown the original designers that only a 6v bulb would have a brighter light at lower revs, which is why its a 6v bike, if they wanted 12v: the coils/stator would have been a bigger design, but that may have affected the design of the engine and so forth. Remember your bike is 1970's technology. The 12v conversion enables 12v equipment to work but the draw back is the headlight will not be bright at lower revs. but for me and those who have done the conversion we accept this. Like I said in my post, there is no guarantee it will work on any other bike, but it works on mine. If you've checked the wiring and read the principles of my work and it applies to your bike then only you can take the next step. If it works, then add your bike to the list, if not , .....well it may have only cost you the price of the parts You have to way up the risks. Whats the worst that can happen?, although unlikely, however it will depend on your knowledge of wiring....... you could fry your electrics!

DT.... The NHS is not insurance. There is a system in which fees are charged back to the insurance company, Once you book in via A&E, details are recorded and 'somehow' it goes via insurance, I'll check with the coding girls how it all happens, I know they do some treatment codes at the end of the episode, but i'm sure a lot of it charged back to Primary care.

Nydamon, Earlier I posted I find this bulb quite alright for city riding, my lights are on day and night, unlit roads are ok, providing the revs are kept up, as you slow to a stop then a candle might be better!!! but otherwise I've not had any problem. Its not a searchlight, but you can see quite clearly where you are going. The best bit is the availability of 12v parts, brighter brake and turn signals and a good sounding horn! and for those thaat may not be so sure....I can convert it ALL back to 6v without having cut a single wire! no harm done! I blew my first tail light bulb yesterday,! it lasted from march 2011 until now doing over 2000 miles. I also charged the battery for the first time but only because I wanted to give it a boost, no other reason, i.e it wasn't flat! The conversion works fine for me.

hi guys thanks for feedback, nice to hear this old post is still going strong and helping people. To nydamon Whilst i've never stripped a DT lighting coil down ,I have always understood them to be two wires over one core. One was a full winding, the other a half winding, with both sharing the same ground. regarding the regulator/rectifier, I couldn't tell you if its half wave or not, you would need to search the web for the answer there, sorry don't know! To teledan, if your signal turns are not bright check the wiring especially the earth, but first I'd connect them directly to the battery , bypassing everything, and see if they work as expected. Process of elimination yes, but check basic function first. You will need a multimeter for sure. good luck with that one. Great to know another bike has had a "neo conversion!!"

I can confirm ,been having exactly the same two issues in the past week. Especially the 'stop running script' and the ad comes up periodically too. Running XP sp3 IE 8

Yup Cynics right , it won't work, fraid you'll have to sell it. You've got no choice. Put it on ebay list it as "light bulb not working unable to source spares!" put it up for a £1..........don't let anyone knock you down. Very dark day indeed,............or is it an eclipse?

Why don't you go to the Dodge Rams owners club UK http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=96007 Join them and post the same question and ask who the others have successfully insured with. thats what I would do

Demand? lighten up.............asking for one would be fine....... just use a beaming smile!

Why? .......has someone punched your lights out?

heres a quick answer then..... If its a 6v bulb with two figures afterwards....each one represents the watts of the two filaments inside. One is 17w and the other 5.3w you have a rear light bulb which has a brake light inside too.......... hopefully I haven't turned you on too much!

I purchased some XHT(Xtremely High Temperature) from ebay made by auto inparts.com a few weeks ago for my Honda engine. Putting it on tomorrow in the sun, but can't tell you how good it will be as i've never used it before. Previously on my Honda I used Eastwoods engine paint, which was the dogs danglies, sadly no longer available (I've checked with eastwoods USA and its been withdrawn........it did state on the can known to cause cancer!!!) but it stayed nice for 20years!!!

Not one of your better finds there drewpy.............

The ignition switch block diagram part comes from the circuit diagram printed in the Haynes manual. I've cut out all the chaff and simplified the rest for clarity. It shows the internal configuaration of the switch. There are other diagrams which shows the internal arrangements of the handlebar switches and the larger diagram (above) even shows the plug connections. I've looked at the circuit diagram for the US models DT125 and DT175 F G and H models and whilst the main switch on these machines doesn't have position1, the circuit on position 2 is identical to their diagrams. ie the rectifier, regulator and headlight are all connected to the same principle above. as I once said to a grateful friend I might not have a degree or diploma......... but I can read a circuit diagram!

Here's the simplified circuit diagram showing the connections via the ignition switch (colours corrected) the ignition switch positions 1 = Engine RUN. Indicator, horn, brakelight active powered by the Battery. Gen charges battery via Rectifier white wire. White wire connects to the Regulator which prevents Battery Frying! 2 = Engine RUN Indicator, horn brakelight active. taillight and Pilot ON. Powered by the Battery. Gen white wire continues to charge Battery but is disconnected from the Regulator, Plus Headlight circuit now active either dip or beam. Powered by the lighting coil in the Generator. Regulator Switched to Prevent bulbs blowing! 3= Engine OFF. tailight/pilot light ON (For Night parking) This is for the UK models listed. I will check the US circuit diagrams but its unlikely to be so different! You will notice how the REGULATOR and RECTIFIER are wired and involved in the circuits whether the lights are ON or OFF.

Ok back from work and I've done this for the MX taken from the circuit diagram, I know i may have used the WRONG colours but you need to see where the wires go This is the circuit used when the IGNITION is on POSITION 2 Within the ignition switch, brass parts internally connect the separate circuits to function as ONE. If you take voltage readings for individual wires disconnected from this complete circuit you're reading will not reflect the end voltage. ie taking a voltage reading on the yellow wire in the headlight shell on its own the volts will be over 15volts at higher revs, Not the best choice of colours I admit BUT does this help you understand whats connected? Because to say "I really don't believe the voltage regulator is part of the headlight coil / circuit " without access to a circuit diagram is not the smartest statement I've read ! Regardless of it being USA your bike will not be dissimilar . Our haynes manuals has US diagrams.

I'm off to work now and can't reply in much detail at the moment, but suffice to say... You really need to get hold of a circuit diagram! Remember, on a stock bike with everything connected I'd get 6v at the headlamp!... to run the 6v light bulb...... otherwise it would blow! If I DISCONNECT the regulator and rectifier and take the voltage at the headlamp I'd get the voltages listed in Part3 The lighting coil Let there be light…. Remember also the c90 regulator/rectifier is a combined unit and replaces BOTH of the disconnected Regulator and Rectifier mention in the text. I'll post some circuit diagrams to explain further when I'm home , until then off to work...................going to be late now!

Here in UK and probably Europe, we have single Pilot bulbs, or parking bulbs INSIDE the headlamp shell. They are small bulbs; larger than the dash bulbs but smaller than an indicator bulb. Rated about 10w. The ignition switch enables the tail light and parking 'headlight' to be ON with the key removed. I guess so other road users can see the 'parked' vehicle. Not really aimed at being left on for too long otherwise it will drain the battery. Often its part of the tail-light circuit.

Hi oisact, Wecome to the club, normally we ask that you post in the new members section before we give out a detailed reply. its forum etiquette. You can still do that and you'd be very welcome. On the other hand Glad to see this now old thread is still helping people. I've read through your two posts and i think you've answered your own questions but nonetheless I'll still reply........ Well done for moving over to LEDs, it's not something I did. I assume they have bulb holder bases? or do they need to be modified? I never stated the headlight was. The conversion is the 12v battery runs the tail-light, indicators,brake lamp, dashbulbs and horn. The charging coil.......charges the battery. The lighting coil runs the headlight ONLY. In Part6 it states Re reading my own posts you might be referring to the earlier post Part3b the regulator where I mentioned The tail light and pilot/headlight are both on drawing current from the battery The bulb I'm referring to is the Pilot in the headlight! or the parking bulb in USA??? I'll amend the sentence. The British Ignition switch, allows the bike to run (position1) charging the battery, with the headlight OFF. In postion 2, the Battery continues to be charged but ALL the lights mentioned above are ON from the battery and the headlight bulb is ON powered by the lighting coil. The regulator is SWITCHED in the British ignition switch. In postion 2 the white wire is disconnected Yes you're right a circuit diagram IS and would be very useful for you. The 12v 35W headlight is dim at low engine revs in this conversion. At tick over the light glows orange. But you don't ride along the highway on tick over! Once moving along the highway, revs above 3000 will make the bulb brighter. The coil outputs are correct for my bike, others in other countries have been just as succesful, your coil MAY not be the same. BUT if you're getting 20v at 6000revs then you are getting more than I do on the lighting coil. so i see no reason why it would not work. On a later update I also mentioned I upgraded the headlight bulb to 12v 45W and the bulb is a lot brighter than the 35w one BUT it still glows orange at low revs but is noticably brighter than the 35w one. This I'm afraid is a problem......a 12v bulb is an INCANDESCENT bulb and has a filament which glows and gets brighter depending on the power going through it. Plus all my results are based on the fact I'm using the C90 regulator, which one are you using to get your results? you don't mention it. If you're testing with original 6v one then you won't get the same results. i.e what voltage you are producing will be clipped down to 6v regardless of how much the bulb wants!

I think its fair to say he's a breast man!

I used Q20 last winter and although expensive, I think it was the dogs dangly bits! I know I've posted this before but just check out this sales video!!!....... although don't try it at home!