I have a 2008 Wing with 26,000 miles. I installed high priced LED driving lights several years ago and now one is burned out. No way am I going to replace it with another expensive unit. I only want the driving lights for increased daytime visibility. I would like to find low cost LED units that will fit behind the lower cowl. Has anyone found something that both fits and works well after getting wet? I did a search, but I am asking because I'd like to know if there is something currently available and the make and model that will work.
I would think that all LED lamp assemblies are designed to get wet. Did water cause your failure?
At this point, due to the high cost, and the nature of this still being a developing technology, I won't trust any aftermarket LED products just yet. And you can't go by testimonials as far as longevity is concerned, because nobody has owned any long enough to know how long they really last.
It is easy to get hooked by the claims of extremely long life for LED's because of the history they have in low power applications. But high power LED's are a different ball game. Heat is the enemy of any semiconductor, and high power LED's generate a lot of heat that has to be efficiently dissipated. That requires a lot of expensive engineering that small manufacturers of aftermarket products don't have.
I am sure the LED lights on my Wing have been wet a few times, but I don't think that was the cause of the failure. I have put about 20,000 miles on the bike since installing the lights, and that is not a reasonable failure time.
Since I don't want the lights to illuminate the road at night, all I need is something with enough light output to be noticeable during the day.
According to the paperwork, the lights are Big Bike Parts and cost $359.00. Not a good value in my estimation.
you can just buy the bulb ....new $100 each i had set and burned 1 out 2 weeks after warranty and wouldnt budge on helping me . you just need 1 bulb ? i mite have one or try ebay
If the Big Bike Parts LED lamps have replaceable LED's, they are doing something very strange and unorthodox. They must be conventional lamps that BBP converted to LED.
Most high power LED's today use what is called COB (Chip on Board). The LED chip is mounted to a ceramic substrate from the manufacturer. That gets permanently glued to a heat sink, and the wires are soldered to the board.
Not only that, but LED lamps all require a current regulated switching power supply. It would not be easy for the average bike owner to determine whether the power supply failed, or if the LED went bad, since everything should be sealed inside the housing. This all makes the whole lamp assy. pretty much a throwaway item.
As the technology develops, we could see standards develop for replaceable elements, but it would not make a lot of sense since the goal is to make fixtures that last the life of the vehicle. Replaceable elements would add a manufacturing cost that they want to avoid.
NOT A SINGLE BULB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU REPLACE THE WHOLE LAMP. MITE HAVE 1 IF LOOKING !!!!!!!!!!:surprise::kiss:
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