How To Fit Wired Bike Lights To Your EMTB Battery

[@embn]

Are you running a light system on your EMTB? Let us know down below! 👇

[@markosborne2722]

I have Light in Motion lights front and back on a Shimano Steps E8000. The shop had to enable lights in the menu as I remember. I also had to run the wires externally as the cable ports were not large enough to accept an extra wire. Handy when riding back from the trail in the winter.

[@SimonBauer7]

not hardwired ones. have usb rechargable ones.

[@embn]

Sounds like a good setup you've got, Mark. It's a shame about the cable routing. Safe riding out there! 👍

[@Bndit666]

Yes, Lupine SL F and love it!

[@aphanez]

I didn't trust the 12V power out on my 36V ebike as didn't know what power it would actually support so I simply bought a dirt cheap metal cased 60v down convertor (over-specced but worked reliably unlike the non-metal cased lower voltage one I tried first). It's wired in so it comes on whenever I turn on the battery. I then have a rock solid 12v supply that I know delivers. To that I then added a home-made front light using a 12V 3W MR16 spotlight for road use and the same at the rear but with a red filter, both using daylight bulbs, not "warm". I also have a 12V 1W at the front as I have the 1W and the rear permanently on for safety reasons. It also means I can never forget to turn them on if I've maybe turned them off as I go onto a lit cycle-path and then back on to a road. The front 3W one is ok for roads but I've also added a cheap 120W car spot for off-road or unlit backwhack roads, which is bright as day for about 150-200ft, despite only being in reality 10W using standard western SI units, not "Make it up" Chinese ones. These are all controlled using some cheap motorbike multi-switch handlebar controllers so I can easily turn them on and off without messing about looking or taking my hands off the grips. It also meant, as they have push buttons, that I could wire the spotlight to a flasher to warn cars or just to quickly light up something. I've found useful at night to warn pedestrians on mixed-use paths I'm there well before I get there and they respond to that before my tinkle-bell. I've also now added a motorcycle horn for those pedestrians who decide to ignore my tinkle bell in preference for their phone or music player, including the f***ing idiots heading straight toward me on a cycle path thinking it's clever to ride no-hands using their phones- "Oh, look at me, I'm a f***wit!". Finally, I've actually set it somewhere between 9 and 10V because I found the lights didn't seem any different and they were just as bright, so I'm saving a little current on them. In reality, the down convertor efficiency means it's not wasting much if idling. I'm also not really sure where all the "my lights cost me a lot of mileage" or "I fitted battery lights to go further" because the big user of power is always the motor, even my car spotlight takes very little from my range.

[@AmvC]

For BOSCH CX 4th gen (maybe others) motors: the light port at the motor needs to be activated by a bike shop which needs to have the bosch service software. No plug and play here - and 5€ gone. It's just the typical BOSCH move of ripping you off :)

[@Lee-ic2yn]

Sounds like some EA games tactics

[@mallias2683]

I agree that it is annoying but on the other hand it is better to have an unused port deactivated than have it live with power and potentially damaging the motor if water leaks to the port.....Also all the Bosch generations have the light ports deactivated by default. And they have different port shape from gen to gen, including different shape for the 2022 model compared to the 2021........

[@AmvC]

@@mallias2683 if there is water ingress, the port itself is the weak point, not it being live or not. I mean, there is a reason why bosch is putting a sealing dummy plug in that not-live port.

[@RPercheiro]

Thanks for the warning

[@TheEventHorse]

Also on many brands using Bosch you need the bike manufacturer to “approve” and update the config. Via their software. That approval process can take hours, days or even weeks! Really bad move by Bosch to allow this process to exist. Took me 10 days to get lights sorted on my Mondraker, but thankfully all sorted now for winter, and so much better than having yet another battery to keep charged.

[@antoniolatorre6047]

I’ve been saying this for quite a while. The next ebikes designs would need to bring near the screen or top frame a USB port to easy plug and play a lamp, smartphone, etc. just make sure to put a plug on it to avoid moisture or water coming in and ready.

[@ilya.bakulin]

As mentioned already, for Bosch motor there is an additional step of activating the light port at your dealership. What's worse, after activation certain battery capacity will be reserved for the lights, doesn't matter whether you use them or not. In my case, it was whopping 10% of battery! So instead of having 625 Wh battery you now have ~ 560 Wh 😢 I ended up deactivating the port and going with the battery-powered lights.

[@Lee-ic2yn]

That's annoying Are these lights a lot more powerful or something?

[@mallias2683]

How did you notice this 10%? I had a light connected to my Gen3 with Kiox and I have a light on my new smart system, I haven't noticed anything different to my range and battery percentage in both systems.

[@ilya.bakulin]

@@Lee-ic2yn the lights as in the video are more powerful and comparatively cheap compared to the battery-powered lights with the similar power.

[@ilya.bakulin]

@@mallias2683 I have a gen2 system with Kiox. During a tour the percentage dropped to 10% and then bike stopped supplying any motor support, I had to ride a 25 kg heavy bike to the car :-( Now I can go below 10% and the motor still works.

[@Lee-ic2yn]

@@ilya.bakulin yeah just doesn't seem worth the hassle (or sacrifice of battery) I'd rather pay a little more and keep my 625 watts

[@stevecrump1375]

Lights on your e- mountainbike look cool....I especially like the day time flash mode....👋

[@Phil_Barker]

I run a lezyne 1000 on my emtb, it's really been fantastic not having to charge it and always having it with me in case a ride runs on too long and I need a light to get home. One thing to note if you have a Bosch system, you have to take the bike to a dealer to have the light enabled in the software :(

[@bastogne315]

Did you get a smart light...

[@rubinsteinkleer8334]

I use magicshine on my 2021 Giant trance. There’s a plug in the head tube for the cable so no motor faffing required and there also a light switch already built into the motor control on the handle bars, couldn’t be simpler

[@johnpcwarrior]

my bezior x1500 came with led light very good for night time. very good explanation on how to do it yourself🙂

[@mcs5271]

Thanks for the great tutorial, I just installed the MagicShine MJ-906S on my 2023 Heckler with the Shimano drive. It was really as easy as the video shows. Now I just need to find one for my wife’s Heckler SL with the Fazua Ride 60 drive. It is harder to determine if I can install one myself.

[@TheScramble8]

Are you running wireless dropper or derailleur? I was wondering where you run your wire for your light?

[@S14AA]

Another shimano fail, need a dealer to enable light output on some bikes. learnt the hard way after buying a magicshine hard wired light for my norco ep8

[@sleepingbearffg5008]

I made new switch for my ebike. I call it the bling switch. I used relays.. when ever I could used led hindsight.. didn't need relays..as long as led

[@BigSmartQuiz]

6:49 That's what she said! Giggedy :)

[@Paulviet]

Do you know if the MPF 6C also has the same battery terminals (screw in location) as the Shimano's?

[@gottalovethetube]

Do you get to cycle trough low, med, high with the light button on the shimano display or is it just max or off?

[@porroco]

Does motor recognize the light or do you have to take it to a shimano dealer for firmware update?

[@thim8009]

Curious how much light drains battery? Some of the longer rides I do requires me to turbo in quite a few steep hills and makes me wish I had a larger battery or smaller ones that I can fit in pack.

[@PLYMTOWN]

Hi embn, great video, as if it is that easy. I have a magicshine monteer 3500. Will I be able to run this using the MAGICSHINE® MJ-6290 SHIMANO LIGHT CONNECTION CABLE? This would be great to know! Cheers guys

[@GenePavlovsky]

I would say: no way! 3500 is a battery powered light. It's not designed for ebikes. Even the MJ-6290 cable could be plugged in (hopefully Magicshine used different connectors and it's not), it is likely to kill your light when you connect it to the 12V output on your bike. If your bike has a 6V output, the light will either not work, or light quite dimly. Finally, if you read the description of the MJ-6290 cable, you will see that the 3500 light is not mentioned there: "Compatible with MJ-902S、MJ-906S、 ME 1000、ME 2000、ME StVZO 100LUX"

[@MHH3180]

What is the wattage and amperage draw of your light?

[@Amadeus_Mee]

I'm trying to do this on my mtb which isn't electric or anything. Is there a way i can generate more power to it when pedaling?

[@theshadowcrazy]

Is it possible to wire a usb port instead of the front light?

[@GenePavlovsky]

I don't see why not, you will need a DC-DC converter that takes the input voltage (6 or 12 V for most ebikes) and outputs 5 V. Note that these light ports are limited in the max current they are able to provide (e.g. 1-2 A at 6-12 V, meaning 6 to 24 W), but most bike would be able to provide enough to create a 5V 2A USB port. HOWEVER, you will need to enable the lights output in the bike programming software (either buy a programming box, or visit a bike dealer who has it), AND then the bike will reserve some % of your battery for running the lights, meaning your motor assist will stop working before the battery is actually empty. Is it really worth it for being able to charge your phone? Just get a power bank for that...

[@MrJay_White]

i want to know how to splice atv lights into the battery mainline and use a switch on the bars. not rely on the wimpy 5v output from the controller.

[@SonnyDarvish]

What about additional rear light? My motor has 12V output, should I buy both lights with 6V or both 12V? Is it even possible to run more than one light?

[@aphanez]

Hi, I thought I'd use three matching 12v LED kitchen spots wired in series on my 36v Ebike, two at the front and one at the back with a red filter. It sounded right, but I found they blew very quickly. It turns out the reason is that LED lights often have a switch mode voltage regulator in them to drop the voltage down to the 3v or so for the LEDs. These seem to get confused when they are run in series and one would blow, taking out the others or just stopping them working. Once I realised that, I bought a 36v switch mode convertor (I over specified it at 60v max. as the lower voltage ones are rubbish) and then dropped the voltage actually to 10v because I found the lamps worked just a good at 10v. The bulbs were then connected in parallel and I've had no blown bulbs since. It also means I've also added an Ebay 120W car LED spotlight which was about 10W in reality when measured for off road or backwacks (they must use a different measure of watts in China! ). It's brilliant and lights fantastically, no problems riding off road in pitch black, easily lighting up 150-200 ft ahead! So, the short answer is just use two 12v in parallel just in case. Then they can be different makes, different wattages, it won't matter, but it will if they are 6v. You can also add others in if you want.

[@GenePavlovsky]

Of course you should buy lights that can work on 12V, not 6V. Some lights can take a range of inputs, e.g. 6-36 V. Both lights connect in parallel to the same output ports. There are a few brake lights now (Supernova TL3 Pro / Max, Busch + Müller Brex) that have a built-in accelerometer so they can more or less work like a motorbike brake lights, without having to connect any sensors to your brake levers.

[@GenePavlovsky]

@@aphanez A fully charged 36V battery is actually around 42 V. The 36 V figure is the nominal voltage at about 50% SOC. So your 12V kitchen LEDs were actually getting 14V, which might have been the reason for them dying.

[@theshadowcrazy]

I bought the same light, (same bike husqvarna HC9) but when i select “light” nothing happens i cannot select on/off

[@pwood22]

I would be interested to know what the per-lumen battery drain is and how running a light on full beam would reduce range.

[@mallias2683]

Every light states the watt power consumption. They are in the range of 10-20 W/h, so if you have the light on for an hour you can estimate how much will reduce the range.

[@TheEventHorse]

Negligible difference really. These LED lights are such low wattage. (Eg. Front 17w, rear 0.6w)

[@darius2640]

can you just wire me an E27 socket on a bracket? I have a $5 osram led bulb that pumps out 2500 lm

[@stevenbrown2052]

According to magic shine ,3500lm light will only produce 1800lm on Shimano e8000 output terminal due to the limited voltage 🤔

[@CaptainBuba]

how many volts does this system provide?

[@ZzzyaxTheCuber]

I got my first EMTB yesterday and thought there must be a way to wire in lights to the system, Yes! Just do this. Mine is SR Tuntour but has the option for lights on the controller just a bit nervous about dismantling like this, if anyone has any videos on that specific system let me know (Carrera Vengeance E)

[@GenePavlovsky]

Search online for the dealer manual of your ebike system (i.e. from SR Suntour, not Carrera). E.g. for Shimano I easily found the dealers manual that explains everything. Or you can just remove the motor cover and see if it's obvious (like on this video). You may still need to get the lights function activated at the dealer...

[@ZzzyaxTheCuber]

@@GenePavlovsky Thanks man, I figured it out in the end with a bit of help from e-bike reddit.

[@ronmel]

It’s funny that this video comes out today as I tried hooking up a LEZYNE 1000 just yesterday with no joy. When going into the bike’s computer, it wouldn’t let me go further into the light menu to choose the on/off option. It just kept double beeping. I have the Shimano ep8 motor with the em800 display. Any help would be appreciated.

[@adammiller5172]

Same problem for me too. Tried looking through the app, but can't find anything in there either.

[@frankmatibs8076]

Same thing is happening to me it double beeps

[@mrd6093]

QUESTION WHAT ABOUT THE LIGHT BEING WATER PROOF?

[@sussexperformance185]

Is it that easy to fit to a older steps motor ? E8000

[@eddierivera7803]

Depends on the bike but the motor most likely will have to have the light port activated first. I think earlier firmware versions my be capable of doing it from one of the e -tube apps.

[@GenePavlovsky]

Search for Shimano E8000 Dealer's Manual, it will show you how easy it is. Keep in mind that E8000 light port provides max 6V 2A, meaning you're limited to 12W combined for your front light and the taillight. And yes, you will need the light feature activated at the dealer.

[@onerider808]

I went with clip-on lights. I never use my wired-in lights, because I ain’t trying to drain my batteries on something that doesn’t make me MOVE...

[@GenePavlovsky]

The video title is kinda misleading. Connecting a light to the drive unit is rather simple, you just have to follow the dealer's manual (from Shimano, Bosch etc). You're not wiring the lights to the battery, you're wiring them to the drive unit, which has a DC-DC step-down (buck) converter, that is rated to provide up to a specific current (e.g. 1 or 2 A) at a certain low (usually 6 or 12 V) voltage. Some people want to install lights that require more power than the drive units provides, in which case they want to actually connect to the battery itself (e.g. 36 or 48 V). This is more tricky because there are a couple things to solve: where to connect the extra wires, how to provide safety (e.g. using a circuit breaker or fuse that can handle the higher voltages - don't use typical automotive fuses, these are normally rated for 32 V max), which DC-DC converter to use (it must have wide enough voltage range to handle the battery voltage, keep in mind that 36 and 48 V batteries are only nominally 36 and 48 V - when fully charged, they are about 42 and 55 V, respectively; so e.g. a converter that accepts 30-60 V would be a very good fit for a 36 V battery, and probably ok for 48 V, but with a rather small margin of safety for my liking). All in all, it's not so easy to do everything nice and safe, and I would only recommend it to people who know about electrics. It's easier to stick to lights that can be powered by the ebike's dedicated light connections (such as done in the video), or use battery-powered lights (that use their own batteries).

[@glenra123]

So, it is better to "have a longer length than a shorter one"? 🤔 😂

[@zjedinite]

I came here looking at options but my bike came with the monkey link setup. It looks like an amazing idea but those lights are so hard to get here in the States. And European shops won’t mail them. Frustrating!

[@brokepilot6969]

Wow those lights are expensive. I have a custom bafang ebike and what I do is get a 30$ headlight from aliexpress(Idk the lumens but it's brighter than most car headlights), a 60v to 12v regulator and mosfets so I can use the bafang remote as the lightswitch. If not, a simpler solution is to just wire a headlight in parallel with the battery. The downside to this being that if your Ebike is on, so is your headlight, but it's a lot simpler requiring no soldering. If anyone's interested I'll give some documentation on how I did it.

[@aphanez]

I've done the same except I use a motorbike handlebar combination light switch to control the lights. I wired the converter straight across the battery power so as soon as I switch the battery on I have 12V available. When I did it I made a front light using a 12V 3W MR16 bulb (use daylight instead of warm) and the same but with a red filter at the rear. The rear is permanently on as I['ve subsequently added a !W front one that I leave on, with the main front I can switch off. i did that because I would sometimes turn them off on a cycle track and forget to turn them on when I re-entered the road, so now I always have something on even if I forget. I have also since added a similar car spotlight to the one you mentioned from Ebay, 12V 120W according to the specifications, 10W according to my real world current and voltage measurements. Chinese watts must be better value than ours, you get more for your money! It's still very bright and I use it offroad as it is too bright for general road usage, though I was able to use one of the switches as a flasher on it which has turned out really useful. Because the 12V is always on, it also means I've now added a motorcycle horn for those pedestrians who decide to ignore my tinkle bell in preference for their phone or music player, including the f***ing idiots heading straight toward me on a cycle path thinking it's clever to ride no hands using their phones. Finally, I've also set it somewhere between 9 and 10V because I found the lights didn't seem any different but they were just as bright ,so I'm saving a little current on them. In reality, the down convertor efficiency means it's not wasting much if idling.

[@GenePavlovsky]

@@aphanez Since you have a motorbike combination light switch, did you also install turn signals on your bike? :D I remember when I had a Kawasaki KLX 250, I retrofitted a combination light switch from a Versys, which is a bit better quality, and also has a high beam flash momentary button and a hazard lights button. Sometimes I wonder if bikes in the future will have stuff like this as stock.

[@rdkuless]

6v 3w is more draw than most realize.. if your system is only 48v 8ah, you will loose considerable range.. Consider using a solar power bank and a USB charge head and tail lamp.. it sucks when the lights go dead, what is worse is having to stop riding in the dark, waking up in the morning and having to push your bike home.

[@GenePavlovsky]

A 48V 8Ah battery has 384 Wh. Even if the bike's 48V to 6V converter is only 80% efficient, the light will draw 3W / 0.75 = 3.75 W from the battery, which means the battery will last for 100 hours of such usage, if it only powers the light. Let's say you use 90% of the battery capacity for powering the motor, this still allows for 10 hours worth of operating the light at the same time... On the other hand, the E-Bike controllers all seem to have a feature, probably mandated by government rules (in Germany this is indeed required by StVZO), where if the lights output is activated, the controller reserves some battery capacity so that the lights can keep working for 2 hours when the battery is low. On some systems you can program the power requirements (watts) of your lights, on others it may be just using the max possible lights port output spec. This reserve is made even if you ride in daytime with lights off. So if you really want to squeeze out max riding range from the battery, then battery-powered lights will help.

[@aleksandrbmelnikov]

I see nothing but false information in this video. You don't wire a light to the battery, or into a motor. You connect the black wire to common ground, and red wire to keyless remote power-on (with headlight switch, if wanted). And you make soldered connections, covered with waterproof heat-shrink tubing. If you don't see one, add a fuse at power source. Don't stuff wires under screws.

[@buak]

I have the Shimano ep801 motor on my Mondraker, and you do in fact connect the lights to the motor. There are terminals on the side of the motor with screws, (WHICH ARE MEANT EXLUSIVELY FOR LIGHTS) right next to the terminals you connect the battery. Then you switch those terminals on by using the lights button on the Shimano steps cycling computer controls. I just installed a Lezyne 1000 on my bike last month.

[@aleksandrbmelnikov]

@@buak You do not connect lights to ANY of the motor's 3 phase wires! You do not connect lights to ANY of the motor sensor wires! Shut up and crack a book before you correct me.

[@buak]

@@aleksandrbmelnikov Of course not, and that's not what I said. You connect the lights to the + and - terminals on the side of the motor unit, which, again, are made just for connecting lights. There's a simple wiring diagram on the manual that shows exactly which two terminals to use. (search google for "ep801 manual". The diagram is on page 18)

[@buak]

No, of course not, and that's not what I said. You connect the light to the "+" and "-" terminals on the side of the motor unit. Those two terminals are made exclusively for lights and have a step-down converter to drop the voltage to 12V while also limiting the current. There is a simple wiring diagram on the manual (search "ep801 manual" on google, diagram is on page 18) that clearly shows this. Also, there is no need to be so hostile. When you type: "Shut up and crack a book before you correct me." to a random stranger, it sends a certain message indicating that maybe you're not a good guy. I've written this reply 4 times now, but youtube makes it disappear. Don't know what's up with that. I hope this sticks.

[@admargodoy]

@@buak Hi, After all this time I bought an ebike with the ep6 engine. But I'm having difficulty checking the output voltage. The motor terminals are identical to the ep801. I used a multimeter to read the + output but it appears zero. In the steps options there is the "lights" option but I can't access it ON or OFF. I've looked through tutorials on KZbin but I can't find anything very detailed. Neither in the diagram on page 18 nor in the manual did I find anything that clarifies this. I believe I should look for lights "compatible with Shimano EP etc".