Need help figuring out 12v dc headlight wiring.

[shore856]

my old switch ( low / high beam ) got water in it and stopped working.

ive bought a replacement light, but it has the switches already attached to the light.

the new headlight has 2 wires and my old one gives 3. just cant figure out how to remove the old high / low beam wiring and leave it to the unit on the light to control on or off instead.

(at the minute the low and high beams are joined because i thought itd be constantly on to allow the other swithes to work* obs dont work)

is there anything i can remove / re wire to allow it to work? can get better photos if needed .

150a sabvoton ( im sure the 12v brake cable is wired in there with the controller too for brake light)

 

[amberwolf]

Was the old headlight also "12v", and did it also use the same amount of current and power?

What voltages do you have on your wiring, with no light attached, in each switch position?

What voltages does your new headlight need on each of it's wires?


If the old light wasn't 12v, you'll have to install a DC-DC between your battery and your new light, or add a separate 12v battery for it.

If the old light didn't use as much power or current as the new one, you may have to do the same thing, as the existing connection may not be able to handle the higher power or current.

Some lights switch the + lines for different brightnesses by providing power to more lights or different lights inside the unit, to get high or low beam.

Some switch the - lines instead.

Some don't have real high or low beams, just dimmer or brighter output, and use an external dimmer that provides differnet voltages for each.

Since we know nothing about your old light or your new one, we can't tell you anything specific about them; you'll have to provide all that info.

 

[shore856]

Was the old headlight also "12v", and did it also use the same amount of current and power?

What voltages do you have on your wiring, with no light attached, in each switch position?

What voltages does your new headlight need on each of it's wires?


If the old light wasn't 12v, you'll have to install a DC-DC between your battery and your new light, or add a separate 12v battery for it.

If the old light didn't use as much power or current as the new one, you may have to do the same thing, as the existing connection may not be able to handle the higher power or current.

Some lights switch the + lines for different brightnesses by providing power to more lights or different lights inside the unit, to get high or low beam.

Some switch the - lines instead.

Some don't have real high or low beams, just dimmer or brighter output, and use an external dimmer that provides differnet voltages for each.

Since we know nothing about your old light or your new one, we can't tell you anything specific about them; you'll have to provide all that info.

thank you for the response, the old one was a 12v and i belive the new one is also 12v, they are different styles but should be the same volts. the output current i honestly dont know as the old was came with and the new one dosent have that info.

it is all running from a 12vdc convertor, i think what i was basically thinking was id be able to remove the high/low beams and just wire this light into it, in place of the old one, but the wire colours and going into other things is whats confusing me the most. it looks like the beams run from the 72vdc-12vdc to high and low and then to cut off sensors witht he tail light being looped in for a constant red with lights on and / high red for braking. sorry when it comes to electrics all i know is how to replace stuff.

 

[shore856]

would i be correct in saying this is my postive and negative wires that need moving to the headlight?

 

[amberwolf]

I don't know what any of your wires are. You would need to measure the voltages at your wires to find out what they are. If you have a voltmeter, you set it to 20VDC, and put the black lead from it's COM or GND to your battery negative wire. Then put the red lead from it's V to each of the wires you need to test, with the system turned on, and write down the readings in a way that lets you keep track of everything.

Then you need to check the wiring diagram for your new light to see where to connect each one, or see if you need some other connections that you'd have to add into the system.