Custom Light Setup, Need Help!

[Mündawg]

Hey techies!
I have a build thread going on my first bike over in general section. But i want to ask ya'll about lighting.

I ride on narrow roads, curvy, hills, can be lots of cars either commuting or just going for scenic rides. I have two bike lights in front and two in rear but I want to build a custom headlight, turn signal, brake light setup for my e bike to make me way more visible and prominent to cars.

So i'm looking for technical help on designing the circuitry that would control the brake light and turn signals. I need the brake light to be illuminated at all times at a lower intensity, and when either brake lever is depressed the brake light intensifies. Turn signals must be able to be flashing on either side (left turn or right), neither side (off), and both sides (hazards). The Headlight must have a low beam and a high beam, and some form of indicator for the high beam being on. All of this is to be legal for road use for motorcycles and mopeds. Which cops may try to claim my bike is if i'm zipping around going 35pmh

Any help? Suggestions? I have basic soldering skills and access to soldering supplies. Diagrams would be helpful.
Thanks for Being,
Mündawg

 

[amberwolf]

Have you looked at Teklektik's thread about this type of thing? It has some really good info, diagrams, and parts lists. Sorry I don't have a link but easy to find if you look thru his posts.


I don't have any wiring diagrams for my own stuff, as I just work it out as I need it, but I rebuilt various motorcycle turn signals and brake lights to use LEDs instead of incandescents, mostly using aquarium strips and lamps, and I use other aquarium lamps and strips for downlighting to light up the road around the bike/trike. I use the aquarium stuff because it's usually at least water-resistant, some of it is waterproof, and because I often find it on clearance at work or cheap at goodwill.


The blinker is just a standard 3-pin one from an auto parts store.

The handlebar turn signal and headlight control on CB2 is off an old Honda Spree scooter, and on SBC it's from a Fusin ebike kit. I'd prefer more like the Spree unit, but haven't run across any locally being scrapped.

The brake lights are controlled by the left ebrake lever's switch; regen is controlled by another one.

I use an actual car headlight on both of them, though there are better solutions these were cheap (first ones were free, spares from goodwill) and they have a decent beam and brightness. But they use a lot of power. I've experimented with various LEDs I have around here (some very bright) mounted inside the reflector housings of these and other car headlights to use them in a purely reflective manner, but no luck with brightness vs beam shape/etc yet. In my case, if it werent for cost, there are a number of good LED lamp options I've seen posted around the forums in the varous lighting threads.


If you're looking for being visible to others, I highly recommend white downlighting mounted on the bottom of the downtube and seatstays, and pernaps the underside of the seat, handlebars, and chainstays, and along the front of the forks. Red strips on the back of the seatstays as extra tailights (which can also be brightened as brake lights) would also increase visibility. Around here in Phoenix, it definitely helps people see me and go around me isntead of thru me.

At least here in AZ, there's nothing making such downlighting illegal, as long as it complies with the color in the direction it is pointed. You'll have to check your own state codes to see about that where you are at. Not that it points to legality or otherwise, but I've had a few officers give me thumbs up, or even actually thank me for having "correct" lighting on my bikes.

I started with the downlighting simply from the rear tailight of the Honda light on CB2, with the port on it's bottom for a "license plate light", then increased that brightness, added downtube lights, and have since just kept improving the area lighting around and under the bike, to make it as visible and look as "big" as possible at night.

On SBC, the cargo area is lit up to make the whole back very visible, as well as the road around me. I also light up the insides of the dog crates when used either on the trailers or the back of SBC; sometimes people have more care around a dog they can see than they would some other vehicle that's on the road "in their way".