H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

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Chuck78
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H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

Will an automotive H7 halogen bulb work well enough if hooked up to an AC system like the KDX lighting stator? Or will it immediately blow a $12 bulb?!

I know some LED lights say that they work on AC and/or DC. The H7 is a more compact base and available at all auto parts stores, I only have an H4 type motorcycle LED bulb spare here now, and they have much larger bases although I may try to rig it up into my KDX for this weekend.

THANKS!

Chuck
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
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Chuck78
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

I have a cool old KDX175 headlight/front plastics with a 5" round reflector. Since I ultimately wanted a vintage bike ('88 KDX200 or 86-87) but don't have a vintage KDX yet, I might throw that on the KDX220 for the time being if it makes bulb swap easier, & I'll have a slight nostalgic aesthetic....
The stock KDX headlight reflects so much of the light back towards the rider that it blinds them and negates any of the weak lighting that is thrown out ahead of the bike... I had to run several wraps of electrical tape around the edge of the rectangular headlight lens where the reflector assembly meets the lens, just to try and direct some of that light back to the front... I still managed to wreck into a steel-wire farm fence in the dark due to the seriously lacking stock lighting output! Hopefully I can rewind the stator this winter to get some serious visibility for night rides.
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron Pro, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 Suzuki PE175 Full Floater - restomod projects
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400/489cc & '77 GS550/740cc projects
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swaps
'88 Toyota 4x4 pickup
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by bufftester »

For decent night lighting you will want to rewind the stator and float the ground and go to a reg/rect/batt arrangementusing LED bulbs. You can get some serious light output that way.

As for your original question, yes a halogen bulb will work on ac or dc, though you may bet some flicker on ac at low rpms. You run a higher risk of breaking the filament on ac, but you run a higher risk of breaking a filament in a high vibration environment anyways.

As for the H7 part, that is just the bulb socket arrangement, there are many different types.
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

Alright thank you for your insights. Yes I was inquiring about the H7 because it was a much smaller setup than an H4, & thus more likely to be able to retrofit with some work/adjustments into the KDX220 or KDX175 headlight reflector assy.
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron Pro, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 Suzuki PE175 Full Floater - restomod projects
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400/489cc & '77 GS550/740cc projects
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swaps
'88 Toyota 4x4 pickup
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Chuck78
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

So is it absolutely necessary for decent brightness to add a regulator/rectifier & battery??? I'm not dual sporting this but just want bright lights when in the woods.
Flicker @ low RPM's is a non-issue at least for my desires currently, & adding a small battery + R/R is not something I really want to do unless it is ABSOLUTELY critical.
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron Pro, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 Suzuki PE175 Full Floater - restomod projects
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400/489cc & '77 GS550/740cc projects
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swaps
'88 Toyota 4x4 pickup
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by pumpguy »

Haven't had much actual experience although I did upgrade my lighting coil to 80 watts using a Ricky Stator coil.

As an aside, compared to rewinding a stock coil, I do notice that the laminated iron core on my Ricky Stator coil is thicker than that of the stock coil.

One thing is certain, the stock lighting coil is only rated for 40 watts output, so regardless what you do, you will need an upgraded lighting coil to get greater output.

IIWM, I would just try your choice of bulb powered by a high output coil and see how it works using the un-rectified AC current. Your stock regulator will still limit the output, so you shouldn't burn out the bulbs.

IMO, this arrangement will probably work okay for you, but if not, you can either add a rectifier, or swap out your regulator for a regulator/rectifier unit.

Let us know how this all works for you.

Good luck
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

I was having trouble locating the bulbs that I was searching for in an AC version, most of them were saying DC only, use add-on rectifier, which was an additional $40. But 9005 low beam & 9006 high beam bulbs come in LED variants that would be easily adaptable (I just stuffed a halogen version in my stock KDX reflector assembly), it was either Cyclops Adventure Sports or ADV Monster, I was just browsing a bunch of those. One of those to manufacturers have an H4 Rev7 bulb that was both AC or DC, but the larger H4 base would take more physical adapting. And one of them also has a $39.99 rectifier
Last edited by Chuck78 on 10:50 pm Sep 06 2019, edited 1 time in total.
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron Pro, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 Suzuki PE175 Full Floater - restomod projects
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400/489cc & '77 GS550/740cc projects
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swaps
'88 Toyota 4x4 pickup
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by bufftester »

True, you could go rewound stator and LED lights and probably have adequate lighting, as long as you're willing to put up with some flicker at low RPMs. Thats the easiest way. Couple guys on here have gone that route using the OEM regulator with good success
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Chuck78 »

bufftester wrote: 10:06 pm Sep 06 2019 True, you could go rewound stator and LED lights and probably have adequate lighting, as long as you're willing to put up with some flicker at low RPMs. Thats the easiest way. Couple guys on here have gone that route using the OEM regulator with good success
Yup, that sounds like what I had in mind 👍
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, FMF, Tubliss
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron Pro, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 Suzuki PE175 Full Floater - restomod projects
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400/489cc & '77 GS550/740cc projects
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swaps
'88 Toyota 4x4 pickup
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by Slick_Nick »

I run an H7 with my upgraded Stator mod. AC/DC doesn’t matter for incandescent lights. Search the how-to forum.
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Re: H7 12v automotive bulb work on AC????

Post by GOT WOODS? »

Check out this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=115&t=23092

Cheap, no stator rewinding, blindingly bright..... Been riding all summer with it and works great so far.
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2003 KDX 220:
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