Miller Generator Headlamp Bulb Help

[SummitCoCycleWorks]

I've got a new-to-me Miller generator powered headlamp that came without bulbs and I'm having a hard time with the "low beam" bulb which I'm assuming is the one in the center of the reflector. The model I have is the dual bulb setup in the headlamp and the bottle generator running on the front tire.


miller headlamp bulbs by skiphast04, on Flickr

The generator is marked "6V, 3.24W". After a bunch of trial and error I have found that a 4.9V, 0.3A flashlight bulb from Ace Hardware will light up in the high beam position, or the upper bulb in the lamp.


ace hardware bulbs by skiphast04, on Flickr

But putting the same bulb in the low beam position results in nothing.

I took apart the switch on top of the headlamp because it looked like a three-way switch, like a standard "turn to the left for low beam (?), middle is off, and turn to the right for high beam (?)". But, with my unbridled strength I snapped the brittle plastic because it won't turn left.


miller headlamp switch by skiphast04, on Flickr

Turns out that the switch is keyed so that it can't turn left which seems odd to me. The underside of the switch looks like this:


miller switch guts by skiphast04, on Flickr

When the brass conductor runs longitudinally along the red line, the switch is in the "middle" position which I'm assuming is off. When you turn the switch to the right, the conductor is aligned as shown in the picture along the blue line. When I had the whole switch assembly disconnected I taped in some wire to join the contacts along the green line which is where the brass conductor would be if the switch wasn't keyed and would allow me to turn the switch to the left.

So, to recap, if I put a 4.9V, 0.3A bulb in the high beam position and turn the switch to the right, the tire powered generator will illuminate the bulb when riding like this:


miller lamp working by skiphast04, on Flickr

But, no matter how I configure the switch, with the same bulb in the center socket I get nothing. So my question is, does anyone have the specs on the proper bulbs to use and whether my switch is correct? Should I be able to access the contacts along that green line??

Thanks for reading

 

[someguy83]

Hey there, I have the same head light on my Hiawatha. At first I thought the bulbs were burnt out so I did a very LONG and intense search (auto parts stores, hardware stores, national chain battery stores and of course online) and to no avail could I find a 6v bulb. Then it hit me, maybe the generator is bad or the wire. It turned out to be the wire had a short, so good news for me I didn't need new bulbs. The end of the tab on mine is also broke and I do not believe it is meant to turn to the left (I assume you mean left from the vantage point of sitting on the bike looking down at the top of the light?) I also found that the previous owner had placed the original paper work for the light inside the casing. I will try to find the paper and see what it says as far as switch positions. So stay tuned!

 

[someguy83]

Ok so here's the skinny so far, between the rain drops (pretty nasty storm this morning) I was able to go out to the garage and take a look. I was able to remove the bulb from the middle of the lamp(the low? beam) it is marked as a 6v 0.5amp bulb. I could not get the upper bulb out but it looks to be the same. As far as the switch and positions- No mine doesn't turn to the left. When the switch is straight (on the red line path in your post) it lights the middle or low(?) beam. When turned to the right (the blue path) it lights the upper or high(?) beam. So basically the on/off function for the light is determined by whether or not the generator wheel is in contact with the tire. My generator is a 1 wire set up where the circuit is made by the power coming from the generator's single lead through the switch to the bulb and is completed because the housing is bolted to the bike and there by grounding out. Like I said previously, I thought my bulbs were burnt out but tracked down the problem by doing the following I hooked up the bulb to a 9v battery briefly to see if it would light (the 9v was lying nearby and I didn't want to connect 4 AA batteries together and test what may turn out to be a dead bulb, you can contact the side of the bulb to one post and then the end of the bulb to the other post of the 9volt). When the bulb lit I then changed directions, maybe the generator is bad or just crusty inside and not making the power needed. So I hooked the 9v to the one wire lead and then contacted the other post to the frame of the bike. Nothing happened so then I reversed the hook ups and still nothing. I then put the 9v directly to the post on the lamp housing and contacted the other to the main body of the lamp. Guess what it lit up! I tried it in the straight position and the turned to the right position. It lit both ways as said above. So this determined it was a bad wire running from the generator to the light. I know at this point you are probably thinking gee this doesn't help since the upper lights but not the lower. But lets take this strategy a bit further. Try using the 9v test method with the bulb out of the light first. If it lights you know it works with the 9v. Then place the light in the housing in the top position where you know that it has worked previously (I know this may seem pointless but this is being done as a "control" for the experiment). Connect the light power lead to a post on the 9v and then touch the other to the side of the lamp. The bulb should light when the switch is in the turned to the right position. If it doesn't try reversing the hookups and it should then work. Now place the bulb in the lower position and make your contacts as described previously for the upper position. My guess is that if this doen't work then you have one of two possible things wrong 1) you didn't hook up a wire on the switch when putting it back in the housing or 2)the contact that completes the circuit from the switch to the bottom of the bulb is bent too far back and not making contact. My thought, start with the tab connecting to the bulb when the front of the light is closed. Bend it out a little so it makes contact with the bulb sooner as the front closes. Now try hooking up the 9v and testing the bulb. If this still doesn't work then I would guess you are down to having to remove the switch again and check the connections on the terminals of the switch. Good luck.