Nice But Dim . . .

well I seriously have to come up with a solution
headlight was hardly illuminating the back of a car 20 odd feet away on way home from work
almost side swiped by a car (again) probably thought I was a push bike
has anybody checked the voltage at the headlight connectors to see if voltage loss is occurring
possibly thinking bypassing the large wiring connector and seeing if its that

there must be way around this because as it is its bloody dangerous

think my old fizzy had a better light and think it was 6 volts :Arghh:

 

It has been suggested elsewhere that the poor earth set up can be causing this the dim lights. Two thoughts spring to mind -

1. Put in a separate earth for the head light
2. Run power direct from the battery and through a relay to the bulb and put the head light switch across the relay.
3. Or try one of these HeadLight H4 LED Bulb 120 LED White | eBay

 

have looked at the led bulbs but not sure
intend to put in extra earth
relay could be a good idea ............bit like the set up for adding extra spotlights hmm

 

Read somewhere that LED bulbs don't work well in projector lights like the 749/999 ones, if they are not specifically designed for LED bulbs.
This is because the light source ends up being in the wrong place for the optics to focus the beam precisely.
I don't know if this is the case or not with conventional reflector lights.
I'm amazed though that a 2007 SS should have the same dim lights issue of my '96 square light SS.
I did manage to improve that with aftermarket high quality/output bulbs but still not great...

 

So what's a good after-market bulb for my 1999 900SS that won't fail an MOT and will at least give the standard light a boost?

 

Look up

Autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Maximum Vision
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H4 OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimited +110% Upgrade Xenon Headlight Bulbs (Pair)
SKU: 64193NBU-HCB • 4.5 (28 Reviews)

• Brand New Osram Night Breaker Unlimited
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• 35 metre longer light beam allowing hazards along the road ahead to be seen sooner
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Product Details
£18.45 (Inc. VAT)
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Thanks very much for that Old rider, much appreciated.

 

Change the headlamp relay. That made a big difference with the brightness of the lamps on my 749

 

Thanks Duke, what's the relay and where can I find it? Ta.

 

You can always put under and over projector headlamps on (a la 749/999).
if I has an ie I'd be looking at one of these fairings:

DR13 DUCATI 900 SS IE 98-01 Street Fairing Panels Fiberglass Bodywork DE-Lights | eBay

 

Probably good to do both.
It wouldn't have occurred to me that the relay would cause extra resistance with age but if that's what you've found to be the case, it's a quick, cheap and easy fix.
Did you use a particular brand (eg Bosch) or just generic??

 

need on in a hurry so i got one from my local indie. e-bay sell them for £1.90/ea

 

does look better, but having owned both the 900ssie and 749, thelights are not great on either

 

I can't be ar*ed to change bulbs etc on mine........the first time I used the SS in the dark, I was pleasantly surprised how good the headlight was despite the rubber seal missing (now fitted) which threw a lot of glare back at me.

It's certainly a damn sight better than my Guzzi Le Mans and various Kawasaki headlights on previous bikes including the ZZR1100.