my lamp housing is frosted up and was lookin to replace it. A feller told me to get a Hella?? with a H4 bulb?
I searched some and see there's several to choose from. Question is what about the wire/circuit rating on my 2002 and any idea on what wattage of these H4 bulbs to use if it will work and not fry my **** up.

 

not sure about 02 ,on my 07 I'm using a hella e-code housing,h4 bulb choice is endless,the high perf bulbs tend to not last long,55\65 watt is stock(in my 07)i went to a 55\100 and upgraded the bulbs in passing lamps.alot of guys use the hell 65\85 or 65\100.pia bulbs are good to,and there is one new bulb maker out,can't remember the name for nothin,that claims long life from a high perf bulb.with higher watt bulbs make sure the plug is tight and u shouldn't have any heat problems.lose plug higher resistance more heat.

 

just put up a complete thread on this.happy reading.

 

Hella and Cibie make excellent replacements for the stock housings.
Either beam pattern is much better if you go with the E-Code housing type.
The H4 should be a 55/60 setup for wattage which is the same as stock.
I ran a Cibie 7" round from http://danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html
with an Osram 70/65 H4 bulb , and it was safe for the wiring.
The Cibie was pretty impressive with the stock H4 bulb also on my bike.
I run a truck-lite LED now , and I can't really say that it's better than the Cibie combo.
Mick

 

thanks but still wondering about my year model and if they have changed up the wiring, breakers, fuses, relays or anything since 2002.
Most searches lead me to the newer models and LED lights, etc.

 

Find the companies on the net, and send them an e-mail directly. If anyone should know what fits what, you figure it would be the manufacturer.
To figure out if your circuit will be overloaded, find the wattage for the current bulb and try to match that.
Or, the way to figure amps; Amps=Watts/Volts

 

My 02 Ultra already had the Ecode headlight with the H4 bulb as did my 97
If it's just fogged internally clean it with a little distilled water and vinegar.
If you change it it should be a direct plug in.

Just to make sure I remembered correctly i looked it up online, item 13 is the bulb clearly states that it is a H-4

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....LIGHT-ASSEMBLY

 

THANKS Joe, that helps a bunch. The book just says to replace with specified bulb from the dealer. The bulb chart does list the wattage as 55/60 but does not say what type bulb.
I'll get it apart the next day or two and try the distilled water / vinegar.

 

the std H4 is a 55/60, that's what is DOT approved in the US.

Some run higher wattage* bulbs

this may work great, it may cause problems

a.) the headlight connector should be upgraded ( any auto parts store, tell them why)

b.) the headlight power goes through the ignition switch which does not always tolerate extra current running across it's contacts- it can burn up, killing the bike at the side of the road. I think the ign. switch is less tolerant than the stock switches and wiring.
The capacity of the fuses and breaker needs to be considered.

c.) the higher watt bulb, draws more current contributing to voltage drop in the supply to the fairing instruments, not a biggy, but you can see on the voltmeter.


Probably the best 55/60 H4 is the Silverstar ( auto parts store), however service life is shorter on these, carry a spare.
( and if you State allows, run the high beam in the day to even the wear)


* watts does not mean "more light"- rating for light is lumens, such ratings are not always easy to find on the packaging.
watts mean "how much power does this consume".

color temperature is also a point of interest, in general I find that a blue tint light gives poor contrast-


I have run high watt bulbs on bikes ( my Panhead runs a 6 volt 55/60 watt H4), and my '95 FLHTC ran a Hella E code, 90/120 headlight and 2 x 55 watts spots.
I was only able to do this buy running a fused 10 ga wire directly from my battery to a series of relay packs, 1 for high beam, one for low and one for each spot.
The relays were triggered by the stock wiring ( which now carried only a low current draw) and the low beam relay also was controlled by the aux switch.

I could run high and low beam at the same time, and both spots ( so a total 320 watt draw on the system) good for looking for elk.

cost for the relays, fuse kit, wiring etc and the upgraded bulb connectors was about $20

My voltmeter was also wired to the battery, relay controlled, this gave more accurate indication of battery and charging system condition.


on my 09, I have been quite happy with the improved optics on the stock headlight- so far I'm just running a silverstar and happy with the results

mike

 

Mike, not sure I follow you.........
from the 10 ga lead to the relays, then to each of the light circuits? You still end up tying in to the stock wiring for the ign and switches right? and that wire would be the most limiting element in the circuit. Just curious.
I most likely won't jack with all the relays and super high output bulbs. Older I get the less I ride at night. I like what I've read about the Hella e code and will most likely just use a lower rated bulb, once I figger out what stinking model to choose. Like most household bulbs, TV's, and fertilizer, too many damn choices.