swapping 65/55 halogen bulb for 100/55 bulb for brighter high beam

[deerjoe]

Has anyone upgraded their stock halogen bulb to a 100/55 for a brighter high beam without experiencing any overheating of wires or switches?  I've googled this topic and gotten positive results, but would like more opinions....thanks for your input....j

[Gem99Ultra]

I did on my '99 FLHTCUI. No apparent problems but be aware, the bulbs don't last very long... maybe 200 hours. And at $40 each, that's too expensive for the benefit.  I'm now using the Sylvannia Silver Stars.

[Mike52]

I'm now using the Sylvannia Silver Stars.

I'll throw my vote in for the Sylvania Silverstar bulb too, works great in my bikes.

Mike

[marc]

Yup...I have one in my 04 FLHTCI...No problems...Next step is to put brighter bulbs in my spot lights...

[sage1]

ive run them in a few of my bikes  no problems. buddy had one in his fxr that would melt the terminal on the bulb don't know if it was heat in the small light or weak ground

[Midnight Toker]

I cant be the only one that has had a problem. I stuck a 100w in and after 5-6 months I found my socket was melted. I will say that the socket was a cheap Chinese one, so I replaced it with a better quality one from Mexico (NAPA) and haven’t had a problem since.
After a few months I’d check on the socket and wires just to be safe.
Good luck.
MT

[apes]

I upgraded  to that wattage in my Heritage and bought everything from Daniel Stern ( www.danielsternlighting.com ) and have had no problems...I can light up the next county with that bulb....However, when I upgraded my ultra I told him what I was after and he stated that without installing a relay on the headlight, I was on borrowed time because  the wiring and switches were slowly degrading and would eventually fail without the relay.  I didn't want to take any chances ( ounce of prevention better than a pound of cure ) and as a result I have a relay.    I have heard this from a couple of other web sources.  Daniel Stern is thought by many to be an authority on lighting whether it is auto or motorcycle, I have seen his website listed on 2 other biker websites as well as the MBZ site I frequent.....he answere any and all questions

[Midnight Toker]

ive run them in a few of my bikes  no problems. buddy had one in his fxr that would melt the terminal on the bulb don't know if it was heat in the small light or weak ground

Opps, sage1 beat me to it. I had the same problem as sage's buddy.

[TexanKen]

I run an Osram 80/85 bulb and changed out the wiring & plug to avoid any heat issues.  Works great (so far!)


http://www.eautoworks.com/product-California-Sunshine-23760.htm

[ULTRADOG]

i would go to a parts store and get a heavier duty  plgg ask me how i know it will melt at midnight in a diffrent state on a road with no street lights its a beautifull night honey why are you screaming at me im on the phone seeing if anyone remembers me and if they dont mind getting up at 2am if only i knew the name of this "Potty mouth"#$#$#%$$^#%^ road lets just drive and see what happ
ooops was that a ditch   

[Memnar]

I upgraded  to that wattage in my Heritage and bought everything from Daniel Stern ( www.danielsternlighting.com ) and have had no problems...I can light up the next county with that bulb....However, when I upgraded my ultra I told him what I was after and he stated that without installing a relay on the headlight, I was on borrowed time because  the wiring and switches were slowly degrading and would eventually fail without the relay.  I didn't want to take any chances ( ounce of prevention better than a pound of cure ) and as a result I have a relay.    I have heard this from a couple of other web sources.  Daniel Stern is thought by many to be an authority on lighting whether it is auto or motorcycle, I have seen his website listed on 2 other biker websites as well as the MBZ site I frequent.....he answere any and all questions

apes - what is the purpose of the relay?

[apes]

I am not a whiz on this but as I understand, higher wattage light draws more current than switch is designed for and the relay reroutes the current around the switch, The wire that came with the relay is a lower gauge ( larger diameter ), I would have to take a look at the schematic that came with the switch...I am sure there are more people on this site more knowledgeable on this than I am...maybe I got taken, but I heard the warning from more than one place...

[crazy joe]

I have two bikes between the 2 I have spent about 500.00 trying to get the lighting
were I want it ( still trying ) I use PIAA bulbs a little pricey but worth it, I have
replaced 2 PIAA bulbs in a combind 95,000 miles. I have used Daniel Stern lenses and
reflectors and was disappointed,  ended up going back to stock lens on both bikes.
No relays and have had no problems with the wires or plugs. I have been giving it
some serious thought about going to Kuryakyn HID lighting.

[deerjoe]

Great replies guys!  I got my 100/55 bulb at www.shopironhorse.com for $14.43 delivered.  I am a little worried now that it won't last very long...have been one of the unlucky few to have a headlight go out in the middle of a turn in the country at night, and let me tell you fellas....it SUX!  All you can really do is just try and not panic and keep your line and brake easy and hope you don't wind up wearin your ass for a hat and your huevos for a bowtie.  My stock bulb (in a 2003 FXSTI @40k) is still workin for now, but I feel like it has probably seen it's best nights, and I likes my light, so I thought I'd upgrade it.  Where can I go online to check out the relay kit y'all are talkin about?  That sounds like a good investment, not too hard to accomplish...I'm not stranger to wiring.  Thanks again for your replies....jw

[apes]

I got one setup from Daniel Stern and the other came from a bike poster on another site and he just put it ( relay and all the wires etc )together for me and said that if it ever failed that it was basically a Ford relay.  I don't know wiring so I took his word for it.  I went to the J&P website and found this..
http://www.jpcycles.com/productgroup.aspx?GID=DC798DFB-89F1-4454-8D00-8F139025F429&search=relay&store=All&page=2

[smoserx1]

I can't understand why a 100/55 watt bulb (a real one anyway) would last any less than the regular one.  The last bike I had I ran one of these for many years and it lasted fine, but I normally ran it on low beam.  This is something I have heard.  Some of those new "brighter" headlamps, especially the ones coated blue, like the silver stars, accomplish this by deliberately over rating the voltage of the bulb.  In other words they will design the bulb to run, at say 11 volts, but in reality it operates at 12.5 volts and thus  burns brighter, but burns out very soon.  They have to do that to overcome the attenuation of the blue coating.  The original bulb in my current bike lasted about 7 years.  I replaced it with a silver star and got about a year before that burned out.  I went back to a stock bulb.

[RainDodger]

Daniel Stern is right. Upgrade your wiring or you will eventually have a problem. The stock wires are way too weenie for heavier wattage bulbs. If you just change the plug to a better quality one, it just means the problem will seek a weaker place to present itself - like at a different connection. If you're drawing more current, upgrade the wiring! Any relay should work - you just use it to switch the current over to the headlight. The best way is to run the headlight right off the battery (via fuse box or whatever) and put a relay in the circuit to protect your stock switches. There are wiring diagrams all over the web for this kind of setup. If you're not good at this stuff, have someone do it for you. Beats losing your headlight some night.

[RainDodger]

I meant to add - the likely reason a brighter bulb will burn out faster is how they're designed. In order to get a brighter output, the filaments need to burn hotter, so many of them are smaller/finer wire that doesn't hold up to vibration as well, and just don't last as long. There is always a trade-off. Brighter lights = less life = more money.

There you go... that's my opinion from decades of messing with lights, and I'm sticking to it.

[Midnight Toker]

Daniel Stern is right. Upgrade your wiring or you will eventually have a problem. The stock wires are way too weenie for heavier wattage bulbs. If you just change the plug to a better quality one, it just means the problem will seek a weaker place to present itself - like at a different connection. If you're drawing more current, upgrade the wiring! Any relay should work - you just use it to switch the current over to the headlight. The best way is to run the headlight right off the battery (via fuse box or whatever) and put a relay in the circuit to protect your stock switches. There are wiring diagrams all over the web for this kind of setup. If you're not good at this stuff, have someone do it for you. Beats losing your headlight some night.

Yes sir, that’s what I did, when I replaced my melted socket with a better grade one, I rewired it too. AND I ran the ground for the headlight bucket directly to the frame of my bike, as the forks don’t make a very good ground do to the poor continuity of the neck cups/grease.
Hope this helps.

[DalemanUK]

this is what I use - they may be available in US

http://www.lighting.philips.com/in_en/consumer/carlighting/2_2wheeler_lighting/products_for_2wheeler/1_motovision.php?main=in_en_consumer_lighting&parent=89083467512&id=in_en_car_lighting&lang=en

far better than standard fitment but no current draw issues

[RainDodger]

Daleman, you're on the right track I think. I run an Osram "+50" that I got from Daniel Stern that is very similar. No current draw issues (it's a 55/60), and together with Stern's recommended reflector, it's a great headlight in the Ultra. I didn't want to mess with upgrading the wiring. Maybe I would have if I didn't have the 2 spots up there too. They add a bit of light and show up well for oncoming traffic.

[hotbikes]

If you go to the larger bulb I would us a relay and a new socket at least for the high beam.  Cut the high beam wire from the switch and use the portion that goes to the socket as the on wire from the relay.  Use the portion that is connected to the switch as the relay trigger, provide a 12 volt wire from the battery, and take the other post to ground.  You can use a seperate relay on the low beam side too if you want to run a higher watt on that side also.

[Evo160K]

The best bulb I've found is the Phillips 100/90 H4 Rallye Bulb, p/n 12569.  Very bright and very heavy duty, think Rally Bulb.  I increased the size of the ground wire and cut the portion of the three-prong plug away from around the ground prong to avoid heat buildup.  I don't use a relay.  I get the bulb from PEPI inc, Jack Clayton, 1-770-606-0803.  Last I bought were around $10 each.