Headlight help!

[GPCourt]

How much better is the head light on a fatboy vs softail custom? The fatboy has a physically bigger shell, but if you were to add special after market bulbs to both these models how much difference is there? I have lousy vision at night and need all the help I can get. If I go with the fatboy I know I can add passing lamps for extra lighting but they just don't look good on a softail custom. Any help would be appreciated.

[DR_DEUCE]

The 7" reflector on the Fat Boy style will give you MUCH more light. Just might not look so great.

[Milehog]

Be careful, there's a lot of snake oil in the headlamp biz. Bulbs making outrageous claims, 60w=100w ect.
Go to Daniel Stern Lighting for an education. He could sell the high markup snake oil bulbs for a quick profit but he dosen't.
IMO the bigger headlight and passing lights would be good in your situation.

[hdfat2002]

Originally Posted by GPCourt

How much better is the head light on a fatboy vs softail custom? The fatboy has a physically bigger shell, but if you were to add special after market bulbs to both these models how much difference is there? I have lousy vision at night and need all the help I can get. If I go with the fatboy I know I can add passing lamps for extra lighting but they just don't look good on a softail custom. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a 2002 FatBoy on which I added passing lamps from a Softail Deluxe (I like the look of that setup better than the passing lamps on a Heritage or Road King). I really like the extra light from the passing lamps. I like them so much that I am thinking of re-wiring them to stay on when I hit the high beam.

A couple diodes ought to do it. It has never made sense to me that Harley rigged the passing lamp circuitry to shut off when you hit the high beam. Then again, the fog lights on my GMC shut off when you hit the high beam. Go figure...

If you do get passing lamps, you'll love the extra light. I'd skip the 7" headlamp and get one of the passing lamp kits that fit a Custom.

$.02

-Fat

[ChopperDude]

Originally Posted by hdfat2002

It has never made sense to me that Harley rigged the passing lamp circuitry to shut off when you hit the high beam.
-Fat

How about:

Because it is a FEDERAL LAW that requires them to do that?

You ever come down the road at night and met somebody with his hibeams on? Now add a couple more lights to the mix?

That's the reason.... Something about the number of bulbs being lit when hi-beams are on, it causes a distraction to oncoming drivers. Probably more a problem with cars, bikes get lumped into that also.

But it is NOT a decision that Harley made, they're just following Federal mandate.

[hdfat2002]

Originally Posted by ChopperDude

How about:

Because it is a FEDERAL LAW that requires them to do that?

You ever come down the road at night and met somebody with his hibeams on? Now add a couple more lights to the mix?

That's the reason.... Something about the number of bulbs being lit when hi-beams are on, it causes a distraction to oncoming drivers. Probably more a problem with cars, bikes get lumped into that also.

But it is NOT a decision that Harley made, they're just following Federal mandate.

Wow. Thanks for your message and insights. I didn't know that about the law.

I know you are supposed to turn your high beams OFF when you are in proximity to oncoming traffic, but I'd never heard you are supposed to turn off your fog lights. Seems to me when you turn on your high-beams, you are trying to maximize the light ahead of you so you can see the road. I find that when I turn on my high-beams, and the fog lights turn off, I can see WAY in front of me very well--but what's close in front or just off to the side can get missed.

I'm gonna modify my lights anyway. Federal law be damned.

-Fat

[winpitt]

Originally Posted by ChopperDude

How about:

Because it is a FEDERAL LAW that requires them to do that?

I believe but an not certain that some people feel that the federal law deals with the total number of filiments that are allowed to be on at any time, and older technology used two filiments for high and two for low. "some" newer lights do not share high and low so if this is the case then the law would not prevent this from legally being done.

OTOH, according to http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0198.htm this is not the case (it appears to not be so simple) and if a couple of the statements are true, then it would appear that HD could in fact enable the fog lights under high beams assuming that the "light pattern" and testing were satisfactory.

[brownjams]

you can add smaller bullet lights for extra lighting like these.

http://store.adjureinc.com/bullet-lights.html

[gunnut]

Originally Posted by ChopperDude

How about:

Because it is a FEDERAL LAW that requires them to do that?
But it is NOT a decision that Harley made, they're just following Federal mandate.

Not Federal Law, State Law.
Legal to leave them on in KS, Illegal in MO.
No doubt harley sets them up this way to cut down on electrical problems due to heavy amp draw.

[brownjams]

I'm not sure on the whole law thing but cars and trucks work the same. turn on the brights and the fog lamps, if you have them on of course, will go off.

[hdfat2002]

So I did what I had been threatening: I re-worked my headlights so the low-beam and passing lamps stay on when I hit the high beam.

It's bad ass. The extra light is awesome.

What I did was solder in a 25-amp diode I got at Radio Shack in between the low and high beam terminals at the back of the headlight. You have to use a diode. Otherwise, like if you just used a jumper wire, the high-beam would be on all the time. Now when I hit the high beam, the only change is that the high beam filament is added--the rest of the lights are unchanged. Awesome. I can see!

Gotta do it to my GMC next. I hate the damn fog lights turning off when I hit teh high beams!

-Fat

[machinist]

nice solution. any overload issue?

[hdfat2002]

Not so far!

-Fat

[Wisyooper]

I was wondering the same thing on the overload question. With the diode between the high and low beam termination, current is flowing through the low beam wire to just the low beam terminal. When you switch to the high beam, current flows on the high beam wire to both the high and low beam terminal, putting all the current on one circuit. If you haven't blown a fuse, should be okay....

[hdfat2002]

Headlight fuse blew in high-beam setting after a few minutes of running.

I'm gonna change my design and try again--this time, instead of running the diode jumper from the high-beam to the low-beam, I am gonna cut the passing lamp wire off the low bean circuit and connect the passing lamp circuit to the high-beam via a diode and to the low beam via a diode.

The main difference will be that, when I switch to high beam, the low beam will now turn off--but the passing lamps will remain illuminated.

Should work. I'll report back after I've done it.

-Fat