Anyone ever melt the H4 Bulb connector for the headlight? Might light was flickering on the highway the last few days and I thought it might be the bulb or even a charging system issue. On my way home last night my low beam went out and I switched to high to get home, luckily it happened in town so I could still see when the light went out. I have a Silverstar Ultra with the stock wattage. Anyone ever melt one of those connectors?

 

Well, I figured it out already...or at least I think I have an idea of what could of happened. Depending which way the bars are turned allows the clutch cable to press the back of the bulb. I guess that pressing kept wiggling the connector over time and caused the connection to get poor, which probably creating heat and caused the socket to get a little melted. I've seen lots of melted sockets in my career but the bulbs are almost always hard to remove, not easy. I took it apart, found the connector that wasn't tight and crimped it a bit. The bulb works fine and doesn't shut off or flicker when I wiggle it. Non the less I still have a slightly burned connector so I'll throw in a new bulb and connector anyway. Annoying...with that being said has anyone ran one of the LED conversions? Maybe I should go that route...

Also...getting a little light bar or some spot lights might be next on my list. If I were in the hills and the bulb randomly shut off could have been a lot worse. Maybe riding with other lights on isn't a bad idea!

 

I installed the cyclops 3800 H4 LED bulb. I cut out a circle in the back of the rubber boot to provide airflow to the cooling fan. So far, working very well and super bright! The only downside: some moisture now gets pulled into the headlight assembly when riding in the rain. I may silicone the bulb mount to keep the water out.

You may have better luck with the 3600 lumen bulb which seems to have a smaller base.

3600-Lumen-LED-Headlight

 

Heck, I kind of like these...

Long Range Optimus LED Auxiliary light Round

 

I've changed the way the boot seals the light and it is better now. I enlarged the hole in the rubber and folded it back down under the cooling fins. This prevents the fan from pulling water vapour into the headlight.

 

just installed one of these on my '12...... went real easy. it all fit quite well into the rubber boot. I just had to cut it open long the small hole since the cabling doesn't fit through the hole.









I rode in the dark for the first time with it last night and the difference is amazing. You can actually see with just the low beam on now......

 

I only melted one on a different bike. And it was because I had a 100w lowbeam and 135 highbeam bulb. Running a 100w to long just gets to hot. Bright as hell, but useless in newer plastic housing lights. Good for metal and glass lights. I learned the hard way. You shouldn't have trouble using normal wattage bulbs like 55/65. Anything more gets to hot in my opinion.

Looks like you found the problem though.

 

That's the one I want! Nice. How's the color of the light, I prefer it like a bright halogen or at least whitish. Also, does the led light disperse well or is it real shadowy?

I know you cut the rubber boot to fit but does it seal well? I'm curious if dust and water could easily get in there now.

 

the pattern seems ok, better than the halogen anyway. It's hard to be subjective plus find somewhere dark enough to make it stand out real clear.

the boot doesn't really seal at all anymore, the bottom of the cut is open. I made sure that it was at the bottom though.