Newbie: Bulb Help!

[TheAceWombat]

Hello,

I don't know how active this forum is but I thought I'd join to see if I could get some advice for my situation. I am a HS senior and I recently bought a 71 Ace 100 B+ with a Wombat engine in it. Today while putting together the light system (which wasn't hooked up), I couldn't get the lamp to turn on and so I gave it to my dad to let him test it. Long story short, he fried the filament inside the bulb using a 12v car battery. Now I've taken the thing home from his shop and after taking it apart I realize it's a sealed unit.

Any help about what should be done with this to repair it would be greatly appreciated. I obviously want to preserve/reuse as many of the original parts as possible but I don't know if these types of lamps are meant to be repaired or thrown out. One concern is that the lamp housing has these proprietary looking brackets on it that seem like something you couldn't buy new anymore.

Also, is the Wombat stator going to be compatible with the 6v system? I don't want to get a new lamp and destroy it too.

Additional info:

A) This is a 6v/35w lamp we're talking about.

B) Sealed as far as I can see.

C) Bulb seems to be soldered to the back of the housing

D) The lamp says Stanley 6 1720 on the glass.

[TheAceWombat]

I want to add to this the discovery I just made when researching on the Hodaka-parts website, I guess the bulb unit inside was actually from a Wombat 125 or something because it uses bullet connectors and someone wrote the 949341 PN on the back. I'm thinking this means that I need the Wombat bulb because it's probably required to run on a Wombat stator. Now I'm kinda screwed cause the assy is $140... Alternative ideas?

[Dale]

The good news is; yes, this forum is active (enough). You have come to the best place in the world for online Hodaka support. This forum has folks that worked at PABATCO and also people that had dealerships back in the day. In addition we have members that are extremely knowledgeable in Hodaka electrical circuits. You will get the information that you need but please be patient.

All of the Hodaka models are 6 volt bulbs. Some use a higher wattage than others and vary in physical size. The original bulbs are hard to find but there are replacement options. There are posts on this forum that address replacements for the headlamps. I will search and post any links that I find.

Welcome to the forum.
Dale

[Dale]

Here are a couple of posts discussing headlamp bulbs. Hope this gets you started in the right direction.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=973&p=4846#p4846

http://hodakaforum.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... ent#p17639

[Bruce Young]

Rkaren is your man, he is a Hodaka electrical expert contact him.

[viclioce]

The 6v lamps are made by Stanley. Some of the other older Honda bikes used the same lamp. Look for the same diameter on eBay.

There’s also a forum member here who sells new replacement lamps for around $65 last time I bought one. Don’t remember his name. I’d have to search it.

Is this Silas??? Just curious...

Victor

[TheAceWombat]

Thanks for the help all, I could have sworn I already posted a reply on here but I guess I hadn't (today I was checking back). I have made decent progress so far. The old bulb has been removed from the headlamp with a blowtorch, and there is next to no damage (a tiny amount of this "bubbling" look is visible on the reflector surface near the hole). Judging by the size of the hole as measured, it's a 13/16" hole. If anyone has suggestions for a hi/lo bulb of any type that would fit through this hole (I'm thinking Halogen), please give links. Right now I am looking at this one from a brand called Octane Lighting on amazon, it is a 3 prong halogen. Going to test out some of the bulbs my dad has at his shop this week, then I might consider ordering it or looking more if those aren't usable.

Victor, if you're asking me, my name is not Silas.

[Hosk1956]

Removed with a blowtorch???? I'd like to see a photo of the globe and fitting area in the lens out of curiousity.
I have a little Deckson Eagle 80, motor made by Fuji, a predecessor of the Hodaka engine, rest of bike made in Taiwan, that is a 6V system and I am having lots of trouble finding 6V globes here in Australia, so looking at changing to a 12V system.
That may be the subject of a post of my own.

Wayne from Oz

[TheAceWombat]

Hosk1956, I'd show you but I don't know how to post pictures. My best description is that it looks mostly normal (like before blowtorching it), there's a little flange on the back of the reflector dish and that is where the solder between the bulb and reflector was. As far as any damage, the only difference is in the one area directly next to the hole for the bulb (on the reflector surface). Basically, instead of being perfectly mirrored, it looks almost as if it is smudged. Not that noticeable at all. This area probably spans a half inch ring around the bulb hole.

I can't give you extremely exact details of the process because my dad had it sitting at his shop and did it for me while I was at home for a school day. What I can tell you is he said he was extremely careful with it. I take this to mean he applied as little heat as possible, which would explain how the reflector stayed in close to pristine condition. Once the solder came out and the bulb was loose, he said that the glass of the bulb and the base separated because of the heat. He was then able to break up the bulb's glass and extract it. That's all.

Personally if I were you I'd retrofit something more powerful instead of hunting for another expensive sealed beam. You can probably find something (a bulb) that has abundant supply which will work and be much brighter than the original 6v systems. From my limited research, the one thing I keep hearing is that they're weak and underpowered...

[rlkarren]

save yourself some time and grief. I wrote those articles Dale mentioned above and I can tell you that the Honda CT90/110 bulb is the way to go. You can purchase aftermarket replacements for the Honda bulb at DRATV.com part# 400019. or you can find them on eBay. (the black housing is not included)

Make sure you purchase new 6v 35/35w bulbs with it, they come with 12v bulbs.

Remove the Honda trim ring, replace it with your Wombat trim ring AFTER you have cut the brackets out. Mount it into the wombat ring just like the honda ring was mounted using the mounting springs.

(NOTE: The lens, reflector, and bulb are positioned to properly aim the hi/low beam and if they move, your beam will be off. I would mark the lens and reflector so that they can re-aligned again and use a silicon sealant to "glue" them together while you have it out.)

Trial and error will identify which wires are hi and low beam, (I don't remember). green is ground.

The CT headlights are of the same vintage and the lens/reflector can be mounted permanently since the bulbs are replaceable without ever removing the lens/reflector again. And bulbs are less than $5.00 each

$0.02

Roger