Using a DC-DC converter to power E-Bike headlights

[@theneodj]

I don't even have an e-bike, but happily watch as I know there's always something new to learn from your videos.... previously I've never seen spring-loaded wire clamps, or the anti spark connector... Thank you for the videos and for sharing your ingenuity. Cheers!

[@Manawyrm]

Awesome to see someone in the US using Wago terminals! *thumbsUp*

[@crabmansteve6844]

Wagos are the only connectors I use now. Wire-nuts are trash.

[@matthewworldtrotter9012]

Now Zero Motorcycles will see your e-bike and have to step up their game! Great video!

[@Jerbrown]

Hey, just wanted to say thanks again. Using this video I successfully wired up a Baja S1 spot complete with those wago connectors and everything works great. I'm a total beginner, so this video was very helpful and thorough. Thank you!

[@etischer]

Awesome to hear that!

[@SuperBrainAK]

Awesome bike build! great craftsmanship. I love the cable management. I just bought some of those Wago connectors. Though if it is a permanent install I would recommend soldering but for any changes they are very nice, unfortunately they can be a little bit lossy. Installing power supplies or just a DC distribution bus is what I love to do that way I avoid having 32 different wall warts on multiple power strips. Just one big power supply which is easy to backup if needed with a battery.

[@REL1C]

Very cool! Nice work and attention to detail, really inspiring stuff.

[@mwint1982]

This will be everyone's favorite channel in the future, not just mine

[@guly2004]

So nice, I m make a ebike now and I have the head light problem, I was looking yesterday to this type of converter. I was surprised a lot of KZbin solutions was with a extra battery, easy but not logical to me. You have make a good job, thanks to share!

[@josephau4623]

Very nice set up.👍👍 I am looking at those 12-60v front light so no need for the dc-dc converter. But it doesn't seem like any back light will do the same variables voltage. bummer. bty using the wago connector are great for making 2 way splitter. to run battery parallel. cheers

[@akdbflilikop961]

High pitched noise in the first minute, oof

[@mautay5567]

You know what you're doing. Nice build. I want to install 12v lights. I have a 144v battery system on a sit down scooter. To step this down to 12v would I use resistors + 48vdc -12vdc converter? Or 2 74v converters in series? A resistor + 72v to12v converter? What do you think?

[@stan121midling5]

i got a question, i see you have the Led 5, but could i use the one with 15 leds, that is also showing next to the one you got ?

[@etischer]

Sure, just as long as the DC-DC converter is sized for the wattage of the light... and that your battery can supply the current along with powering the motor

[@stan121midling5]

@@etischer ok, great because the other tail light i think would look better on my ebike trike, plus i am planning on running 2 of these on the back ok, hehe

[@exgenica]

At the prices I was seeing for these, I was worried about output quality, so I purchased 5 of these converters from different manufacturers, different housings, etc and there is a CAUTION. When the ebike battery was first applied to ALL 5 of the units I purchased, there was a massive ~50V voltage spike that appeared at the output for about 10mS to 20mS. It varied a bit for each unit I examined, but they were all similar. A spike like this can damage sensitive hardware. The spike occurs only at the initial connection to the ebike battery. The only way I could see to make sure this wasn't a problem was to ensure no devices were connected to the converter output when it is first connected to ebike power. That was achieved with a delayed-connect circuit on the converter output, so it would provide enough time for the spike to dissipate before connecting the 12VDC devices to the converter "12VDC" output. I designed it to delay for ~0.5 seconds. All 5 units were similar to this one in outward appearance, with a cast enclosure/heatsink potted with a resin of some sort and the wires sticking out from the converter.

[@etischer]

Good to know, I use my lights every day, and haven't had an issue. Do you still see the spike with a load attached? Could just be a tiny 1uF filter cap charging up or something.

[@exgenica]

@@etischer I'm looking for a simple RLC network that might work on all/most of them. Just haven't had time to do much testing lately. One never knows when a seller might start selling a different brand or one made after the manufacturer "optimizes" the BMC and starts going even cheaper on components. Of course, there's always the chance I just ran into a bit of bad luck with the ones I bought.

[@exgenica]

​@@etischer Some 12VDC-24VDC LED lights I've tested seem pretty robust as far as exceeding their spec'd maximum voltage. It's quite possible that most of them will just ignore a short spike. But, there are other 12V devices out there that are more sensitive to over voltage.

[@raczyk]

Are here quality lights like the baja designs which are street legal?

[@raczyk]

How did you figure the fuse from battey to DC-DC converter only needs to be 2 amps? Could you install a switch between the battery and DC-DC converter? I.e. turn ot off during the day so it does not waste the battery when lights are not in use.

[@skywalker859]

You supply power to converter from the charge side of battery?

[@stan121midling5]

i have a Addmotor 750W with a 48V 17.4 ah battery, i am looking for a very bright head light for it, but would need to find as step down too, ok hehe

[@bigshotproductions989]

Does the power for the step down come directly from the battery or from the motor controller?

[@etischer]

The DC converter is powered directly from the battery

[@mr.peabody3509]

Nice setup. Could you add a generator to the wheel to charge while riding?

[@etischer]

You could, but the DC-DC converter would be much lighter, and more efficient, and not wear out, and can be mounted anywhere. It wouldn't make sense to use the battery to run the motor to move the bike, then use a generator to slow the bike down to run a light that you can just run from the battery directly.

[@mr.peabody3509]

@@etischer makes sense. I was thinking one of those vintage tire contact generators that might be able to charge at the same or greater discharge rate. Sort of a perpetual motion ideas gone wrong. LoL.

[@mr.peabody3509]

@@etischer I’ll be following closely. I see an industry popping up of electric vehicle conversion enthusiasts, perhaps even in a racing or speed circuit capacity.

[@raczyk]

Would a spot light with a s1 flood light not be a better setup? Why 2 flood lights?

[@etischer]

After the video was made, I did swap out the lens on the top light (the one on a switch) for a spot lamp.

[@raczyk]

@@etischer Kewl, which ones did you end up using?

[@etischer]

@@raczyk the flood light on the bottom, spot on the top,.

[@Jerbrown]

just to clarify, the lower front SI spot light is always on, wired directly to the DC-DC converter, similar to the rear red LED, is that correct? So the higher S1 Spot is the only light that is activated by your switch? Thanks for this video. It's very helpful.

[@etischer]

Yup, you got it right. The lower light is a S1 cornering light which is like a flood/fog light, and always on. The upper light is S1 spot light for long distance, and is switch activated.

[@carismaticul]

Me i just installed 3 led strip in series so no needed for dcdc converter

[@rndmfella1874]

Is 4700lm 2 lights? Not sure what chip is in those light, but 4700lm is an impossibruh! (CREE XHP50 reaches 2,200lm and Luminus Devices SST-90 is said to reach 2700lm) Could you test the actual output of those light? Nice video btw, I've got a 3-wheel butcher bike with a motorcycle headlight (with DLR and indicators built in) exactly the same as on the Sondors Metacycle, thinking about adding 2 foglights down low by each wheel for extra luminescence. All my lights are wired basically the same way as you demostrated, but with a backup of 60ah 12v li-ion charging via the dc-dc converter and an mppt controller. The reason for that is that high-amp converters are $$$ expensive and if I run all 12v dvr,leds,5v chargeports, gps, headlight, breaklights, indicators, music system, and hit the horn I'm peaking 45A

[@rndmfella1874]

oh yeah and a peltier-based temperature-control-system for the 72v 50ah main battery.

[@etischer]

Each light is 2,375 Lumen, from a single chip. They also offer a laser chip driven spot beam which looks interesting. These S1 lights are nice and compact, and don't seem to overheat like my other bike lights do when stationary (no air blowing over them). I don't have an accurate way to measure lumens. You could always run multiple DC-DC converters. Cheers, thanks for the comment.

[@ficosk8]

What about that lights in opposite traffic? It seems that even the low beam os quite high. Here in Germany there are Busch&Müller lights for E-bikes that allow from 6 to 48V I think. I bought two and connected them to LiIon for my road and Mountainbike. They have 150Lux and are super bright in comparison to my old ones. But the good thing is that they have a lineal cut upwards to not blend “cars” or people. The downside is that they are bad on small turns/curves or trails. But nowadays there are ones with high and low like yours 👍🏼 amine cost me only $80 a couple of years ago. They made my journeys to work much much nicer on the dark time of the year since I ride 2 by 40 km :) Nowadays not every day anymore :(

[@iloveisrael75]

great video

[@BH4x0r]

small tip, you're never charging to 54.5V due to the voltage drop that diode causes which is usually 0.7V

[@etischer]

Yep, I just keep the 0.7v difference as a safety factor, charging to 95% instead of 100

[@BH4x0r]

@@etischer i kinda thought you knew modifying a vfd to run large igbts or fets and run an entire car but oversights are always possible (because it says 100% on the PSU)

[@user-gp9tp]

Cool battery

[@gosttunter]

How to step down DC DC 110V TO 72V ????? PLEASE!

[@gosttunter]

For 1000w Bafang

[@polartsang]

dont put Li-ion battery in cloth bag. 1. cloth bag with create static 2. there is not enough ventilation for a battery even though there is little to none heat generated while use. 3. cloth bag are flammable and trap heats and it will heat up a lot during a hot day

[@jeff6369]

Lol whaaaaat?! 220$ for 2 of those bd lites?! I want em