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View Full Version : Rode bike for 10 miles and headlight blew :(


aaron7
04-09-2010, 04:13 AM
Guy at the shop said it was because the bulb was sold old that all the bumps probably broke the filament.

I'm worried that any original bulb I put in there will find the same fate.

Anyone here try those replacable bulb housings on ebay?

Like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-C92-CA92-C95-CA95-CB92-CA160-Head-light-New_W0QQitemZ390148713532QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorc ycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad6acec3c

hahnda
04-09-2010, 05:23 AM
You could dremel out the bulb that is in your reflector and epoxy in a new one. I assume you are only riding in daylight? No need to worry about beam focus.

What's kind of weird about the one on eBay is that the CA95 is 6 volt and the CA160 is 12 volt, right? It lists it as being usable on either.

Spokes
04-09-2010, 05:30 AM
I have one for my rebuild and one on my 160. Can't beat it. I have converted the old headlamps before I found the new replaceable ones. Converting is a pain, but it can be done.

aaron7
04-09-2010, 05:33 AM
Would you recommend the replacement ones? They look like they are all plastic.

Anyone make 6v HID's? haha

Spokes
04-09-2010, 05:38 AM
Depends on your budget. I used two old headlamps to make one good one. I added a 6 volt antique car headlight bulb (new one) and epoxied in the bulb and frame. Cost? $15.00 + 2hrs. New one, $100.00 with shipping.

I got the replaceable type this time. Plastic is fine.

aaron7
04-09-2010, 05:39 AM
Yah I can get one of the Thai ones for around $50 shipped. I'm sure the bulb it comes with is junk though. I really just need to pass inspection but if I get caught after dark it'd be nice to be able to see!

Smithers
04-09-2010, 05:48 AM
That's because it's coming from Thailand and they don't care about their items once it's out the door and on the plane over here. The moment you pay for any of their items THEY WIN, game over. We will never pay to ship anything back to them so they have the perfect scam going. Plus they have multiple eBay accounts so they buy things back and forth from each other to boost their ebay seller ratings. I've spent a lot of time tracking how this works and I actually PROVED it to eBay and contacted them a dozen times by phone and email to try and get them to take some kind of action against one seller in particular but they won't do shit.

I have spotted fake parts being sold on Ebay and one thing that I paid for was actually fake and I accidentally paid for it. Moments later I realized I was going to get a fake and the Thai seller gave me a few excuses and refused to respond as he knew I wasn't going to leave him alone. Then he tried to drag out the refund process in order to get past the certain amount of time that you have in order to file a claim to get the review and refund process going. And it was for a really cheap part! They will fight for every single penny. Him fighting for a couple bucks shows how vicious they are, even on such a petty item.

When you think about it Ebay will lose money by any actions they take to throttle back or punish a seller so they don't want to penalize sellers. They MAKE more money the more buyers get screwed. It's a huge problem. Plus there are much bigger fish to fry in the Ebay world than Thai people selling worthless junk for small amounts of money.

$50 is INSANE for that piece of crap and I urge everyone to stop buying reproduced JUNK from Thailand. It will all break just by being exposed to the sunlight for a day anyways. They represent parts as being original Honda and you will notice a lot of parts will be repro parts placed ON TOP of Honda packaging! This makes me mad.

You just have to be able to distinguish real Honda parts and verify this by asking if it is actually a REAL Honda brand part. And watch out for their tricky terms like "original style honda part" "new stock original honda part" and other such fake claims that they use.

aaron7 just hang in there and you will get a REAL headlight enclosure for less money that can be cleaned and polished right up. These things aren't so rare that we have to bend over and buy plastic that looks like the original part. I contacted a seller about buying the glass out of a whole front end assembly he had for sale and he seriously sent me the whole headlight for free without me even asking.

But if I were wanting to make an everyday driver I would do what hahnda said. I've seen a lot of people get ripped on ebay so I have to just warn people about buying things from Thailand. Not to say I never have... I've ordered REAL Honda pistons, rings and gasket sets from over there with good results for sure. I've also ordered repro parts to try them out and they are always of the worst quality. The parts made of plastic is SupeR thin and the rubber will start cracking in one month. People complain about handlebars from there, cables not being the right ones and the list goes on and on. Considering their average income over there ebay is a goldmine for them so you have to realize how much they are asking for those parts in relation to how much it actually costs them to make them over there... near nothing. Honda has been going after repro companies over there for years for all the reasons I have listed above. Their trademark is just destroyed by these Thai guys. Ok I'll step down from my podium now. =] I'm going to repost this in the Ebay scam section. (http://www.fourwheelforum.com/showthread.php?p=4191#post4191)

Spokes
04-09-2010, 06:07 AM
Point taken. Both my headlamps were made in Japan. I bought the loose one I have from ebay, from a USA supplier.

aaron7
04-09-2010, 06:15 AM
The headlights I have (one now dead, one ok) are both original. I'll take a dremel and cut out the dead one I suppose to mount something in there.

SO many times I've gotten wrong parts, broken parts, shatty parts, etc from Thailand or China. Far as I've read they have NO copyright laws over there and just bootleg EVERYTHING!

Smithers
04-09-2010, 06:32 AM
Ok good. I just stress so much that people at least give their money to a US supplier at least. More now than ever we need to be aware of where our money is going. :) That's why I LOVE buying used parts from people in the U.S. I'm always helping another guy out that needs the money. There are some KILLER deals out there nowadays.

phoenix216
04-09-2010, 07:09 AM
Some of the US suppliers are buying their stuff from Thailand though... I noticed early on that there was some serious crap out there. The only new parts I bought for my bike were tires, air pod, tail light and cables. I've spent a lot of time cleaning, painting and polishing to keep old parts alive.

I've seen some ridiculousness with used parts too. Some guy who doesn't live too far from me has been trying to sell some Benly parts for the last month and he's insisting on getting $50 for a battery cover that's completely blistered and battered. Crazy!

aaron7
04-09-2010, 07:14 AM
Yah my rubber foot pegs came from Thailand. I had to actually drill one out because they forgot to put a hole in it!! I mean, really???

Spokes
04-09-2010, 07:18 AM
I hear you. Although I might chance getting plastic side covers for my CA95 build. My CA160 already has them and they are not too bad. I can't find the tool cover in metal, but I do have the metal battery cover, in pretty good condition.

aaron7
04-09-2010, 07:20 AM
Ugh, I bought side covers too. One is already cracked (broke putting the left one on) and the other didn't fit right. Neither hold down screws fit either. Wrong thread pitch!

Spokes
04-09-2010, 08:43 AM
Thanks. I will rethink the covers. I have an original side cover screw and plastic cap. The cap has a small piece missing on the edge, minor flaw. I will send it to you if you want it. I plan to build a custom mounting screw with a washer and cap nut for my CA95 build.

aaron7
04-09-2010, 09:32 AM
That'd be really great. I was going to retap the hole or something but I'd love original parts!

Spokes
04-09-2010, 12:50 PM
It's on its way!

BenlyBoy
04-09-2010, 03:43 PM
Both of my running Benlys are 1966 C95's, not CA95. All of the C95 headlights that I've seen have reflector/lens units with replaceable bulbs. I have only seen one that had the bulb sealed into it. Out of curiosity: were these bulb/reflector/lens sealed units only used on the CA95's? :confused:
If you can find them, GE #2330 dual filament headlight bulbs fit the replaceable lamp units perfectly. They are 6V 32/32 candle power and I'm guessing are probably from auto use in the 1930's or so.

aaron7
04-10-2010, 04:40 AM
How would a GE bulb fit? These are square-ish round bulbs.

And yes, every stock CA95 light I've seen is sealed.

BenlyBoy
04-10-2010, 03:19 PM
So it must be just a C95 thing to have a separate headlamp unit and bulb. Here are a few photos.

djbrett
11-21-2010, 08:08 PM
anyone try a halogen bulb?
what about the headlight modulators? New rider and I'm thinking I might want someone to see me coming. Just started to look into them, and it looks like there is a lot to consider, especially considering I am going to have to modify my current housing to fit a new bulb.

Smithers
12-16-2010, 12:27 PM
Oh boy, riding my Benly 150 at night is the last thing I would want to do... all black paint and hardly any light emanating from the headlight or rear running light. There has to be a good way to get a bring 6v lighting system. I would just need the spare time to build the circuits!

This is a pretty good idea to make it happen thought. I would like to be able to ride my CB72 / Superhawk 250 at night sometime without getting run over as well. ;)

aaron7
12-16-2010, 12:34 PM
Actually the stock headlight wasn't bad at night. Impressed me by how bright it was!

Smithers
12-16-2010, 02:24 PM
Hmmm I'm going to have to look closer at mine next time I fire it up.

Spokes
12-16-2010, 06:23 PM
Below is a great place to get 6 volt L.E.D. bulbs for the 6 volt Honda's. Your/our CA95's and CA160's have 1157 type bases. You can buy 6 volt 1156 bulbs to fit add on bullet lights. These bulbs come in white/amber & red.

I have thought about putting a rechargeable 12 volt system in the old bikes with a charger adapter for the wall. This way you could add 12 volt extra headlights for the front just for those warm night scoots

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=OTHER&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F1156_57-x12-24V.htm

djbrett
12-23-2010, 07:18 AM
I couldn't find any comprehensive information on Halogen headlights, so here is what I did. Please correct me with anything I did wrong. I don't want to fry anything.
So I found a 6 volt H4 bulb from Mac auto parts in lockport, ny. I drilled out the old bulb and used a torch to remove the metal part of the bulb (I'd be more careful next time. I bubbled about 1 inch diameter of the reflective paint). Put the new halogen in and looked to create a removable housing. After 2 dollars at a pull a part, I made a nice looking one, but it would not fit back in the bike. So, I wired it direct to the three posts (if you hold the bulb so there is no post at 12 oclock, ground is 3 oclock, lowbeam is 6, and high is 9 oclock).
Rode down to the MVD and got it registered.
The light is real bright, and I am not overly concerned with the draw off the battery (55 w lowbeam, 60 watt highbeam), I did some calculations before I bought the bulb and think the generator should put off enough juice. That being said, I am a relative newbie when it comes to electrical. I did blow a fuse when I tried the highbeam with it running.
I'm thinking I need to run a separate line from the battery for the headlight (with its own 15 amp fuse). High and low work great when the bike isn't running. I think there is just enough draw to fry the fuse with it running.
If I run another line from the battery, I don't know a way to wire it to the ignition. Unless anyone has any bright ideas (no pun intended) I think I will just have to make sure I shut the headlight off every time as it will be run direct to the battery.
Thanks for any input anyone may have. Please tell me I'm crazy if you think I'm going to melt my bike (halogen's can burn up to 1000 degrees although lower wattage, volts burn closer to 300-400).
Brett

aaron7
12-23-2010, 10:58 AM
Sounds cool, have any pics?

The only thing I'd be worried about is overworking the already weak CA95 stator.

djbrett
12-23-2010, 01:39 PM
no pics yet. I'll get some up as soon as I get it running right. There are actually 2 electrical problems. At some point, probably when I was putting the cool looking but too big headlight v 1.0 in, I knocked the blinker power cord off of the ignition wiring cluster thing (technical terms, i'm sure). Tried to solder it, but couldn't. It looks like I need to solder to brass and it wasn't sticking. May need a different kind of solder?
want to cruise it around more, but holiday season in downtown phoenix is not the time to be risking riding around with no headlight/ blinkers.

djbrett
12-23-2010, 01:41 PM
I thought you misspelled starter till i realized that didn't make sense and looked it up. After realizing the stator is part of the generator, i'm nervous. :confused:

Smithers
12-24-2010, 07:56 AM
Yo Brett just wire in a relay! Problem solved.

djbrett
12-25-2010, 10:49 AM
so, in an attempt to make a semi informed response, I looked a little about relays. so would I use ohm's law to make sure I find the correct relay coil current, then just wire the relay before the headlight (I would need to be able to plug in 2 or three power lines for the headlight, is that possible. I've don't even know what is available.)? or would I need to run a separate power line? I am relatively ignorant about electricity an don't want to screw up the electrical of the bike.
Also, how would this affect the stator problem aaron previously posted. If there is a chance greater than 10-15% that running the halogen will screw up the bike, I don't want to do it. too much sentimental value. will just wire in one of the cheap plastic replacements.

Smithers
12-25-2010, 04:34 PM
Here is a nice relay for cheap. http://www.newark.com/jsp/level5/module.jsp?moduleId=en_US/3273.xml

They sell stuff like this in auto stores for like $20 a pop which is a ripoff. There are also higher quality ones if you like to spend money: http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/parts/parts_counter_2.html

You can find instructions on wiring these all over the internet. I don't see a headlight pulling so many amps as to damage a charging circuit. I think that there is a high chance of damaging the charging circuit from neglect, corroded connectors or improper wire repairs around the bike. As a side note my little 1969 Honda CL70 has a full wiring harness on it for street lights AND signals. When I was in high school I was having connection problems with something and I noticed that when I took the connector out of the loop and straight wired a component that it worked a LOT better. So I cut out most of the connectors in the main harness and hard wired everything together. The bike ran better, the lights all worked GREAT and the horn even was much louder. So before adding a relay to the system I would rather go and remove a connector or two and solder the connections together. :) Of course you could also BUY some much more modern connectors and solder those into place but they are really expensive. Another alternative is to find another wiring harness somewhere from a wrecked vehicle or another donor/project bike and clips the connectors from that to use on your own bike.