HELP!!! lighting system..

[crlefley]

hello world,
i know that the basics of this thread have been covered in many different ones, like running the turn signals on a 12 v battery with a headlight ect... i have the basics planned out im going to get a turn signal switch from electricscooterparts.com and a 12 v battery from somewhere, and four turn signals, (2 front 2 back) a AA powered headlight i think, and a break light.

heres my question,
if the lights say something like 12 v light does that mean it would take up all the power of a 12 v battery? meaning i can only run one blinker at a time? because im looking to run two per side, and thats not possible with on battery from my understanding..

ive looked all over the sight, cant find quite what i need yet...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP!!!!!!!!

LINKS OR COMMENTS APPRECIATED.
thanks

[Mountainman]

hi
if we have a 12 volt battery
it can operate one or more 12 volt bulbs at the same time
more bulbs used at same time - less battery life

get that thing lit up and
ride that thing - Mountainman

[crlefley]

Thanks mountain man.
Just wonderin. What battery and lighting setup do you have? Deatails and pics are helpful.

Thanks

[Mountainman]

the getting younger with every MB ride Mountainman
has nothing special in the way of lighting
that Cateye front light from WalMart
and the little red budie flasher in the rear
haven't done much serious riding at night -------- yet
but - will be soon
been heading out in the mornings at times -- 4am
but - with that little front light -- MUST BE VERY CAREFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

recommend looking around here - this site - for safe bright lights

so as we ride that thing
we will not get hit by cars
or - as has already happened to me -- front wheel - small rock - almost down at 35mph
that was downhill - no motor on - with little front light !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mountainman

[crlefley]

I agree 35mph + rock = near death. Thanks again for your help.

[likearock111]

"heres my question,
if the lights say something like 12 v light does that mean it would take up all the power of a 12 v battery? meaning i can only run one blinker at a time? because im looking to run two per side, and thats not possible with on battery from my understanding.."

Hey CR,

This is a good question. As far as whether a particular light would take up all of the power of a 12 V battery, the answer is: it depends, but probably not.

The answer is really dependent on both the battery specs and the light specs. Every battery known to man has at least two main specifications: 1) operating voltage (12 V in your case), and 2) power capacity. The second one is the heart of your question. Batteries source current that passes through things like light bulbs. Current is measured in amps (A).

So, a given 12V battery might be capable of supplying 1 amp of current to a light for 1 hour. That means that the battery has a capacity of 1 Amp*hour (1 A-h). A higher capacity battery might be able to source 1 Amp of current to a light for 5 hours, which would mean it has a capacity of 5 A-h.

What is the capacity of your battery? If you're using a sealed lead acid battery, this capacity is almost always labeled on the packaging. AAs, AAAs, Ds, etc. also have available capacities from the manufacturer (check online).

The second part of the equation is the amount of current the lights draw. This is highly dependent on the type of "bulb" in use (LED, halogen, normal incandescent, etc.). I would recommend measuring the current draw of your lights by putting a multimeter in series with the light (tons of online tut's out there, if you aren't familiar with multimeters).

Let's say each of your 12V lights requires 250 milliAmps (0.25 A) to operate. Let's also say that you're using a 5 A-h 12V lead acid battery. This means that if you ran four lights continuously from the battery, you would be draining 1A from the battery. Therefore, you would be able to run four lights off the one battery for 5 hours. Alternatively, you could run one light off the battery for 20 hours.

So, in the end, the life of your system is determined by the specifics of your lights and battery. Make sense?

[Chain theory]

This is the 12 volt system I'm putting on my bike.

Here is the link for the whole thread.