1TallTXn
Active member
My 1983 GL1100A GoldWing is in need of heated grips. A bit of checking reveled that the stock alternator puts out ~30 amps. Between the engine, lights, and various other electrical stuff, it seems to be using about 27 of those 30. 
OH: Which leaves basically no overhead for anything extra added on.
Seeing as upgrading the alternator isn't really an option*, that leaves reducing consumption as the only option.
There are six bulbs besides the headlight on this bike.
two run/turn on the front.
two run/turn and two run/brake on the rear.
According to the owners manual for the '83 Interstate/Aspy, the bulbs are as follows:
Turn Signal:
:tab Front: 1034 x2
:tab Rear: 1073 x2
Tail/Brake: 1157 x2
each of those bulbs run 0.7A on low, and 1.9A on high.
Assuming you've got the brakes and a turn signal on, that quickly adds up to 9A total.
That's nearly 1/3 of the total power, just running lights you always use!
We all know LEDs draw much less power for the same amount of light output.
SuperBrightLEDs.com lists their brightest 1157 replacement bulbs at this power draw:
Color :tab Type :tab mA
Amber :tab 1157 :tab 25/195
Red :tab 1157 :tab 26/165
That's a total of 0.74A using the same situation as before.
I ordered my bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com
Specifically, these bulbs. They have many other options, those worked best for my application.
I also replaced the flasher with an electronic one so the flash rate would be the normal expected rate and not something that's seizure-inducing.
I went with this unit. Again, they have other options, pick what works for your application.
The front turn signals and tail/brake lights swapped perfectly.
The rear run/turn signals were a bit more of a challenge. For some reason Honda decided to use a different type of bulb for those than for the rest of the bike. They used a bulb that has the same contacts as a 1157, but the same lock pins as an 1156. Beats me what that is though.
Turns out, if you grind off the higher lock pin on the 1157, it snaps right in and works like a champ :builder:
Not ideal, but since I'd already ordered and received the bulbs, it was cheaper/simpler that trying to track down the correct bulb.
All told, I've invested ~$150 in the lights and saved 26% of my alternator output.
Opting for lower-output bulbs will save you ~$15/ea. I wanted as much light as I could get.
If you're not sure what bulbs you need to get, here's a handy cross-reference:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/bulb_cross.php
I'll eventually complete the upgrade of the dash lights to LED as well. Manual says those are type 57 bulbs. Not sure if the digital dash uses the same bulbs or not.
Already built bulbs for the main lighting, it'll just be the idiot lights that need upgrading.
If someone needs info on how to build replacements for the impossible-to-find top lights in the digital dash, let me know.
*I'm aware of the mod to add a small car alternator driven off of the front pully, but that's more effort than I'm wanting to put in right now. It may happen in the future.
OH: Which leaves basically no overhead for anything extra added on. Seeing as upgrading the alternator isn't really an option*, that leaves reducing consumption as the only option.
There are six bulbs besides the headlight on this bike.
two run/turn on the front.
two run/turn and two run/brake on the rear.
According to the owners manual for the '83 Interstate/Aspy, the bulbs are as follows:
Turn Signal:
:tab Front: 1034 x2
:tab Rear: 1073 x2
Tail/Brake: 1157 x2
each of those bulbs run 0.7A on low, and 1.9A on high.
Assuming you've got the brakes and a turn signal on, that quickly adds up to 9A total.
That's nearly 1/3 of the total power, just running lights you always use!
We all know LEDs draw much less power for the same amount of light output.
SuperBrightLEDs.com lists their brightest 1157 replacement bulbs at this power draw:
Color :tab Type :tab mA
Amber :tab 1157 :tab 25/195
Red :tab 1157 :tab 26/165
That's a total of 0.74A using the same situation as before.
I ordered my bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com
Specifically, these bulbs. They have many other options, those worked best for my application.
I also replaced the flasher with an electronic one so the flash rate would be the normal expected rate and not something that's seizure-inducing.
I went with this unit. Again, they have other options, pick what works for your application.
The front turn signals and tail/brake lights swapped perfectly.
The rear run/turn signals were a bit more of a challenge. For some reason Honda decided to use a different type of bulb for those than for the rest of the bike. They used a bulb that has the same contacts as a 1157, but the same lock pins as an 1156. Beats me what that is though.
Turns out, if you grind off the higher lock pin on the 1157, it snaps right in and works like a champ :builder:
Not ideal, but since I'd already ordered and received the bulbs, it was cheaper/simpler that trying to track down the correct bulb.
All told, I've invested ~$150 in the lights and saved 26% of my alternator output.
Opting for lower-output bulbs will save you ~$15/ea. I wanted as much light as I could get.
If you're not sure what bulbs you need to get, here's a handy cross-reference:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/bulb_cross.php
I'll eventually complete the upgrade of the dash lights to LED as well. Manual says those are type 57 bulbs. Not sure if the digital dash uses the same bulbs or not.
Already built bulbs for the main lighting, it'll just be the idiot lights that need upgrading.
If someone needs info on how to build replacements for the impossible-to-find top lights in the digital dash, let me know.
*I'm aware of the mod to add a small car alternator driven off of the front pully, but that's more effort than I'm wanting to put in right now. It may happen in the future.
