H1/H7 LED's, plug and play??

[Scott9999]

(Sheesh, YET ANOTHER LED lighting question. 🙄)

 

It's been quite a while since I played with my old 2005 RT's headlamps, nor converted my wife's Ford to LED's, and ... I just can't recall how they hook up.

 

My recollection that they the OEM's have connectors, to which a BMW harness attaches via a plug.  I don't recall any difficulty installing these (other than space).  However, as I'm reviewing H1/H7's products for my 2018 RT, I see that many have spade connectors. The Cyclops H1 seems to connect via a 4 pin plug.  Advmonster's LED's apparently have an external driver with two harness wires (one of which looks like a regular plug for a household receptacle (?!!), which attaches to the actual H1 via a similar 4 prong plug.

 

So, I guess my question is, as I browse around for these products, do the spade end H1 LED's need an adapter plug for the BMW harness, or are they hacked (spliced) into it? 

 

(This feels like such a DUMB question, but I just can't visualize it, without pulling the bike apart, which I don't wan to do twice, i.e. I'll do it with the H1 & H7 LED's in hand.  Bear with me, folks.) 

 

 

[Rainman48]

If you order the correct model from Cyclops for your bike, it will come with spade connectors that replace the lamp connectors already in the lamp housings.  No need to worry about an adapter that fits the power housing left in the reflector housing,

 

If you want to see the parts, you can view them in my review on the BMWLT.com website here:

https://www.bmwlt.com/threads/review-of-cyclops-led-headlights-for-wetheads.183415/

[Skywagon]

Rainman...I remember your link on bmwlt from a while back.  I still have my original H7's.  I've only changed the low beam once at 30K.  When I look at your link, this is what I think I see.  The Cyclops has a brighter light and a little more throw in the center, but gives up some side vision.  Is that correct?  

 

I've been debating changing mine.  I don't ride at night (on purpose) anymore.  When I did my side light vision was more important to me than the forward center vision.  I pointed my aux lights a little to the left and right to better light up the road.  I don't have aux lights on this bike.  Would the gain be more visible in daytime, brighter better throw for center if at night, and a little loss to the sides?

 

I made a 3ft dowel with a notch in it that makes changing the H7 from the rear fairly simple.  I can change it in about 5 minutes or less. I carry an extra bulb in my bag. So....Im torn on whether the Cyclops is really something I need.

Thanks for your viewpoint

[Scott9999]

6 hours ago, Rainman48 said:

If you order the correct model from Cyclops for your bike, it will come with spade connectors that replace the lamp connectors already in the lamp housings.  No need to worry about an adapter that fits the power housing left in the reflector housing,

 

If you want to see the parts, you can view them in my review on the BMWLT.com website here:

https://www.bmwlt.com/threads/review-of-cyclops-led-headlights-for-wetheads.183415/

Though Cyclops LED lamps are highly popular and frequently cited, for reasons laid out on this video, I think that there may be better options and designs (and possibly, at a lower cost).

 

[2015 Blue RT]

I run LEDs on nearly all of my vehicles and have learned a lot about them in the past several years. The wife's truck uses a PWM system that prevents easily using them, but I have them in my car, my truck, my GS1000, my GSX1100, and now the RT. I retrofit them into a 1995 Corvette and it was like a night and day difference with the proper (E-Code) housings.

 

The site I use before I buy is bulb facts. They review and rate the best bulbs for two applications: Projector (more modern) and reflector (older style). My car uses projection headlights, while my truck and bikes (including the RT) use reflectors. They give data such as lumens and wattage (important so you don't overload wiring). They also baseline a halogen bulb. You can tell a projector housing by it having a lens on the front of the housing, like a .... projector. This link has more info on reflector vs projector.

 

As noted, I'm running both in the RT, but unfortunately I can't look up what I bought due to Amazon deleting all of my reviews w/o cause recently, so I closed my account. They were both mid-range priced bulbs on the bulb facts site. I think the low beams were Cougar Motor and the high beams were Hikari. If I can find my e-receipt I'll update here. Both fit w/o any issues, but I took the entire housing off to do the job.

 

There are a number of factors to consider here:

1-10. Am I using the right type of bulb? Projector bulbs to include cheap eBay LEDs in reflector housings and vice-versa will usually just blind oncoming traffic. I cross paths with a pickup with these bulbs nearly every day, and flash him daily. I'm sure others do as well. The desired LOW beam pattern is a "Z" where it is higher on one side than the other (called cutoff, see attached pic). This pattern does not apply to high beams. Improper bulbs just shotgun light, and often it goes into the eyes of oncoming drivers. On my GSX, I bought a 7" "E-Code" headlight. It's not DOT legal (? why), but it puts out a beautiful cutoff even with a powerful bulb. I've used E-Code housings on other vehicles with similar success. Moot point for the RT, as it is non-replaceable, so it is critical you use the proper bulbs.

11. Will it fit? This is more than just the connector. The bulbs often have fans and are longer than their halogen counterparts. On the Wethead, there are covers that limit how long a bulb can be.

12. Is it oriented properly? Many quality LEDs allow you to turn the bulb 360 degrees. Always look at the directions to see which way is up.

 

I found this pic on a web search. It shows a great cutoff pattern: