Rad Runner Premium headlight ???

[JoseM]

Does anybody know the specs or output on the premium headlight?  I was able to find the connectors on amazon so I feel like I can find a third party led bar and splice the connector onto it & thus upgrade my headlight without damaging my existing light or wiring. BUT I need to find the specs of the premium light to ensure im not drawing too much power with whatever new light I decide to go with. Any ideas?

[JTK77]

Hi
Can't remember exact figure but approx 50mA @ 48v. So not too many watts.

[vudude]

If you plan to ride at night the premium light does Not put out enough lumens. The light does throw a nice patterned beam. For night you will need more than 1000 lumens to see the potholes.

[JimInPT]

If you plan to ride at night the premium light does Not put out enough lumens. The light does throw a nice patterned beam. For night you will need more than 1000 lumens to see the potholes.

I tried the "premium" headlight and quickly concluded it's as useless as the standard light for night riding, throwing a small, very tight rectangular pattern surrounded by darkness - I think these are useful only for daylight running lights and maybe emergency nighttime lights if you've got nothing else.  The beam pattern is dangerous IMHO because you'll never see what's coming up in time to react unless you ride very slowly.  It does look a lot better and more proportional than the puny stock light.

I use one of these on my Mini and it's phenomenal - I run slow-strobing mode during the day and it lights up the entire road at night while not blinding oncoming traffic.  Highly recommended:

https://amzn.to/3GkRiWu

[JTK77]

Stock controller light circuit output is less than 100mA. For the popular 35A controller upgrade its the same.
I have my custom 60v 48A controller on which I have modded the light circuit to increase power slightly. This is just enought to run decent headlight.

[bpeele]

I'd like to figure out how put a 6" round headlight on my Rad, something similar to what's on a Super 73. Has anyone tried this?

Any ideas on where to start this project?

[Windward]

Has anyone found a good 3rd party headlight that can use the onboard headlight connector on the Rad models? Riding this time of year makes me realize how much I value an effective headlight.

[madbroulton]

I just bought a RR+ and was dissapointed in the "premium" light, I though something was wrong with it as it only had a small trapezoid of light ...  I bought a (pair of) LED lightbar(s) off amazon that were listed as 9v-30v (12v) and I also bought a DC/DC stepdown converter from 48v to 12v, thinking and learning that it was essential. But today as I was going to install I thought I'd try going directly to the headlight circuit and If I ruined the LED I'd still have another to hook up correctly... to my surprise the light works just fine, no buck/stepdown converter needed... 

Now, I'm not sure that this is OK or if I'm burning the LED's up faster or if it is dangerous to do this (I cant find anything online). but it seems to be working.... Please chime in and tell me if im crazy!

Links to the Light: https://amzn.to/3FWLYZM
Converter: https://amzn.to/3wvdCsh
2 Pin Plug: https://amzn.to/3wjCUuy

[Radio Runner]

I just bought a RR+ and was dissapointed in the "premium" light, I though something was wrong with it as it only had a small trapezoid of light ...  I bought a (pair of) LED lightbar(s) off amazon that were listed as 9v-30v (12v) and I also bought a DC/DC stepdown converter from 48v to 12v, thinking and learning that it was essential. But today as I was going to install I thought I'd try going directly to the headlight circuit and If I ruined the LED I'd still have another to hook up correctly... to my surprise the light works just fine, no buck/stepdown converter needed... 

Now, I'm not sure that this is OK or if I'm burning the LED's up faster or if it is dangerous to do this (I cant find anything online). but it seems to be working.... Please chime in and tell me if im crazy!

Links to the Light: https://amzn.to/3FWLYZM
Converter: https://amzn.to/3wvdCsh
2 Pin Plug: https://amzn.to/3wjCUuy

So if the Rad battery is 48v and the light is rated for a max of 30v I would venture a guess that it wont have a long service life. How long? Who knows, maybe you can tell us. I would carry a small spare handlebar mounted light just incase it dies miles from home in the dark.

[RadRanger]

I just bought a RR+ and was dissapointed in the "premium" light, I though something was wrong with it as it only had a small trapezoid of light ...  I bought a (pair of) LED lightbar(s) off amazon that were listed as 9v-30v (12v) and I also bought a DC/DC stepdown converter from 48v to 12v, thinking and learning that it was essential. But today as I was going to install I thought I'd try going directly to the headlight circuit and If I ruined the LED I'd still have another to hook up correctly... to my surprise the light works just fine, no buck/stepdown converter needed... 

Now, I'm not sure that this is OK or if I'm burning the LED's up faster or if it is dangerous to do this (I cant find anything online). but it seems to be working.... Please chime in and tell me if im crazy!

Links to the Light: https://amzn.to/3FWLYZM
Converter: https://amzn.to/3wvdCsh
2 Pin Plug: https://amzn.to/3wjCUuy

You hooked it up directly to the rad 2pin headlight connection?  I have heard of people frying their light circuit on the Rad controller doing this, I have also seen people get away just fine using 13W light bars (which is o.25 amps at 48v, or 2.5x the supposed capacity of the light circuit on the Rad controller).

I just ordered a DATEx3 to link my batteries an I am hooking up a 12v 20amp step down convertor from one of the extra out ports.  I am going to add a 12v horn and blinker signals, but I want to leave the tail light as is.

I am trying to figure out if I can use a 48v 0.1a relay or a 12v 1.0a relay controlled by the stock Rad controller light switch to turn on a 12v light powered from the step down convertor.  Does anybody know if this would be an ok setup?  The other option I am seeing online says to maybe use an optocoupler.  I am not an electrical engineer though and I am not sure if either of these options is easy or safe.

[Slowrider]

I don't know the specs but I know I replaced it with one drawing 8 watts and it's fine.  I've seen someone comment that the controller on the newer Rad bikes is limited to 12.5 watts for the circuit that powers the headlight, taillight and LED backlight.  I don't know if that's correct.

[SpeedracerXT]

For the RR 6+ and possibly other Rad models, this works great. Plus if you have the equipment to wire it up you're only looking at a little over $30 for a really bright 2 CREE LED light by a reputable company. Here's the link for the Lezyne Micro Drive 500  https://www.geartrade.com/item/815598/lezyne-e-bike-micro-drive-500-light-black-one-size  and the link for a good DC/DC converter https://amzn.to/3Qx4Hzp

I installed it on my RR 6+ ST and it looks great and puts out decent light, and it looks very minimalist compared to Rad's lights. Note that Geartrade link is a fantastic discount and the light is new, and I'm not an affiliate at all.