Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

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Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Hi All-

I just installed a Cree 40W, 4,000 lumen bulb.

M80W 8000LM Kit Car CREE LED Headlight Bulbs H4 HB2 9003 H13 9004 9007 Hi/Lo Beam.
Here is a link to the bulb itself:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281724136831?
The install was pretty straightworward, except that I had to reconfigure the wire holding down the lamp. It took a lot of jiggering, and when I was done, the bulb was pretty loose from the base. So I used the other one in the box! : )

I'm confused by the description. is it 40w or 80w? is it 4000lm or 8000lm?

Am I right in thinking they come as a pair for that price?

elevatorguy
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Kinchip,
I left the boot off mine, as the heatsink interfered with it and I didn't know how hot it would get. No problems so far but i don't drive in the wet if i can help it.

Kocho
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

You should be confused ;) That's the point of these specs, unfortunately... So is it 40W or 80W, 4000 or 8000 lumens? None of the above :) They usually list the power for the two bulbs when used at both high and low beam combined = 8,000 lumens, 80W. You need to read the detailed specs to find how many Watts/Lumens you get on low beam alone, which is the most important number. It is usually 25W and 3000 lumens or something like that... I did not bother to check the specs for the particular bulb in the post above, but most similar bulbs list the combined totals in bold letters and the low beam specs are buried in small print somewhere, if at all...

I'm confused by the description. is it 40w or 80w? is it 4000lm or 8000lm?

Am I right in thinking they come as a pair for that price?

kinchip
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

The package contains 2 bulbs- each of which has a 20W low and 40W (combined low and high) highbeam wattage.
All I can tell you is that it is a tremendous improvement even at low beam. The high beam seems to be only be a little brighter, though it does throw more light higher up the road. Overall, I am quite happy with it, but still deciding about the boot.

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Thanks to you guys for clarifying.

kinchip
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

After some thought, I figured the downside of taking the boot off was (the now quick 10 minutes to do it, and) a little dirt getting into the reflector area. Leaving the boot on, I had a small risk of fire or melting rubber, or a blown lamp. So I took it off. In southern California, I don't ride in the rain anyway.

I did buy some new side mirrors via eBay too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400875284122
They were not cheap, but the quality is good and there is no vibration.

Below are some pics- they are close, but not quite a perfect color match with the candy red body, but they are versatile, adjustable and now I can see cars instead of my shoulders.
Oh, BTW, does anyone have advice on how to find and replace the handlebar grip rubber/leather? You can see the right hand one is getting a bit long in the tooth....


zeuz
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Although not perfect, I don't have complains about the stability or rearview visibility of the original rearview mirrors... in my case what I have noticed is that I have to lower my elbows to a 90º angle and join it to the torso to improve the rearview visibility.

What I have noticed is that they quickly loose the sideview visibility, because the mirror is flat.
Maybe changing it an aspheric mirror would resolve this issue that so many complain about the original rearview mirrors...

For the handlebar grips, you can buy the originals here: http://shop.vectrixparts.com/handle-bar-hand-grips.html

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

You can buy the bar grips from any motorcycle store. They're a standard item. I replaced mine....it's easy. Remove the weight at the end and just peel it off. Buy the glue too. It's usually separate.

kinchip
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Turns out the grips (at least those on my Vectrix were the same what I bought- the ProGrip 719. Gray was sold out on Amazon so I got the red.

For those like myself who haven't done this before, the images show a little tip I came up with because I could not get the throttle grip to go onto the bar.
I took a can of compressed air, covered the end of the grip with the heel of my hand and injected air into the little reservoir at the end of the grip. With my hand over the end, the air traveled down the grip and made anough space to easily move the grip. Pics provided. The grip's red is not a great match with the bike, but I'm leaving them on.
The second picture shows how I used an awl to make space to get the air can spray tube in far enough to get the last bit on.
Last pic is with the new grips.

BLUESTREAK
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I think the red looks good on the red bike,I will get a set of red ones for my son's red VECTRIX>

Kocho
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Wouldn't the grip just slide on, provided you put some glue on the inside first? The glue lubricates and makes it easy to slide on. My throttle side OEM grip looks new, but is loose and rotates in place - just a few days ago I re-glued it, as I got tired of having to squeeze it while riding just to maintain throttle position. It was not difficult to take off or put on even without a "lubricant". Yours seem tighter fitting from the photos...

israndy
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I actually changed the grip as I don't usually ride with gloves (I know, "do I ride with flip-flops?") The grips get sticky with my sweat, so I went for a model that is made up of fins so I am touching as little as possible and lots of air gets under the grip to rid me of the hand sweat. That sticky grip was no fun. Since I now have two bikes I am gonna TRY a new set of ProGrips on the second bike just to see how long it is before I am feeling that stickiness that is so gross.

Still looking for a replacement ESD charger for my busted one.

-Randy

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I also own a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and a 2012 Mitsubishi iMiev

R
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

The grips get sticky with my sweat

I bought a set of silicone grips seven years ago for my vectrix. Today they look like new, they last 10 times more than conventional ones, the best I've ever bought.
This is the exact model, the Harris Carbon:
http://www.raceleathers.co.uk/ariete-motorcycle-120mm-harris-handlebar-grips-carbon-style.html
1286.jpg_4.jpg

Still looking for a replacement ESD charger for my busted one.

There are ESD chargers available at vectrix parts. Interestingly, you can also buy the ESD adapter to connect it to the Vectrixparts 2nd generation BMS. They can provide you custom firmware to the EDS to match your needs, and run properly the BMS and collect data of every cell with scooterdiag .

http://shop.vectrixparts.com/runke-battery-charger-gold-1-9-2-1n-duplikat-1.html
esd1.jpg
http://shop.vectrixparts.com/vx1-bms-board.html
esd2.jpg

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

The package contains 2 bulbs- each of which has a 20W low and 40W (combined low and high) highbeam wattage.
All I can tell you is that it is a tremendous improvement even at low beam. The high beam seems to be only be a little brighter, though it does throw more light higher up the road. Overall, I am quite happy with it, but still deciding about the boot.

Well, you were right. The difference in brightness is staggering. I've just put tape over the flashing dash light for now.

Also, I managed to break off this bolt which I assume must have been cross threaded during assembly as it just wouldn't move, whilst the others were easy. I have no idea how to fix this. Any ideas?

20150902_182718 (Small).jpg

20150902_183026 (Small).jpg

Kocho
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Is that one of the 4 bolts holding the windshield? Lucky for you, most of it is sticking out. Buy some good penetrating oil, such as LiquidWrench. Soak it for a few hours, reapplying a couple of times. Get a pair of WiseGrip or similar locking wrench and try to take it off. If that does not work, soak more and try again ;-) Then There is always the option to drill it out or use one of these bad bolt remover thingies that you screw into the bolt (they have reverse thread direction) and use them to unscrew the bolt stem with them. Auto parts stores should have all these things.

If the threads on the bike side are only slightly damaged, buy an extra bolt and use it with some lubricant to "re-thread" so your good bolt will hold better. I have not tried those pastes that are supposed to help form new threads in stripped thread situations, so can't tell if they work or not. In a worst case, you may need to rethread with a special tool.

Also, I managed to break off this bolt which I assume must have been cross threaded during assembly as it just wouldn't move, whilst the others were easy. I have no idea how to fix this. Any ideas?

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Is that one of the 4 bolts holding the windshield? Lucky for you, most of it is sticking out. Buy some good penetrating oil, such as LiquidWrench. Soak it for a few hours, reapplying a couple of times. Get a pair of WiseGrip or similar locking wrench and try to take it off. If that does not work, soak more and try again ;-) Then There is always the option to drill it out or use one of these bad bolt remover thingies that you screw into the bolt (they have reverse thread direction) and use them to unscrew the bolt stem with them. Auto parts stores should have all these things.

If the threads on the bike side are only slightly damaged, buy an extra bolt and use it with some lubricant to "re-thread" so your good bolt will hold better. I have not tried those pastes that are supposed to help form new threads in stripped thread situations, so can't tell if they work or not. In a worst case, you may need to rethread with a special tool.

Yes..it's one of those 4 bolts.

Thanks for the advice...I'll give it a go.

agedbikeman
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I'd go for the drilling out and retapping method, centre punch as near the middle as you can and start with a 3mm drill increasing in size until you get just under the thread size,then use tap to recut the thread, buy a cheapo set of taps and dies from tool shop, if it's a bit off centre don't worry the bolt will just fall apart when there is little left of it. If you've never used taps and dies, observe engineering rule, oil the tap and once you get it started half turn forward and quarter turn back so you don't break the tap in the hole. After this you should have a perfect thread. You'l be surprised how many times you use a tap & die set having got one

Good luck

agedbikeman

Kocho
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

That should work, but hopefully with some penetrating oil and good pliers/locking wrenches he'll have it out without a need to re-thread. Other than completely rusted-in exhaust stuff or bolts that sheared off flat (no way to hold what remains of them), I've usually had a good luck removing stuck bolts with some LiquidWrench oil when working on my cars. Your instructions for re-tapping remind me to mention that even if the bolt does come out, the threads will likely be at least slightly damaged and there might be some debris left-over inside: need to clean them as best as possible, and when threading-in the new bolt use the half to one turn right, then quarter to half turn back technique rather than thread all the way in on the first try. Might want to also use some anti-seize paste on the bolt to have easier time putting it in and removing it next time.

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I tried installing the ICM HEX file to stop the flashing lights on the dash, but I got an error message saying file not recognised format or something along those lines.

Anyone else had success?

I also didn't understand any of that activation code stuff. I've sent an email to VX1activationCodes at comcast.net but no reply yet.

zeuz
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I tried installing the ICM HEX file to stop the flashing lights on the dash, but I got an error message saying file not recognised format or something along those lines.

The ICM hex file upload does not work as one would expect.
After uploading the file, the CAN communication status will alternate between RED and GREEN (see attached picture, where it says "Status")
ViewPNG.JPG

You can then turn-off the ignition and then on again.

I also didn't understand any of that activation code stuff.

In tab "ViewPNG", button "Import Config...", you must upload the XML file of the activation codes.
After some power cycles it will display the activation codes.

I've sent an email to VX1activationCodes at comcast.net but no reply yet.

You missed the warning in is page. ;)
He is on vacations until 9/14/15

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

That SO doesn't look like the software I have!!

zeuz
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

That SO doesn't look like the software I have!!

Do you mean SO = System Operative (aka Operative System) or SW = Software ?

The OS is Windows XP
The Diagnostic Software I believe is the one available at http://vectrixparts.com/service-materials (the laptop + CAN Bus cable is not mine).

Please, also notice that selecting VX1Li renders a different configuration of the Diagnostic Software regarding the VX1Ni option.

Aircon
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Worked fine with that software...thanks.

So now I need an activation code for the ICM? At the moment it's 0

zeuz
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

So now I need an activation code for the ICM? At the moment it's 0

David Dugas is on vacation until 14 of September (http://dugasengineering.3dcartstores.com/Vectrix-Support_c_16.html).

I'm also awaiting is return, because I have not completed that part yet.

Jonathanm
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

I

I tried installing the ICM HEX file to stop the flashing lights on the dash, but I got an error message saying file not recognised format or something along those lines.
Anyone else had success?
I also didn't understand any of that activation code stuff. I've sent an email to VX1activationCodes at comcast.net but no reply yet.

I noticed that the tail of the file hex was in fact HEX - so changed it to small letters then the file loaded fine...

Hope this helps!

X Vectrix
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Yeah, the older diags only recognized the lower case .hex extension. I can change that in the file online.

zeuz
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

Finally!

I found a new LED light bulb from Phillips that has the LEDs in the same position as the halogen light bulbs...unfortunately, they aren't cheap.. :/

http://www.xenondepot.com/h4-philips-12953BWX2-LED-Bulb-p/12953bwx2.htm

Gianni Liverani
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Re: Installing LEDs in the Vectrix spotlight

2017-01-05 11.18.15.jpg

Sunder
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Lies, Damned Lies, and Ebay Specs

Hey all,

Sorry to necro a thread, but I had some trouble with eBay globes, and thought I'd share what I learned, to stop others making mistakes. The TL:DR version, is that don't believe anything you read on eBay, but it's very easy to check out specs yourself. Most eBayers seem to specify the chip used in the bulb, allowing you to Google the real specs from the chip manufacturers.

Firstly, virtually everyone on eBay is lying about their specs. There are sellers claiming 25,200 lumen globes, which isn't currently possible under the best Cree or Philips LED CoBs. (Chip on Board).

The first one I bought, I focused on chip placement and reflector, rather than pure lumens, since I figured that if all of them are lying, I might as well get the one that seems to be lying the least. I bought a Nighteye "50w 8000 lumens" set. I understood that to mean 25w, 4000 lumen per bulb, and as per previous posts, that the 25W, was a 1 second peak to trick CANBUS. No such luck.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252889630279?ul_noapp=true

I set my expectations low, and I was STILL disappointed.

Fortunately, they gave enough rope to hang themselves with - they specified the LED CoB they used - Seoul Y19

These CoBs are 1.02w each and at best case scenario produce 175 lumens per chip:

http://www.seoulsemicon.com/kr/product/High-Power/?sub=182&seq=2

With 6 low beam chips, and 6 high beam chips, this would mean 1050 lumens low beam, 2100 lumens high beam. Not even such luck - When you put power through both pins, the low beams shut off, and the high beams turn on. This is likely to be because the drivers are under-sized. So, my subjective observation that this was less bright than a 1000 lumen hand held torch I bought, is not a bad one.

So what does it mean this draws? 6 leds x 1.02w each, you'd expect marginally over 6w - say +15% for an efficient driver, so I was expecting maybe +30% for a cheap driver, so about 8w. Nope. No such luck. It draws 12.4w, and within about 2 minutes is too hot to pick up. Estimates of 100,000 hours in the ad, which is already more than 3 x the manufacturer's estimates, is ridiculous.

So I'm going shot 2: These babies:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/H4-9003-HB2-H13-9008-9007-HB5-100W-Set-LED-Car-Hi-Low-Beam-Headlight-12000LM/32765112008.html

These claim Cree XHP50 for high beams, and XML2 for low beams - already promising, these are high spec chips - Assuming they are real.

http://www.cree.com/led-components/products/xlamp-leds-arrays/xlamp-xhp50
http://www.cree.com/led-components/products/xlamp-leds-discrete/xlamp-xm-l2

Cree XML2s draw 10w each and produce 1052 lumens, and there are two in a single bulb for low beams. XHP50s draw 18w each, and produce 2546 lumens per chip, or 36w and 5092 per bulb.

So if they're claiming 50w @ 6000 lumens, it doesn't seem to add up. There seem to be only two explanations:

  1. Using high beam switches off low beam as above, and their 6000 lumens is about a 20% exaggeration
  2. They leave both on - But the driver says 50W high beam, and you'd need 58W to do this, so it's under driving it by 16% to 6000 lumens. (Actually 5880 lumens)

Either way, the second bulb manufacturer seems to be far more honest. I will post an update when I get them, but I am hoping that at 40-50w, I won't need a resistor or firmware flash to stop the bulb out warning.

Not sure if this has been of any help to people, but the moral of the story is: If you're still yet to do the upgrade, don't put ANY trust in the seller's claims. If they specify which chips they are using (and strangely a huge number do). Do your research and see if their claims stack up.

Aircon
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Re: Lies, Damned Lies, and Ebay Specs

Clearly you know more about these than I do...(wouldn't take much), so can you tell me how do these look please?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/262885844847?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

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