running light bulbs fog lights

[trevair]

hi all
just another one for you anyone know where to buy new running bulbs from and what are they called wires hanging out from bottom of bulb to solder on both are gone
am i right in thinking the fog lights are only on the rear
regards trev

[trevair]

stamped at bottom F8

[trevair]

also do the running lights come on upon turning ignition on or what position of light switch side or headlight

[trevair]

found some halogen casuale bulbs that look like them but what watage
trev

[Clive603]

I thought the front running lights were sealed landing lights for light aircraft so the bulbs were not replaceable, whole unit had to be changed.

Anyway when I finally got my hands on a front panel and light unit for my Commander, which was originally made with blacked out lower screen and no light panel, the backs of the light units had been trimmed back to remove the bulbs. But no replacements came with it. I decided to go LED and fitted 70 W nominal H3 ones off Amazon using custom made alloy collars. Tried 30 ones off E-Bay first but one failed after about 30 miles! Not happy bunny but hafta say the bulb build quality looked poor so no real surprise it died. Second lot much better made and better fit all round. Had to shorten the collar though.

6) Panel R.jpg

7) Lamp sans Bulb R.jpg

8) Collar Front & Bulb R.jpg

Nice and bright but the driving with eyes wide shut crowd still look straight at me and pull out.

I can sort out bulb details and collar drawings if you want.

Clive

[Anthony Duffield]

Trev,

The sealed beam running lights can be purchased here;

https://flywat.com/collections/legacy-l ... ts/7034604

The lights come on with the ignition and go off when the headlight switch is moved to the first (parking light) position, my Commander has two rear fog lights which are switched independently from the fog light switch on the left side of the fairing.

The suggestion to fit LEDS is a good one, search Ebay where you will find what you are looking for, the range is huge so it is up to you what you eventually go for.

Tony

[Clive603]

Tony

I salute your Google Fu skills. I spent ages trying to track the light units down before giving up and making my own LED adapters.

My LEDs draw less than half the current, 2 amps (ish) the pair rather than the 5 amps for the standard ones which is nice. Wonder what the quoted 250 hour lab test results for the Whelen ones means in practice. It seems awfully short but, as its designed for taxiing, I suppose its only used when the plane is wandering around on the ground. Which won't be long for each flight.

On the bike that 250 hours translates to, probably, something like 10,000 to 15,000 miles which sounds way too short. My first Commander had the running lights which were still going strong when I traded it in. Maybe 80,000 miles from memory.

If anyone fancies rolling their own version of my LED fit don't use the flat blade style COB bulbs. Inherently crap. The ones in the solid style housings, like what I used are better made. But more spendy. £20.00 a pair as against £5 a pair.

Clive

[trevair]

hi clive and anthony thank you both for your input mine are split lights they come apart easy with a foam gasket between lens and body i thought of grinding down and fitting car style bulb
so what bulb size am i looking for as you say less power used and bright
hate to think what aviation people would charge for one i use to fly my own beech sundowner in the early ninety's i bought new radios for it 9 grand nowts cheap for them
best regards guys trev
tank cover and rad cover went on yesterday finally seems im getting somewhere and looks good

[Clive603]

Trev

The LEDS I got from Amazon were OPP ULITE H3, currently 19.99 a pair.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OPP-ULITE-Extr ... C67&sr=8-3

No wonderful technical reason. Just the first ones that came up looking half decently engineered at an acceptable price.

For completeness here is the drawing for my collars. Sorry its not fully dual imperial / metric dimensioned but Vectorworks won't let me dual upper and lower limit pairs.The smaller diameter part where that bulb is actually held by the grub screw is 1/2" Ø.

RL Bulb Holder R.jpg

Clive

[trevair]

Wow clive that drawing is something else i can tel you were or are engineer out of my league that hamer and bend it my engineering but the i dont have equipment will buy bulbs you recommand and make them fit my lights not lost yet
Regards trev

[Clive603]

Trev

Basically should be OK to arrange a stiff push fit in a 1/2" diameter hole if the light body is plastic. Probably best to start with a 12 mm one and ease out a touch or if its a fraction slack in 1/2" a bit of silicone sealer ought to hold it.

But check the actual diameter of the bulbs they send you. Lower end China Inc products tend to be variable where you don't expect it.

Having the gear to make things means I'm not really up on how normal folk need to do stuff.

Clive

[trevair]

Lucky you clive wish i would have bought lathe years ago to late now my dad was brilliant engineer
Regards trev

[trevair]

Bulbs are ordered delivery tomorrow
Will let you know how i go on
Thanks for all info guys
Trev

[Anthony Duffield]

Clive/Trev,

I have bought a few of the original running lights over the years from https://www.airpart.co.uk/page/electrical-and-lighting.

The lights were originally made by Whelen now called Wat who now list the lights as legacy owing I would imagine to the advancement of LED technology.

I have two new originals lights in my stock of spares and have converted two old ones to LED which I have used on my Commander for a number of years.

Tony

1 IMG_1294.jpg

[PhilipFleming588]

Hi Trev,

I too had problems sourcing replacement Whelen light units. The silvering on one of my refelctors was in poor condition but I managed to get the plastic lens off without breaking it and re-silvered using a modelling pen. Not perfect but good enough for daylight lights. The back of the reflectors had been butchered like in Clive's picture. The bulb holders were rubber and not a particularly good fit, so I replaced them with LED bulbs from Paul Goff http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyleds.htm part number LDT10WH. I had to shave off some of the rubber moulding from the bulb holders to make them fit into the back of the reflector and stay there. They are much brighter than the bulbs previously fitted.

Whilst on the subject of lights, a while ago I posted that I had a slightly discoloured perspex headlamp cover and was looking for a replacement. Turned out that my problem was that the H4 headlamp bulb was only getting 10.6V hence the dim light. I spent ages (and I mean ages) going through all the connectors, switches and earths to try to find where the voltage drop was occurring. I never did find the culprit. The only switch I didn't disassemble and clean was the ignition switch and I wasn't going to remove the fairing again... So in the end I bought an LED replacement for the H4 bulb, once again supplied by Paul Goff (other suppliers are available). His bulbs work from 9V. The result was a headlight that is much brighter than with an H4 bulb. Moral of the story is if at first you don't succeed, give up and fit an LED!

Hope this helps
Philip

[trevair]

hi all
does anyone know what the green and purple wire on the left side of the bike is for if sat on the bike its the wire on the diagram between the indicator and the day running light it just ends in front with a little line in front of it may even just be extra live
regards trev

[trevair]

Running lights chrome sprayed drilled and bulbs a tight fit little bit of silicone on outside but there going nowhere 30 mins total longest for paint to dry
Trev

[trevair]

Just wish bulbs would have earth wire on
Trev

[trevair]

Pic of light

[trevair]

Sorry bad pic of light