L.E.D Headlights.

[TedM]

I have a Chines ETrike and have changed out the controller on advice from this forum. All of the auxiliaries are now 12volt as opposed to 60volts via a dc dc inverter. Now when I wired in the headlight won't work although the day time light is OK. Question do I now need to install a L.E.D driver for the high and low beam to work.
Thanks

 

[glennb]

Few more details required. Specifics of the controller, headlamp, and how you wired them.

With wiring, diagrams are worth a thousand words. Just uploading a photo of a rough pen and paper sketch of how everything connects could get your issue resolved in no time.

 

[LewTwo]

Few more details required. Specifics of the controller, headlamp, and how you wired them.

With wiring, diagrams are worth a thousand words. Just uploading a photo of a rough pen and paper sketch of how everything connects could get your issue resolved in no time.

I note that in a previous thread he states that he installed a Phaserunner.

 

[Chalo]

I think there's no need to entangle your controller and your lighting. They both should plug into the same battery, but that's as related as they need to be.

If your current headlight will run on 60V, do that. If it needs 12V, maybe put it on its own DC-DC converter so it doesn't share electrical noise/power factor with your other accessories. Or get five of them and run them in series.

 

[LewTwo]

Or get five of them and run them in series.

That is going to be a LOT of light !

 

[molybdenum]

Yes, a bright idea!

 

[wturber]

That is going to be a LOT of light !

I think it is hard to have too much headlight on an ebike so long as it is well aimed.

 

[TedM]

Thanks for reading about my issue, but I will try and explain a bit more. The Headlight I have is 12 Volts (stamped) and because I changed out the controller to a Kelly Cheetah (courtesy and a lot of help from ELECTROFIED in Melbourne) I installed a 60 volt to 12 volt inverter to power all the lights including the Headlight. It works as expected but the Headlight will only light up the Day Time Driving which is one of the three L.E.D in the Headlight combo. I have tried all the combinations of trying to get the high and low L.E.D. s to work but nothing happens. Am I missing a driver or something since separating the auxiliary wiring from the original controller.

Thank you

 

[wturber]

Thanks for reading about my issue, but I will try and explain a bit more. The Headlight I have is 12 Volts (stamped) and because I changed out the controller to a Kelly Cheetah (courtesy and a lot of help from ELECTROFIED in Melbourne) I installed a 60 volt to 12 volt inverter to power all the lights including the Headlight. It works as expected but the Headlight will only light up the Day Time Driving which is one of the three L.E.D in the Headlight combo. I have tried all the combinations of trying to get the high and low L.E.D. s to work but nothing happens. Am I missing a driver or something since separating the auxiliary wiring from the original controller.

Thank you

So it seems like the headlights are now completely separate from the motor controller and are powered by a separate 60v to 12v DC converter. Right? What is unclear is how the headlights were powered before. Explaining that might be helpful. Also, what kind of controls are you using to turn the lights on and off? Are they simple handlebar switches?

Two things come to my mind.
1) Maybe the headlight is higher voltage and the 12V supply is just insufficient to power it. That seems unlikely, but still worth checking out.

2) During the conversion you've changed something on the headlight circuit that is creating the problem. This could be something as simple as a wire that is cut or no longer connected. That wire may be part of a simple circuit or it may go to some relay that was energized by the original controller and is no longer getting energized by the new controller.

You should be able to visually examine the headlight to confirm its voltage requirements. You could also trace back the wiring and disconnect it at the first connector and then apply the correct voltage manually to confirm that the light is still working. Maybe the problem is as simple as the headlight happened to fail? If the headlight is working, then your next step is to start tracing out the wiring so that you understand the circuit that powers the headlight. This may include tracing out the wires from the switches that control the headlights. It's hard to troubleshoot if you don't understand the circuit.