| Author | Message | ||
     Huntsville |
I've blown two high beams in the last few thousand miles, no problem with low beam. Using Sylvania Silverstar H7 12.8V, 55W. Are these too much for the system? Any ideas appreciated, as always. You guys are great, just like my Uly!! | ||
| Etennuly |
Actually the system is too much for the Silverstars. As a test, put a stock h7 back in before you waste time trouble shooting much beyond the ground wire and the switch. Silverstars have a bad rep for not lasting very long. | ||
| Motorbike |
I too am having an issue with the high beam bulb on my 2008XT. I thought the bulb burned out so I replaced both Osram H7 65W bulbs with Philips Motovision H7 12972MVS1 bulbs, as the Osrams are no longer available. I rode the bike about 200 miles and I noticed the high beam was out again. This afternoon, I pulled the headlight assembly off again to see what was going on. As it turns out, I noticed a bad connection between the black wire and the female spade connector that plugs to the bulb. It is corroded and not making a good connection. I'm guessing this was my problem in the first place. Now I'm thinking I probably threw away 2 perfectly good bulbs before I actually took a few minutes to do a thorough debug. Boy, do I feel like a •••••••! I also noticed that the connectors for both headlights do not look real good. I just ordered two Echlin EC278 H7 right angle connectors with pigtails from my local NAPA Auto Parts. I plan to cut the old connectors off and solder in the new ones when they arrive. I would be sure to check your wiring before you replace any more bulbs. Wiggle the connectors and wiring that attach to the bulb and see if it lights up, like mine did. Might save you some money. Good luck! Al | ||
| Huntsville |
Thanks both of you! This gives me something to go on! Sure miss my hi beam in the twisties! | ||
| Mark_weiss |
I had short lifespan experience with Silverstars. As it turned out, consumer information available on their website actually noted that the Silverstars' increased brightness came at the cost of shorter bulb life. | ||
| Ourdee |
I gave up on SilverStars long ago. | ||
| Etennuly |
I run stock h7 bulbs with both on for hi beam | ||
| Huntsville |
OK, the bulb was indeed blown, and the connectors look great - no corrosion and tight. What would be the best bulb to put in for my high beam? The Philips mentioned? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Just get a boring walmart $11 bulb. Then add some secondary driving lights for face melting purposes. | ||
| Arry |
Another possibility, either a voltage regulator or stator problem, that could cause an over voltage condition. Hope it's just the Silverstars. | ||
| Ratbuell |
If your system voltage is OK (I suspect it's not horrible since you aren't blowing the low beam), just get the brightest H7 LED you can get. I did that, and run an HID low beam from ddmtuning.com, and have been quite happy. Silverstars are junk in general. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
I've been running a 35w DDM HID low beam for seven or eight years. It has almost entirely negated the need for a high beam. | ||
| Etennuly |
I've been running both headlights on for daytime visibility of me, and both on at night for hi beam visibility for me. Just keep it under a hundred at night and you'll be fine. | ||
| Dtaylor |
If you prefer old-school incandescent, Candlepower offers these: https://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html I ran the previous incarnation: the Osram Rallye, an H9 bulb on a H7 base. I was happy with the light output and the robustness. | ||
| Tootal |
Dtaylor, thanks for the info. I've been running the Rallye bulbs for years now and did noticed scorched insulation on one of the ground wires. I noticed Buell uses a single ground wire for both lights. When you do the both on modification that ground wire is not big enough. I added a 16 gauge ground wire and connected it to the ground on the front of the frame. That should take care of it. When the Rallye bulbs give it up it's nice to know they have a replacement and having more light down the road and not to the side sounds like an improvement. | ||
| Ourdee |
I've been running Cyclops LEDs. | ||
| Sharkguy |
Sorry to hear those Osrams are NLA. I have one in the uly and my KLR and they work great. How is the new iteration? |
