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by **dkrob** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 14:26 14

Hi everyone need a little help, okay reassurance. My wife has a 2006 400 Burgman Sport. One of her headlamp bulbs burned out and reading through the forums have noticed because of the exuberant cost of the stock 35/35 watt original headlamp bulbs have been installing H4 60/55 Watt bulbs (also known as 9003 bulbs) which you can pick up 2 bulbs at Walmart for about 16.00. I changed out both bulbs,they are much brighter for sure, but my big question, okay my wife's big question is, will the wiring handle it, will they get so hot they melt or eventually fatigue the headlamp lens and it will crack. I told her they are great hand warmers when it is cold out. Here in Montana like today, we have a winter storm warning and we have the heavy white stuff coming down, enough of the weather. I was running the bike today for about 10-15 minutes after installing the bulbs, she hadn't rode in a while so I like to run it for a little bit, anyway my wife touched the headlamp lens and it was fairly hot, didn't burn your hand but darn warm. I know there is no air flowing over the lens area which will help dissipate the heat, yet my wife's comment made me start thinking and questioning the larger watt bulbs and possible future problems. Any help or thoughts would greatly be appreciated. Thanks again and I know there are some info here on these bulbs, yet I thought I would also check out if there are any long term affects of the H4 60/55 Watt bulbs.
Ride On!

by **Aladinbama** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 15:23 15

I've had H4's on mine for at least 3 or 4 years now with no issues. I guess your mileage may vary.

by **Buffalo** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 16:14 16

One of mine burned out a couple of years back and I replaced it with an H4 but left the 35/35 in the other side. So far the wiring seems to be handling it just fine and I can't find any signs of anything melting anywhere.

by **dkrob** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 20:34 20

Thanks Buffalo and Aladinbama for your responses. My wife has a little over 15,000 on her Burgman 400S when she blew a stock bulb, she really likes her bike and I was just hoping with the H4 bulbs to give her a little more light as the stock 35/35w bulbs just do not give off a lot of light. Have either of you gentleman ever placed your hand on the lens to see how hot the lens get when the H4's are lit up. I only had my wife's on low beam and like I wrote, I touched the headlamp lens and it was fairly hot, didn't burn your hand but darn hot. That's what concerns me with the H4's is the long term use and will the wiring handle it. I guess both you gentleman have had good results and Aladinbama, you have had yours in for 3 to 4 years. Can I ask Aladinbama if you noticed a big difference in riding at night with the H4 bulbs, and Buffalo, when you blew the one bulb, can I ask why you only changed out the one bulb to an H4 and not just put H4's in both sockets? Thanks gentleman!
Ride On!

by **Buffalo** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 20:51 20

When I put my hand on the lens the side with the H4 doesn't feel noticeably hotter than the side with the 35/35.

As for why I only changed one, at the time I was a little worried about the current draw but mainly I'm just cheap and couldn't see replacing the working 35/35 until it burned out :lol:

.

The H4 does light up the road better especially on brights. I've got the H4 in the right hand side and oncoming traffic probably likes it better with the 35 watt bulb on their side and the 55 watt on the outside.

by **Aladinbama** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 13:53 13

It's brighter. I actually went with a top-of-the-line variety that really lit up the road, but they didn't last too long so I went back to the standard H4's. I really haven't noticed any issues - I also haven't really looked or worried about it. If I'm not mistaken the wire gauge looked to be the same as is in my car, so ... there shouldn't be a problem.

by **dkrob** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 18:08 18

Thanks Aladinbama for your reply and input.

by **ray nielsen** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 22:32 22

While the stock wiring WILL handle the increased load I decided to use a relay system sold by Eastern Beaver. Do a Google search and you'll find his site and a complete description of his products. His relay kit is very well engineered and easy to install, but it requires some disassembly of plastic pieces to make everything fit.

On my 2006 Burgman 400 the increased current draw (2 lamps at 60 W. each on high vs. 2 lamps at 35 W. each) used some of the "headroom" of the electrical system. 120 W. vs. 70 W. (50 W. difference) relates to an increase in current of about 3.5 Amps. On my 400 that meant I was over the top and not fully charging the batteries when using my electric jacket liner on the full heat position. Had to turn it down a bit to prevent running the battery down. I was using a voltmeter as a gauge of how the system voltage was doing. That's the only negative I can see with using the more powerful bulbs. No heat problems and brighter lights.

BTW I used heavy duty H4 bulbs available from Dennis Kirk as they are supposed to withstand vibration better than the standard H4 bulbs. A little more expensive, a lot more reliable over the long haul.

Ray Nielsen, in Minneapolis and riding most days now, even through the upcoming April showers!

by **dkrob** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:48 06

Hi Ray and thanks for the response. My wife does not use or need any other external power besides only wanting to increase the elimination from her headlamps. If we we were only making a change in increasing the headlamps to two 60w bulbs, would we need to worry about running down the battery or the charging system not being able to handle the increase in bulb size. The only other minor electrical use we have added is a top case on the back of her bike that has lights, and I don't even know if I would call them lights as you can hardly see they illuminate. If you think the top case bulbs along with the increase in headlamp is to much for the charging system, I can always unplug the top case as I only need the storage. Thanks again Ray. By the way, I am originally from Austin, MN, now living in MT.
Ride On!

by **suziblu** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 13:58 13

I've used the 9003 for several years now with no problem. originally I switched to the Sylvannia Silverstars ... about $50 a pair here in Canada but they only last about 1 season. the stock auto 9003's burn longer. Absolutely no issue with heat or overload. Feel reassured. ~ suziblu ~

by **Kcast** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 21:00 21

Hi i just got my 03 suzuki burgman 400 about a week ago. One of the light where out so i bought both of them sylvania h4 60/55 and the 15 watt fuse burns out. This leaves the bike with out light; tail lights, dash, and the start. I turn the bike off when the dash went dark and i couldn't start it again. I went to autozone and got fuses and changed and as soon as l would turn on the bike the fuse would burn. I change it out more then 5 time. A friend put a 35watt fuse in that slot that day, i road home and parked. Two days later i when to turn the bike on and nothing. All the fuses are good. Break, kickstand up, and nothing, not even noise. The lights are all on. Can someone help me?

by **Buffalo** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 21:12 21

The 60/55 watt bulbs should not have caused the fuse to blow. I suspect that when you were changing the bulbs out you somehow caused a short in the wiring somewhere and that was what was causing the fuse to blow. The 35 amp fuse probably could handle the load of the short so it did not blow. However the short might of caused the battery drain. A worse possibility is that the higher amp fuse allowed the wiring somewhere in your harness to melt causing a more severe short that drained the battery. It's never a good idea to replace a fuse that keeps blowing with a higher amp rated fuse.