GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

I live in a rural area and night riding is getting dangerous.  I bought PIAA 001 light sets for both my wife's EX500 and my GS500E.  They use Bulb Type:12V-H3 35 Watt.

I have no questions about installation or hook up as I am going to use the included harness to trun from the vbattery with the relay power coming from the switched wire in the headlight.  My question is about power consumption.

I want to run these and the power box that Starwalt made me.  That's powering my Audioboss (normally 2AA batteries) and my Ipod.  Does the GS provide enough power for these lights and the box?

Im a total nub, but from what a I understand the stock bulb is an H6 (?) and runs 65watts.

Quote from: rtcpenguinIm a total nub, but from what a I understand the stock bulb is an H6 (?) and runs 65watts.

You're a total nub indeed.  ;)

Dave  :cheers:

Thanks but I'm adding these in addition to the srock headlight.  I'm going to fab a bracket to come off of the fork brace to mount them low.

You could also mount them to crash-bars...  But... That would involve having crash-bars.

Quote from: 2005-GS500-PDX

Quote from: rtcpenguinIm a total nub, but from what a I understand the stock bulb is an H6 (?) and runs 65watts.

You're a total nub indeed.  ;)

Dave  :cheers:

My internet sarcasm detection system seems to be malfunctioning. Was I wrong?

I don't know. I just think it's funny that you called yourself a nub.

The joke was Nub vs Noob or Newb...

:thumb:

So does anyone have any insight into the electrical system?

our stock bulbs are h4 equivalent.

Ok, to clarify since I wasn't clear enough.

I am ADDING driving lights to the GS.  I want to know if the electrical system can handle the additional draw of the PIAA 001 light set.  They use the H3 35 Watt bulb.

Again, these are in addition to the existing lights.

Thanks

Beats the crap out of me.  All I know is that a set of 35W PIAA lights were fine on an F650, but became too much of a draw to efficiently charge the battery when combined with any other accessory.  Ya feel lucky, punk?  ;)  I'd get rechargeables for the tunes.

i havn't had a problem with mine, and I am running dual 55w bulbs. but around here I can't keep them on long enough to run down the batt.

i'm also running a duel...never had any problems.

Quote from: JetSwingi'm also running a duel...

You're a second?


Edit - I think it was Love and Death with the joke about showing up with seconds...

to clarify my earlier post, this pic shows the mounting pretty clearly.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/davipu/bikes002.jpg)


I just bent some L brackets to adapt to the factory reflector mounting brackets.

I've posted this before and here it is again:

CAUTION

If you are adding a lamp in addition to the stock headlight:

My measurements and calculations put the total load on the electrical system  of my stock 92 GS at about 197 watts.

The max. output of the generator is 200 watts at 5K rpm (according to Suzuki's electrical specification for the '97 model.)

On this site the max. output of the generator is listed as 225 watts. (go to the home page, click on GS500 LINKS and then FAQ)

In any case adding another lamp could possibly compromise your electrical system.

I'm sure others have done this and not noticed any problems but ........

:cheers:

john's write-up answered your question

best bet... wire them to your Hi beam with a relay and a switch
you use them when needed out by yourself but when you turn off the hi beam...they go out also.

I added up all the stock lights that could be on (Headlight, Brakelight, Turn Signals, Dash & meter backlights) and I count 120.7 Watts.

I don't know what the ignition system draws, but it's gotta be more than the 21 watt brakelight, right?  Maybe 30-40 watts?

(The starter pulls from the battery to get the motor running, so I'll leave it off the table.)

A 20-Amp fuse (on my 2001) means you're allowed a total draw of 240 watts (at 12 volts), so I count maybe 70-80 watts left over.  Remember that the battery is going to draw enough to recharge or you've got an operating deficit and battery trouble in your future.

If John is right and the actual generator output is only 200 watts at 5000 rpm, then you should have only 40 watts or so before operating at a deficit.  I'm not so sure I'd want to stress my electrical system to that level.   :dunno:   But it's your call.  You might get lucky and pull it off without a problem.

Quote from: RedShiftI added up all the stock lights that could be on (Headlight, Brakelight, Turn Signals, Dash & meter backlights) and I count 120.7 Watts.

120.7 looks a little low to me, high beam is 60w.  Also there are two each for the turn sig, brake and tail lights.

Quote from: RedShift
I don't know what the ignition system draws, but it's gotta be more than the 21 watt brakelight, right?  Maybe 30-40 watts?

I used 24w based on a 2 amp measurement.



:cheers:

I am w/ John  :thumb:  :thumb: Dont max out your electrical

Look at maybee LED driving lights.. they make PIAA LED's that only draw like 3-4W but pack the punch of a 80W Halogen

Quote from: Roadstergal

Quote from: JetSwingi'm also running a duel...

You're a second?


Edit - I think it was Love and Death with the joke about showing up with seconds...

are you making fun of my spelling ability?

Quote from: John Bates

Quote from: RedShiftI added up all the stock lights that could be on (Headlight, Brakelight, Turn Signals, Dash & meter backlights) and I count 120.7 Watts.

120.7 looks a little low to me, high beam is 60w.  Also there are two each for the turn sig, brake and tail lights.

You might be right, but I think I'm just off by a taillight filament (7w).  You can have only one turn signal flashing at a time (21w) and that's what I used.  But I used a 60w high beam in my calcs, 21w for the Brake light, 5x3.4w for indicators, and a 1.7w high beam indicator.

Quote from: John Bates

Quote from: RedShift
I don't know what the ignition system draws, but it's gotta be more than the 21 watt brakelight, right?  Maybe 30-40 watts?

I used 24w based on a 2 amp measurement.

Thanks John -- I figured someone knew.  So if I take this and add my 7w I missed, that gives me about 152w.  That leaves between 48-88w of spare power to recharge the battery and use for other purposes.

Roy...

Thanks for the input guys.  I'm going to wire them to the high beam switch to limit use.

I have two 35 watt lights running for low beams, a two watt LED tailight, no guages and the idiot lights are LED.  Ignition draws around 20 watts (based on how long my track bike runs at total loss on a 4 amp battery) so I am around 100 watts going down the highway.  I didn't calculate brake and turnsignal lights (although my brake light is LED, around 4 watts and the front turnsignals are LED) because they aren't on very often.  I can run a Gerbing heated jacket liner (77 watts) and Gerbing heated glove liner (22 watts) and arrive home with the battery above 12 volts. 

Even with a stock set up, there is enough capacity to run a heated vest, as I did for many a trip on my bone stock GS, without discharging the battery. 

However, if you are going to ride around town, idling and running lower down in the revs, you will probably have to switch off the gear.