LED Tail Light

[2smoke]

Please don't hate me for asking this! I have read thread after thread about the electrical system on our bikes and there is a ton of useful information, but I wanted to see if someone could tell me specifically what I need.

I won an LED tail light on eBay - (99 cents shipped, winning!) I believe it has 9 individual LEDs in it. Here's the link, hopefully it will work. http://www.ebay.com/itm/111353320296

What type of regulator do I need to buy, preferably from Radio Shack?

I intend on wiring it into the headlight circuit so that it's only on when the high or low beams are activated.

It's a 2000 model, by the way!

Thanks guys!

 

[Blaaster]

No regulator needed, only a small bridge rectifier.

 

[2smoke]

I see that most of them have 4 leads. Two, I presume, connect somehow into the headlight switch wiring and the other two are 12v+/12v-?
Thanks!

 

[Blaaster]

Bridge rectifiers have 4 input connections.

The input 2 connect to the AC , it does not matter which one goes where, 1 will go to the headlight switch and the other to a ground.

The other 2 are output +volts (depending on the input voltage) and 0- volts

The 0volt connection must be floated from ground.

 

[DLK666]

No need for a bridge rectifier, provided that the reverse bias breakdown voltage of the LEDs is 14V or more, be warned that a bridge rectifier will cost you about 1.4V, which, depending on the exact design of the light, may cost you in terms of brightness. Trust me, im an engineer.

 

[Blaaster]

Although LEDs can be powered by with either AC or DC, you need to understand that it will only be switched to full brightness if operated with DC.

When operated on AC the LED itself will do the rectifying and operates as a half wave rectifier, which produces pulses of DC controlled by the frequency of the alternator.

LEDs do not have great reverse voltage ratings and should never be used as a rectifier.

Owing to the LED firing every half cycle it will switch off and on and cause the LED to flicker.

If the tail lamp LED has a current dropping resistor in its circuit, it may have to lowered in value, to allow the LED to appear brighter and cancel the persistence of vision phenomenon.

LEDs are current based devices and therefore can be operated on low voltages?

Trust me, you can operate a LED on AC, but the prescribed method is by rectification to DC.

 

[Fleker]

I buy one led tail light too?
I only need a bridge? no C or R?
and what is the value of C, for an input of 12v (CA), if my led works with 12v (CD), 2200uf?

 

[2smoke]

This is what I bought - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062584 - and that is all that I bought, nothing more, nothing less. Tap into the yellow/red wire going into the headlight switch and the other post will go to the chassis. The other two posts are your 12v +/- leads. The package shows the correct wiring. 2 posts are AC, 2 are DC.