The Chainlink

Anyone know how to rewire lights to a dynamo hub or a shop that can?

I have a wiring problem with my lights to my dynamo hub. Since I changed a flat on the front of the bike, my lights are not coming on at all.  I am certain that the wires that go into the plug on the hub from the lights are just too short/thin to make proper contact in the plug because I stupidly forgot about the plug on the hub when I took my tire off and ripped a bit of the wiring. I tried to splice the wires to make them longer/thicker by wrapping them with more electrical wire , but couldn't get it to work. The dynamo hub is working fine, it is just that I need someone who knows how to re-wire (or at least knows how to splice wires properly) to utilize the hub.  

This is the hub dynamo: Shimano HD-3N30-QR 

Tail Light: B+M TOPLIGHT Flat Plus

Front light: B+M Lumotech N2 w/switch 

The wiring seems to be threaded inside the fork and comes out of a little hole in the fork near the hub.  Most of the wiring is hidden inside the frame, too. 

The little gray and black pieces are where the wires go through- sadly, my wires are just not long enough.

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Permalink Reply by Melanie K on February 3, 2012 at 11:17am

Thanks for the info. I read that somewhere and it makes me wonder if the bike shop who replaced the light gave me one with a 3.0 watt the last few times- or just replaced the bulb with what they had on hand. I've never actually taken the headlight off to check it myself. I'll check on that just in case that is what has been happening with the headlight since I will be doing the other work on the bike.

Permalink Reply by David P. on February 4, 2012 at 5:00am

Melanie,

Assuming your problem is the wiring itself, I've got a soldering set you can borrow if you like. 

David

Melanie said:

Thank you again, everyone!

I was going to replace the headlight anyway- the stock one that came with the bike went out less than a month after I bought the bike in Feb. of 2009, the shop replaced it after I contacted the manufacturer of the bike, then that one went out in less than a month, brought it back into the shop 2 more times, and after that the shop told me that had no idea why it kept blowing up and to get a new headlight for it as the stock light was crap and the replacements that they were getting from Specialized weren't working right. I also had one of the mechanics tell me that on this model, the headlight was always a problem- of course, by that time the bike was out of warranty LOL. I wish the salesman would have warned me, as it was the main selling point of the bike for me.   The standing taillights have always, for the past 3 years, worked fine, so I know the dynamo is running fine, but after 3 years of commuting and many front tire changes later, the wires have slowly been shredded, and this last tire change I ended up ripping the wires so that they are too short. 

Thanks for the info on the wire gauge- I am going to stop tonight and pick some wiring up, and attempt to fix it this weekend and give everyone an update when its done :)  

Permalink Reply by Gerry G on February 4, 2012 at 8:05am

I'd like to lend you a continuity tester.  It will aid in rewiring.  I'm at Lincoln and California and will be headed for work at 10:00 A.M.  Could connect with you before if you would like to use it.  

chicagobikedriver@gmail.com  

+1 on the correct bulb voltage.

+1 on stranded cable for this application.

G

Permalink Reply by Melanie K on February 4, 2012 at 8:34am

@ Steel Driver- That is hilarious- We are also near Lincoln & California!  Was going to get supplies this afternoon to start working on it.  I don't think we have a continuity tester, and since you are so nearby, it would be great to be able to borrow one, and much easier to return when done. I'll PM you.

@David Purtez-  Thank you for the offer, but I have a soldering set hanging around here somewhere.

@Everyone- Everyone here has been awesome. Chainlinkers are the best!

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 4, 2012 at 9:42am

In the Chicago area the over-voltage issue might not be much of a problem as it only happens at high speed.  Most people aren't lancy-pants or full of steroids enough to go that fast without any long-long hills so the low-wattage bulb issue probably isn't a big deal.

I often ride with my lights on all the time in the winter. It's dark even during the day when it is gloomy and I figure running with the light on all the time isn't going to hurt my visibility at all -and I won't forget to turn it on if it is always on ;)

My 50lb converted MTB/comfort bike with 10lbs of locks in the back isn't going to get me going too fast either without a REALLY long hill.  I'm running a spanninga LED rear light with standlight but I'm not sure if it's drawing enough to make much of a difference of it being there or not when figuring the wattage of the headlight.   I'm using a 2.4w halogen too.  The lamps are not that expensive but can be a little bit hard to source -you can't get it at Menards or a typical auto parts store.

it is pretty easy to change once you figure out how the light opens up.

Jeff Schneider said:

I've been using a B&M halogen bulb headlight for 3 years with an LED taillight on a SON dynamo.  The 2.4W bulbs work fine for me, but I've read that their lifetime is only about 100 hours, and that's about what I get.  It's amazing how quickly you can rack up 100 hours of nighttime riding in an Illinois winter.  The bulbs are not expensive, they're really easy to replace, and I like the color of halogen, so I'm happy with my setup.  

James BlackHeron said:

I was just wondering because some people have a problem with blowing out the headlight if they have the wrong-sized headlamp installed on some brands of headlights.  

If one has only a headlight then the bulb should be a 3.0 watt unit.

If one has both a headlight AND a taillight then the headlight should be a 2.4 watt unit.  

This is particularly important in Bush & Mueller headlights as running a 2.4 watt headlight without a taillight installed could cause the bulb to burn out.  Some tail lights are super-efficient LED types that use so little power that it is possible that a 2.4 watt bulb could still be damaged at high speed in a B&M headlight as the overvoltage protection will not be sufficient to protect the 2.4w bulb.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on February 4, 2012 at 10:51am

Your advice is usually spot-on but, you always seem to be bashing on road riders, people choose to ride tires under 35mm, people with fixed gears, people who wear athletic-gear while riding, etc.

James BlackHeron said:

Most people aren't lancy-pants or full of steroids enough to go that fast without any long-long hills so the low-wattage bulb issue probably isn't a big deal.

Permalink Reply by Gerry G on February 4, 2012 at 8:39pm

Hey, hey!  ; )  I met my neighbors Rob and Melanie today.

Thanks, Chainlink.

Permalink Reply by Melanie K on February 5, 2012 at 4:59pm

Patient is sitting in my dining room awaiting its operation LOL. I did get all the supplies at least. Will try to update tomorrow, as I was going to try this today but something more urgent came up. 

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