I'm in need of a headlight for my 63 Typhoon. Mostly so I can be seen by traffic rather than see where I'm going. I want something that looks sorta period correct on the outside, but if it used LED's on the inside I'd be ok with that. No generator drive. Something simple. I was thinking about maybe mounting something to the truss rods? Any ideas??
Headlight ideas needed
- Thread starter GTV
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just look around theres alot of creative people on here
I was just down at the O' Reilly Auto Parts store, they have a 'tractor light', about a 4" sealed beam in a flat black housing with a mount that wouldnt look bad at all. I know these used to be available with a 6V bulb, though Im pretty sure this one is a 12V. For $15 it could be the basis for some creative engineering.
hmmm im on it
Get an old bike headlight that doesn't work and put one of those little led flashlights in there. Long lasting light and vintage at the same time.
I originally posted this under another topic, might be helpful to you.
Did this with an Enwell headlight I found on ebay and a 9led flashlight (from CARQUEST). These flashlights pull apart easily with an o-ring (dental-type) pick. I used the existing switch on the headlight.
Here is the LED pack. The outermost ring is the negative, the inner ring and center are the positive. I left the spring in place to guide the wires out nicely.
Thread a positive and negative wire down the center of the spring, I had wire, but lightweight speaker wire would work nicely. Solder one end of the negative wire to any one of the outer points and the other to the negative side of the battery pack. Solder the positive wire to the center where the spring attaches. and the other the outlet side of the switch. I snipped the inlet wire where it used to come in from the generator, then solder that to the positive side of the battery pack. I added another LED bulb for a low beam by simply soldering a negative lead from it to the battery pack, there is a contact point on the switch for this bulb position on this light already.
I glued the LED pack to the lens with clear silicone. I will use hot glue next time for a cleaner look and quicker setup, learn from my mistakes. lol
You can also see how I made a simple mount to my springer with some cable clamps, 1/4-20 threaded rod, and some wingnuts, The threaded spikes are available from studsandspikes.com and I like the look with this bike.
High beam...more than just show, you can see quite a way down the road with this baby!
Low beam
I'm by no means an electrical whiz, and this project took less than a half hour. Pretty basic soldering, and the more you do it, the better you get. Hope this helps!
Did this with an Enwell headlight I found on ebay and a 9led flashlight (from CARQUEST). These flashlights pull apart easily with an o-ring (dental-type) pick. I used the existing switch on the headlight.
Here is the LED pack. The outermost ring is the negative, the inner ring and center are the positive. I left the spring in place to guide the wires out nicely.
Thread a positive and negative wire down the center of the spring, I had wire, but lightweight speaker wire would work nicely. Solder one end of the negative wire to any one of the outer points and the other to the negative side of the battery pack. Solder the positive wire to the center where the spring attaches. and the other the outlet side of the switch. I snipped the inlet wire where it used to come in from the generator, then solder that to the positive side of the battery pack. I added another LED bulb for a low beam by simply soldering a negative lead from it to the battery pack, there is a contact point on the switch for this bulb position on this light already.
I glued the LED pack to the lens with clear silicone. I will use hot glue next time for a cleaner look and quicker setup, learn from my mistakes. lol
You can also see how I made a simple mount to my springer with some cable clamps, 1/4-20 threaded rod, and some wingnuts, The threaded spikes are available from studsandspikes.com and I like the look with this bike.
High beam...more than just show, you can see quite a way down the road with this baby!
Low beam
I'm by no means an electrical whiz, and this project took less than a half hour. Pretty basic soldering, and the more you do it, the better you get. Hope this helps!
I know I will do one of these conversions at some point, but in the meanwhile Im tempted to get that tractor light and hang a battery pack on the frame; I know the 'battery mart' places have rechargeables in many sizes and configurations (and voltages).
