Ebike lighting

Hello All,
Luckily I found this post that has everything you want to know about adding just about any kind of electric thingamagig that you could possible want. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=75171

That post was great and I understand it but it was written in 2015....I can't help but think we've come a long way since.
I've been looking and finding products but I have no personal experience with it.

So, I'm asking for advice on more modern ways to add (a honestly bright) headlight, working brake lights, working turn signals/running lights.
Extra points if they look 'chopperish'.

My plan
Use as much off the shelf stuff as possible as my creation abilities are currently stunted.
72V so I will use a 72V-14.5V DC-DC converter.
I will use relays to power everything off the converter.

Does anyone have any advice on more modern off-the-shelf lighting bits to make this happen?
Reviews of different products would be awesome especially the headlight, at my age my night vision is not great so want a really bright light to light up the road far and wide.
I should say that there are an overwhelming amount of choices now available on Amazon.

I like this all in one solution for the back of the bike. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TYTRPG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?pd_rd_i=B073TYTRPG&pd_rd_w=EAvio&content-id=amzn1.sym.3481f441-61ac-4028-9c1a-7f9ce8ec50c5&pf_rd_p=3481f441-61ac-4028-9c1a-7f9ce8ec50c5&pf_rd_r=7P2BMV4TC7TJ7H6EDM2Z&pd_rd_wg=rNEtU&pd_rd_r=bf550d4a-8aba-4a05-ba12-e8741750ac06&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSzhVSUZSUkJGQlRJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjA0NTAyM0FQVlE0MjRHSE5CViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzIxOTE1MlFOS1I1R0RXTloxSyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1
Yes I like it cause it looks like jet engines and yes I am a dork.

I'm open to any suggestions,
Thanks,

Heres a product that is so close....
https://www.amazon.com/X5-Wireless-...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Its wireless which would be great but the 'automatic brake light' feature seems like a joke..
And this runs on rechargable batteries....maybe some tinkering I could hardwire it...

Forgive my ignorance but most controllers have a light button, yes?
The light button, thru a relay, could control the headlight and running lights.
Then if I could find a good quality kit that includes front turn signals/running lights.
The laser width thing is kinda strange....never seen it in real life...wonder if it helps?

For a headlight, it's difficult to find anything "ebike" specific that you can trust will do the job, and be DOT-compliant (in that it has a proper horizon-cutoff, and lights the road correctly so you can actually see without blinding anyone else) unless you find something that someone has used that exact version from that exact seller (because there are so many "fake" versions of things out there, of nearly everything), and can show you adequately that it does what *you* want it to. (not that just says it does, since you must then trust their judgement and cannot make your own).


Motorcycle headlights, both OEM (as spare parts) and as aftermarket, are relatively easy to find good ones for, and should have reliable trustworthy reviews somewhere for many of them, for those you can't just go out and see on an actual bike somewhere if you have such access.

Some other vehicle (car, etc) headlights can be modified or DIYd relatively easily to work as well, and again are not too hard to be sure they are what they say they are.

Almost all of the above are going to run on automotive 12v, making them easy to power, either from a separate battery, or from a DC-DC powered from your traction battery that runs the motor system. (I prefer a separate battery, so that regardless of what happens to the motor system the lights still work and people can still see me (and I can even use those lights to work on the motor system/battery/etc with if necessary).

For turn signals or brake lights or other markers, it is very easy to find good motorcycle, car, truck, or trailer lighting that does a good job and works fine, and they are generally all going to run on the same automotive 12v (13.6-14.4v really).

That kind of lighting "for ebikes" and other bicycles is generally not very good, either doesn't work that welll or is very small and low-surface-area, and not very bright (or else is tiny and blinding pinpoint sources, which is not much more helpful than no lighting at all in some situations).


My SB Cruiser cargo trike and Cloudwalker Cargo Bike threads have pics and links to various lighting I have actually used, though as with all other pics, it's difficult to judge real brightness levels as there isn't really sufficient reference lighting in most of them. CrazyBike2 thread and Delta Tripper also have some, but those were much more DIY than what I'm using now.

Some notes on finding stuff, including judging suitability/etc by the feedback on seller sites, etc:

Pictures of lights in use always lie. I've pretty much NEVER seen any ad for any lighting that actually showed you what it would really do, in real life. They ALWAYS use long shutter settings so they look WAY brighter than really are (or retouch the images/video afterward, doesnt' matter which). Sometimes they dont' even show you the real product, just some CGI of the concept art; who knows what the actual thing looks like.

Most have no measurements, either dimensions or luminality. The ones that do specify brightnesses usually lie, some of them so ridiculously it's easy to tell, like they added five zeros to the lumen rating. :lol:

Since everyone has their own tastes, and appearance / style is important for your project, I would recommend first just trying a google image search for lights that look like something you already prefer. Then you can compare the stuff you find, and search for more of those specific ones, to find versions that do what you want. This is the "best" way I have used to find things that are what *I* want, not what someone else wants, stylistically.

Another way is finding a vehicle that has the light you want on it, and buying one as a spare part or replacement, and using that.

On aliexpress (and ebay) I found thousands of different styles and types of lights when I was redoing SB Cruiser's lighting a couple-three years ago, and early last year / late the year before when I was looking for new lighting for the Cloudwalker Cargo Bike that wasn't yet designed (to try to work the lights I could find into it's design). Some of it was found via the first method above.

Some was found because both sites will start showing you more of whatever you're looking for at that moment, and the more of those you open (in new tabs, for me) the more of them it will show you, so you get to see a lot of variations (hundreds, or thousands) of the same kind of thing, until you may finally run across "the one". Note that aliexpress feedback is usually not helpful, even if a readable translation can be made of it to your language (which is not very common). Ebay feedback is more helpful, in many but not all or even most cases.

Unlike those two, amazon is not helpful in what it presents as "related", since it goes by keywords instead of actually what the items are, and there is so much keyword spam it will show you literally every single kind of product out there even in searches for specific-named items (look for an Arduino Nano and find dresses, pots and pans, toys, car parts, food, etc, none of which even has either word in the name or description of the product). A google search of the amazon site is more productive, but not by much, and it's made worse by the fact that amazon allows sellers to re-use a product page, with all it's reviews and feedback, for a completely different product, whenever they like--so you cannot trust any reviews or feedback unless they definitively specify they are for the specific exact product that is listed on the current version of the page, and there are no historical archives of the amazon pages to see what the reviews were actually written for. Feedback that has no review is completely useless because you can never know what product it was for. You can't even tell how many times a product page has been changed, or how many different products are actually reviewed or fedback on, except for the ones that specify exactly what product they reviewed (like ones that have good review pics, etc, which are relatively rare).


The hardest part isn't finding a light you like the look of, it's finding a *version* of that light that actually outputs anything like the amount of light you want from it, and anything like the functionality it says it has--you have to either buy them and try them, risking $$, or find people that used those specific ones and reviewed them somewhere (rare). I ended up just buying the most likely ones I could find, and wasn't really disappointed with any of them, though they could all have been better made and brighter, they'll work for me, since I am using multiple lights for each function (so no one light has to be as bright, and there is more surface area emitting, making it more likely to be seen without blinding anyone).

The Madmadscientist said:

Forgive my ignorance but most controllers have a light button, yes?
The light button, thru a relay, could control the headlight and running lights.

Click to expand...

For the few controllers with a display that has a light output that is actually wired out and that actually is controlled by the button for lights on the display, then yes, you can build a relay system to use it to turn your lights on and off.

Some will only control the backlight with this, even though a headlight symbol comes on on the LCD, it has no actual control capability for anything like that.

Some have a light output on the display that simply comes on with the system, not controlled by the buttons.

Controllers without a display generally won't have this functionality at all: I have not seen any actual controllers with a light output, except a few scooter controllers that have a relay in them that can be used to switch a brake light on when engaging the ebrake lever. (some controllers have the places on the PCB for these parts but they aren't installed, so you could reverse engineer what should be there and add it...but its' eaiser to just build your own).


Personally, I would not limit my controller choices to only those with displays with a working light-control output. I would pick the controller for the functions I want my motor system to have.

Then I would pick lighting components that do what I want my lighting system to do.

Then I would integrate things into the bike system to operate the way I want them to, within the limitations of the parts of the system.

On SB Cruiser, I use the "headlight" control button on a handlebar control (like that from a scooter or motorcycle) to turn my static lighting on and off, via an automotive relay with built in fuse. Turn signals and brake lights *always* work if power to the trike is turned on at all. Signals are controlled directly with the signal switch on that handlebar control, using an automotive LED compatible flasher unit to do the blinking. Brake lights are controlled via a relay from an ebrake lever switch and a microswitch on my disc brake caliper for the mechanical front brake using a non-switch Avid brake lever. Power to the entire light system is turned on by another automotive relay controlled by power being connected to any of the trike system from the main traction battery. If I have to I can bypass that relay to direclty turn on the lighting power, if something in the traction power fails.

I have also previously used DC-DCs powered by the traction battery, but found I prefer the separate battery after a few issues over the years. (am presently having an intermittent issue with the relay system itself that turns lighting power on, which would probably have happened with a DC-DC too; won't know till I find the cause).

The Madmadscientist said:

Its wireless which would be great but the 'automatic brake light' feature seems like a joke..

Click to expand...

It's probably using a spring switch or ball switch to do this, which means it can also be triggered by vibration / potholes. If it's an accelerometer and MCU then the MCU can filter noise from that so it only triggers on braking, but that's much more complex and expensive. I have not handled any that did the latter, only the former.


And this runs on rechargable batteries....maybe some tinkering I could hardwire it...
If it's the same voltage as your DC-DC, then you could directly power it, but that's unlikely, so you may need a second DC-DC (or linear regulator) to power it from your main DC-DC.

The laser width thing is kinda strange....never seen it in real life...wonder if it helps?

Click to expand...

They've been discussed around here before, both as parts of a lighting system and a separate device. I think the conclusion has generally been "useless gimmick", if for no other reason than in traffic all the other lights will drown out anything else shining on the road surface, but also because there's not much evidence that drivers pay much attention to things like that. A few threads:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8284&hilit=laser+lane
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=60490&p=934252&hilit=laser#p934252
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=75155&hilit=laser+lane
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39458&hilit=laser+lane
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29071&hilit=laser+lane
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11278&hilit=laser+lane
A better solution that actually works would be
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37813

They do pay attention to pools of light, so downlighting that shines off the bottom of your frame tubes and illuminates the bike itself and the road around it will make you and your bike look "bigger" and make it easier to see, and more desirable to avoid.

I did this with CrazyBike2 and it made a huge difference in how far cars moved leftward to pass me. My tongue-in-cheek theory is that if you look like you're big enough to leave a dent in their vehicle, they'll be more likley to avoid you instead of running you over. :lol: My SB Cruiser trike is itself large, and lighting at night makes it look even bigger, and I hardly ever have any close passes at night regardless of conditions (not counting riding on main roads where traffic speed is at least twice what I'm legally limited to; I avoid these roads unless there is no other reasonable path to some destination).

But even in SB Cruiser, I still get some *really* close passers in the daytime, though I haven't had any trade paint with me like they have way back when I rode more normal-looking bicycles.

Just a thought:
I noticed on my BBS02 the levers for the Brake Lights and the Shift sensor all seem to connect the same circuit. As I am not using the shift sensor it occurred to me that I could use that connector to tap that circuit. Then I could use that signal to trigger a brake light.

LewTwo said:

As I am not using the shift sensor it occurred to me that I could use that connector to tap that circuit. Then I could use that signal to trigger a brake light.

Click to expand...

Yes, with the caveat that you can't do it directly, because the circuit inside the controller is a 5v supply thru a resistor (pullup, usually 1kohm to 10kohm), that is grounded by the lever or gearsensor.

Because the 5v supply in the controller has typically very little current to spare (a few mA to a few dozen mA at most), you would need to setup a low-current-draw driver circuit that is triggered by the grounding of that signal (and deactivated by the 5v the signal goes back to when not grounded by the lever or sensor). The driver circuit would then turn on a relay (or FET, or other switch) powered by either the main battery voltage or by the lighting system voltage, that actually does the powering (or grounding) of the brake light itself.

Does anyone have any advice on more modern off-the-shelf lighting bits to make this happen?

Click to expand...

For turn signal:
https://velorian.de/en/ebike-blinker.php or "Kellermann R1" or "Kellermann R2", and all modern LED turn signals for motorcycles.

For Break Light:
reed switches https://windmeile.com/shop/e-bike-teile/sensoren/bremssensoren/windmeile-universaler-bremssensor-2-stk
and magnets
https://www.mtsmagnete.de/neodym-scheiben-magnete/scheiben-10mm-19mm/neodym-scheibenmagnet-10x5mm-vernickelt-grade-n52-magnetisiert-durch-5mm/a-2504

Bright headlights e.g. from Busch and Müller (Bumm). https://www.bumm.de/en/products/e-bike-scheinwerfer/parent/169/produkt/169u65ts-01.html?

amberwolf said:

Because the 5v supply in the controller has typically very little current to spare (a few mA to a few dozen mA at most), you would need to setup a low-current-draw driver circuit that is triggered by the grounding of that signal (and deactivated by the 5v the signal goes back to when not grounded by the lever or sensor). The driver circuit would then turn on a relay (or FET, or other switch) powered by either the main battery voltage or by the lighting system voltage, that actually does the powering (or grounding) of the brake light itself.

Click to expand...

That sounds like a job for a solid state relay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152949726965

Hello all,
my pc died on me last night so I'm doing this by phone.
Sorry AmberWolf I can't give you very nice comments their due.
For the off the shelf answer I am liking these;
The headlight is sleek and a video shows its pretty dang bright.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09W94BVSJ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_3?smid=AS7UUVM4GTYWI&psc=1

I might use this kit as it solves the switch and blinking issue.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XWGLVRP/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=ATLSCIHPT0H2C&psc=1

With this converter.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3D65JRQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A2OEGRG2ZM4R5C&psc=1

This way it's controller independant and I get a horn! plus low and high beam selection.
Lets see here; how many relays will this require...
1 for the running lights
1 for high beam
1 for low beam
1 for horn
1 for the blinkers?
Thats too many relays everything here is lowe powered. the headlight is only 30W.

But, since the switch is a MC switch its built to run decent amount of amps thru it...
If I had access to the specs that would tell me but I bet I don't need any relays....except...
I still need a switch to turn on the lights as I don't want them on during the daytime. This seems like a good use of the displays light button and a solid state relay.

mumpel said:

Does anyone have any advice on more modern off-the-shelf lighting bits to make this happen?

Click to expand...

For turn signal:
https://velorian.de/en/ebike-blinker.php or "Kellermann R1" or "Kellermann R2", and all modern LED turn signals for motorcycles.

For Break Light:
reed switches https://windmeile.com/shop/e-bike-teile/sensoren/bremssensoren/windmeile-universaler-bremssensor-2-stk
and magnets
https://www.mtsmagnete.de/neodym-scheiben-magnete/scheiben-10mm-19mm/neodym-scheibenmagnet-10x5mm-vernickelt-grade-n52-magnetisiert-durch-5mm/a-2504

Bright headlights e.g. from Busch and Müller (Bumm). https://www.bumm.de/en/products/e-bike-scheinwerfer/parent/169/produkt/169u65ts-01.html?

Click to expand...

Those signals are tiny.
The brakes I'm buying have the brake switches built in so I'm planning on getting the brake signal from these.

amberwolf said:

They do pay attention to pools of light, so downlighting that shines off the bottom of your frame tubes and illuminates the bike itself and the road around it will make you and your bike look "bigger" and make it easier to see, and more desirable to avoid.

I did this with CrazyBike2 and it made a huge difference in how far cars moved leftward to pass me. My tongue-in-cheek theory is that if you look like you're big enough to leave a dent in their vehicle, they'll be more likley to avoid you instead of running you over. :lol: My SB Cruiser trike is itself large, and lighting at night makes it look even bigger, and I hardly ever have any close passes at night regardless of conditions (not counting riding on main roads where traffic speed is at least twice what I'm legally limited to; I avoid these roads unless there is no other reasonable path to some destination).

But even in SB Cruiser, I still get some *really* close passers in the daytime, though I haven't had any trade paint with me like they have way back when I rode more normal-looking bicycles.

Click to expand...

Yes on the pools of light. In the past on my bike at night with a bright headlight I found that people could see me from the front but not the sides. I found these spoke lights that were very bright and made color and pattern changes with the spinning of the wheel.
After this cars saw me much better.
For the ebike I'm planning on running flat LED light strips on the bottom of the frame tubes and cases. This way I'm hoping for good visibility from the sides.

Those signals are tiny.

Click to expand...

But they work fine.

Chalo said:

amberwolf said:

Because the 5v supply in the controller has typically very little current to spare (a few mA to a few dozen mA at most), you would need to setup a low-current-draw driver circuit that is triggered by the grounding of that signal (and deactivated by the 5v the signal goes back to when not grounded by the lever or sensor). The driver circuit would then turn on a relay (or FET, or other switch) powered by either the main battery voltage or by the lighting system voltage, that actually does the powering (or grounding) of the brake light itself.

Click to expand...

That sounds like a job for a solid state relay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152949726965

Click to expand...

If I understand correctly when the brake levers are used that produces a weak 5V signal, yes?
Then ya a relay with a 5v input should work fine.
My question is; Why does it have to be a solid state relay?

The Madmadscientist said:

If I understand correctly when the brake levers are used that produces a weak 5V signal, yes?
Then ya a relay with a 5v input should work fine.
My question is; Why does it have to be a solid state relay?

Click to expand...

A solid state relay (basically a FET with a friendly physical package) takes much less current on the control line than a solenoid-actuated mechanical relay.

The Madmadscientist said:

This way it's controller independant and I get a horn! plus low and high beam selection.
Lets see here; how many relays will this require...
1 for the running lights
1 for high beam
1 for low beam
1 for horn
1 for the blinkers?
Thats too many relays everything here is lowe powered. the headlight is only 30W.

Click to expand...

Why would you need relays for any of it? Maybe the horn, but are you seriously going to be using that? Mechanical module for blinkers is pretty old school, so a solid state LED blinker module is probably a more modern way to go.

If you're keeping the systems separate anyway, consider using a separate 3S pack for lighting, and skip the buck converter. It will be more efficient and won't drain your main battery. I know you are going for style, but realistically you could do all of your lighting on an ebike with 30W total.

Chalo said:

That sounds like a job for a solid state relay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152949726965

Click to expand...

That's probably simpler, as long as the one used in this case is turned *off* by the 5v, instead of on, and instead is turned on by the ground, or it uses NC output so it opens the circuit when turned on (because the one linked would be on all the time the brake lever is *not* pulled, held on by the 5v pullup on the ebrake signal line from the controller).

I'm not sure if there is a different way of wiring the ebrake line control signal (without adding a logic inverter/gate or transistor to do this) it to allow usage of an NO output relay; I am too tired to think about it ATM and my brain is fuzzy.

The Madmadscientist said:

The headlight is sleek and a video shows its pretty dang bright.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09W94BVSJ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_3?smid=AS7UUVM4GTYWI&psc=1

Click to expand...

Never seen that one, but it doesn't look like it has great review/ratings, and only has 6 feedbacks; of the three reviews the most recent of them says it has missing/wrong hardware.

If the video is from the seller / manufacturer, remember that they are going to make things look however they want them to to make people want to buy them.

It could be great, no real way to tell till you get it. But since it's on Amazon, if you can convince Amazon to take it back if it doesn't work out, you won't lose anything but time.

I might use this kit as it solves the switch and blinking issue.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XWGLVRP/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=ATLSCIHPT0H2C&psc=1

Click to expand...

That flasher may require you to use incandescent turn signals; The two wire versions I have tried wont' work correctly with LED ones, even when they say they do. (they either won't flash or flash unpredictably or at a wildly wrong rate)

I use a 3-wire flasher for things that don't have their own built in blinkers (see those linked threads; the flasher link is in there somewhere); some of the lights I use have built in flashers (sequencing LEDs).

I bought this control set
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JXSBZMR
to use on the Cloudwalker but I have not built that yet, so they are untested. They do appear fairly well built, probably not as good as the ones I originally used off a 1985 Honda Spree, but should be good enough. There are also more controls on these in case I need them for other things later on, so I don't have to add switches for them.

I also looked at the one in that kit (as a separate unit) but decided against it for some reason I don't recall. Probably the size of the switches on it being too small for easy natural usage without looking at them.

With this converter.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3D65JRQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A2OEGRG2ZM4R5C&psc=1

Click to expand...

I highly recommend a sealed / potted waterproof DC-DC. There are a lot of different kinds meant for golf carts, scooters, etc. that are just about as cheap (probably are the same basic thing but designed to be sealed/potted).

The one you link has an open cage implying it requires possibly significant airflow during operation--if it is left in the open it would work fine but if you ever encounter rain, etc., it could be damaged by the water. If it is kept in a waterproof casing it may overheat.

This way it's controller independant and I get a horn! plus low and high beam selection.

Click to expand...

FWIW, those "meep meep" horns, in my limited experience, are not loud enough to be heard by car/truck drivers, especially since many of the ones you need to get the attention of in the first place tend to use loud radios, be talking on their phones with earbuds/etc., or have other noise inside with them that keeps them from hearing outside noises very well.

If you just need to alert other cyclists or pedestrians, a bell is usually sufficient.

If you're going to use an automotive-level horn to get the attention of vehicle drivers, you might want to use an actual car horn (it'll be significantly larger, but a lot louder). I did this for CrazyBike2 (used the pair off a 1985 Ford LTD I was also using a headlight and other parts from), and it was effective the few times I ever needed to use it (unlike any other horn I'd tried). They all know what a car horn sounds like, and generally will pay attention to one, where they may not bother for anything less.

Lets see here; how many relays will this require...
1 for the running lights
1 for high beam
1 for low beam
1 for horn
1 for the blinkers?

Click to expand...

If you are using switches capable of handling normal MC lighting, you don't need relays for those switches, you can wire directly. I use relays because I don't want to run heavy wiring up my handlebar/tiller where I don't have to, and can use extremely thin wires to fit many more in the same small space.

Just make sure that the wire you use matches the wiring size the switches use, and then the system will handle the current the switches/wiring of the handlebar control is able to.

You only need to use a relay when the switch can't handle the current the device it controls requires, or when the wiring to/from the switch can't.

As an example, I used these relays
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBAO1SA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but there are plenty of different ones out there. I got the "kit" of them because I wanted spares, and also didn't at the time know for sure how many I would end up using; I kept it to as few as I could and get the functionality / isolation I wanted.

I still need a switch to turn on the lights as I don't want them on during the daytime.

Click to expand...

Just curious: Why not? In my experience, it makes you more visible (DRLs do actually help); I have a switch but leave mine on all the time. (I do keep the halogen headlight powered off except when I need it to see the road with, but all the rest of the lights stay on day or night).

But if you want a switch to turn lights on just use one of the switches on the handlebar control (if there are enough of them) to turn the power on/off to the lights from the DC-DC.

E-HP said:

The Madmadscientist said:

This way it's controller independant and I get a horn! plus low and high beam selection.
Lets see here; how many relays will this require...
1 for the running lights
1 for high beam
1 for low beam
1 for horn
1 for the blinkers?
Thats too many relays everything here is lowe powered. the headlight is only 30W.

Click to expand...

Why would you need relays for any of it? Maybe the horn, but are you seriously going to be using that? Mechanical module for blinkers is pretty old school, so a solid state LED blinker module is probably a more modern way to go.

If you're keeping the systems separate anyway, consider using a separate 3S pack for lighting, and skip the buck converter. It will be more efficient and won't drain your main battery. I know you are going for style, but realistically you could do all of your lighting on an ebike with 30W total.

Click to expand...

Right, I don't need all of those relays just the one that uses the signal from the display to turn on the headlight and running lights.
The headlight I like uses 30W all by itself.
If I use the motorcycle switch I linked to it can easily handle the load from the various LED lights.
The headlight I linked to is one of like 37 on Amazon. I saw a customer review that showed them riding at night and it was very bright.

Wow, I am humbled by the length and worth of your comments.
They make crazy loud horns for motorcycles. If I really wanted a horn I would sub one of those in.

Yes on don't need all of those relays.
Thanks for your comments.

The Madmadscientist said:

Right, I don't need all of those relays just the one that uses the signal from the display to turn on the headlight and running lights.
The headlight I like uses 30W all by itself.
If I use the motorcycle switch I linked to it can easily handle the load from the various LED lights.
The headlight I linked to is one of like 37 on Amazon. I saw a customer review that showed them riding at night and it was very bright.

Click to expand...

They have these modules for controlling LED lights. You may be able to find a medium on/off, or might be able to adapt these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KGSK7DK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B09KGSK7DK&pd_rd_w=s1ISm&content-id=amzn1.sym.3258a74d-a59c-47c7-8bfe-c30ebd401807&pf_rd_p=3258a74d-a59c-47c7-8bfe-c30ebd401807&pf_rd_r=KZB9TT1ZYN35YPV7CZQA&pd_rd_wg=8XlSc&pd_rd_r=13d65186-4ed9-4ca0-bb8a-db6dfea2ae0f&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTFc4M0UxUDFKNlNYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDQ0MzE0Mk1WTTBRR1BKSUI5SiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODYyOTkwM0ZaUEYyWURMQzg2NyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

E-HP said:

The Madmadscientist said:

Right, I don't need all of those relays just the one that uses the signal from the display to turn on the headlight and running lights.
The headlight I like uses 30W all by itself.
If I use the motorcycle switch I linked to it can easily handle the load from the various LED lights.
The headlight I linked to is one of like 37 on Amazon. I saw a customer review that showed them riding at night and it was very bright.

Click to expand...

They have these modules for controlling LED lights. You may be able to find a medium on/off, or might be able to adapt these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KGSK7DK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B09KGSK7DK&pd_rd_w=s1ISm&content-id=amzn1.sym.3258a74d-a59c-47c7-8bfe-c30ebd401807&pf_rd_p=3258a74d-a59c-47c7-8bfe-c30ebd401807&pf_rd_r=KZB9TT1ZYN35YPV7CZQA&pd_rd_wg=8XlSc&pd_rd_r=13d65186-4ed9-4ca0-bb8a-db6dfea2ae0f&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTFc4M0UxUDFKNlNYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDQ0MzE0Mk1WTTBRR1BKSUI5SiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODYyOTkwM0ZaUEYyWURMQzg2NyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Click to expand...

Yes I need to use a LED specific flasher module. I thought the one I linked to was but maybe not.
Sometimes I get option paralysis from looking at all the options especially on Amazon where there 20 versions of the widget and telling them apart is not simple.

amberwolf said:

FWIW, those "meep meep" horns, in my limited experience, are not loud enough to be heard by car/truck drivers, especially since many of the ones you need to get the attention of in the first place tend to use loud radios, be talking on their phones with earbuds/etc., or have other noise inside with them that keeps them from hearing outside noises very well.

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What about something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08913QH4V
Just think of those mounted in the center of your handle bars.
The little old lady from Pasadena would soil her nickers :lol:

OK ... so maybe those are a tad too expensive, too loud, too large and too gaudy. However there are a number of smaller, less expensive kits:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5DQWY
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5DQWY
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K37MXT7
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQ1Z287
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9G7BNL
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029XGYG classic
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LKNSVBN oops those are 300 DB

Hear some of them ...
https://www.amazon.com/vdp/0a289dda04a140ef9e10ad0574aeed84?ref=dp_vse_rvc_1

Another classic for pedestrians (and requires no power or relays) ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S2V3VNK
I gotta get one of these

LewTwo said:

What about something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08913QH4V
Just think of those mounted in the center of your handle bars.
The little old lady from Pasadena would soil her nickers :lol:

OK ... so maybe those are a tad too expensive, too loud, too large and too gaudy. However there are a number of smaller, less expensive kits:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5DQWY
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5DQWY
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K37MXT7
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQ1Z287
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9G7BNL
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029XGYG classic
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LKNSVBN oops those are 300 DB

Hear some of them ...
https://www.amazon.com/vdp/0a289dda04a140ef9e10ad0574aeed84?ref=dp_vse_rvc_1

Another classic for pedestrians (and requires no power or relays) ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S2V3VNK
I gotta get one of these

Click to expand...

I can totally see my bike with the big, chromed tri-trumpet. Totally fits in with my spare, flat black and red anodized theme.

But actually I really like this one.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K37MXT7

I like the shape and it comes in a red anodized looking finish. 130dB is fricken loud! But needed. My experience in the MC world lots of folks who commute on ther MC install horns like these.

I better be careful, with all these lights and the 1000W bluetooth 8 speaker plus 10" sub sound system I'm planning on installing, I'll run out of battery power after a few blocks!!!

Just kidding...

Thanks for the time it took to write your comment.

The Madmadscientist said:

I like the shape and it comes in a red anodized looking finish. 130dB is fricken loud! But needed. My experience in the MC world lots of folks who commute on ther MC install horns like these.

Click to expand...

I have about 300K+ miles on motorcycles, and I can honestly say, I've never used a horn. If I ever paused long enough to use it, I wouldn't be alive today.