Alternator - output capacity?

I think you’ll find the canbus system controls output into circuits. Shutting them down if the load is to high.

The CAN-bus does data communications amongst the various controllers. Chassis electrics are controlled by the ZFE. Like I said attributing electrical management to the CAN-bus is a popular misconception (largely propagated by vendors who should know better).
 
They presumably come with a fused feed from the battery. What is the fuse rating?

They claim to be both 180 and 145W, and I doubt this. If they are 180W (each) you’d need 30A to run them , which is bonkers. The fuse would have to be higher rated, say 40A. And the cable is going to be FAT.
See abive
 
It’s 145 watts for the pair working fully. I followed the instructions and put them on the white circuit, and set the fuse rating to the recommended 15 A IIRC and it hasn’t tripped out yet.
I do wonder if now I’ve derated the lights wether I could drop the circuit to 10 A

Oh, no fused feed, it’s on the canbus system
The excan has a fused master feed jic
 
It’s 145 watts for the pair working fully. I followed the instructions and put them on the white circuit, and set the fuse rating to the recommended 15 A IIRC and it hasn’t tripped out yet.
I do wonder if now I’ve derated the lights wether I could drop the circuit to 10 A

Oh, no fused feed, it’s on the canbus system

It’s 145 watts for the pair working fully. I followed the instructions and put them on the white circuit, and set the fuse rating to the recommended 15 A IIRC and it hasn’t tripped out yet.
I do wonder if now I’ve derated the lights wether I could drop the circuit to 10 A

Oh, no fused feed, it’s on the canbus system
It must have a fuse, and if the fuse is 15A then the maximum continuous power is 12V x 15A = 180W, so they can’t be 145W each

The CAN bus has nothing to do with the max power.
 
It must have a fuse, and if the fuse is 15A then the maximum continuous power is 12V x 15A = 180W, so they can’t be 145W each

The CAN bus has nothing to do with the max power.
That’s what I said. 145 watts for the pair
 
  • Like
Reactions: SBD
Here’s a picture off the lone rider fitting instructions. No mention of a fuse.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0770.png
    IMG_0770.png
    500.2 KB · Views: 13
It must have a fuse, and if the fuse is 15A then the maximum continuous power is 12V x 15A = 180W, so they can’t be 145W each

The CAN bus has nothing to do with the max power.
The Hexezcan unit is run from the battery with an inline fuse

the hexezcan unit contains no fuses as such, it controls all the currents & monitors the loads based on the values you preset

if it goes over the values you specify it shuts the circuit down - dont ask me how ;)
 
The BMW auxillary LEDs add more than sufficient extra light at night, so much so tht I often get flashed when I forget to swith them off :)
 
The BMW auxillary LEDs add more than sufficient extra light at night, so much so tht I often get flashed when I forget to swith them off :)
I’ve adjusted mine (Denali D4) so on dip (10%) they don’t light up the back window of the car I’m behind

On full beam, they’re very good

I mounted them right up under the beak to limit upward light, at least a bit
 
I’ve adjusted mine (Denali D4) so on dip (10%) they don’t light up the back window of the car I’m behind

On full beam, they’re very good

I mounted them right up under the beak to limit upward light, at least a bit
Rather than restricting the output, have you considered adjusting the direction ?
I set Toms at - 3 degrees. IIRC, normal setting is -1.5 degrees.
This allows for more light but not dazzling people.
 
I’ve adjusted mine (Denali D4) so on dip (10%) they don’t light up the back window of the car I’m behind

On full beam, they’re very good

I mounted them right up under the beak to limit upward light, at least a bit
Yep, I’d run the D4 as you really don’t need anything else, enough light to do 80mph on a country road no problem.
 
Rather than restricting the output, have you considered adjusting the direction ?
I set Toms at - 3 degrees. IIRC, normal setting is -1.5 degrees.
This allows for more light but not dazzling people.
I don’t know what angle they’re at, i didn’t try to measure it.

I simply adjusted them to not dazzle or annoy from behind, and trust this is good enough from in front.
 
I don’t know what angle they’re at, i didn’t try to measure it.

I simply adjusted them to not dazzle or annoy from behind, and trust this is good enough from in front.
Ok. It could be said I’m a bit anal about such things (y)
 
  • Like
Reactions: SBD
Just got to read this thread in it's entirely,

Yes it looks like 145w for the pair at full chat, so that's roughly 75w per unit ish

I may grab a cheap clamp meter to see what amps are going where

Still haven't got round to fitting them yet
 
The BMW auxillary LEDs add more than sufficient extra light at night, so much so that I often get flashed when I forget to switch them off :)

that's as they are mounted high - and they vibrate and wobble about making it harder for others to dial out the dazzle which is irritating - and of course most people want to complain

the light output is so little its not really worth turning them on - its like my car, it has comfort lights that give the perception that you can see more - but its never down the road extending light to where you need it, so you can really ride more safely at higher speeds
 
Just a point that incandescant bulbs are illegal over 55watts, I'm not sure how that affects LEDs.
 
So, in the absence of any hard data, i decided to try a scientific approach and see what would happen

So i assembled what i thought would be all the electrical gear i would be using on the trip

Warm n safe top
Warm n safe leggings
Heated grips
Spotlamps full & low beam
Innov K7
Samsung galaxy tab active 2

Started the bike without the warm n safe kit & tab plugged in, spots on 50% low beam and heated grips off

Voltage 14.30 volts @ 2k rpm

Then i turned on the heated grips to defcon 2 and took a voltage reading at the battery

14.30 volts

turned on high beam

14.30 volts


So everything off, and added the warm n safe top heat setting on max and repeated the tests

14.30 volts

Added the warm n safe leggings into the mix heat setting on max and repeated the tests


14.30 V

Added the tabnav into the current draw

It was only here i saw a drop at idle from 14.30 to 14.20v

but as soon as i was at about 2k rpm it was solid at 14.30 V



Yes i know its not 100% scientific, but at least i know with everything connected running at max settings it looks like I'm not going to end up running the battery flat

:)
 


Back
Top Bottom