6V halogen bulb source

Anyone who has an older vehicle that is limited by it's 6v electrical system can now use more modern halogen lights by switching the bulbs. Where do you find them? In thrift stores, you just have to look.

Step 1 Gather materials

Here's the secret, a lot of spotlights that are burnt out still have good bulbs and sometimes batteries. Most die an early death because they are over, or improperly charged.

I managed to find this one for $3 with a nice burn mark on the handle, right by the plug.

Comments

[moss_russell]

Hi
i managed to hack this lantern and turn it into a 6v bicycle light.
however the lead battery it came with ...does not hold a charge >?
can you please advise as to why that would be.

secondly would i be able to power this 6v halogen using 7.2v Ni-mh. ...without overloading or overheating >?

[greatscotmagic]

If the batteries are good, how do you charge them and use them? Perhaps another Instructable. Thanks

[xfirexstarzx]

Awesome! I've been running 12v bulbs in my puch newport for the better part of a year and I keep expecting to burn up the coil. My bulb is an h3, so I'll bet it'll work! I'm gonna try anyway! The only concern I have is the fact that the bike runs AC instead of DC, but if the bulb burns out, it wouldn't be a big deal. By the way, your bike looks awesome. Are those IRC Tires on there? I've been trying to get some for a couple months, but everywhere is sold out. How do you like them?

[mbartell]

My Sachs is AC also. The H1 and H3 bulbs look different but should swap over well. I like how much brighter and honestly whiter the light is with the 6V, as compared to the 12V halogen bulbs. Good luck hunting down the best wattage for you bike. It took about 3 "used up" spotlights to find the best wattage (25W) for my bike. If you are running a kit and turning higher RPM's go for more wattage. The IRCs are good, but not as good as Michilen Gazelles. They shouldn't cost much more than the IRC's and they have a much better tread.

[xfirexstarzx]

I never gave my kit a thought. I'm cranking out about 11,000 rpm, but I replaced my old headlight before I installed the kit. Is the wattage just trial and error?