Lights

sowilliams

Helping a buddy put a light kit (LED) on a DS. It has six 8 volt batteries. Light kit calls for 12 volts. Can i go with 8 or 16 volts and not ruin the lights?

BGW

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Gregorio

How are the LEDs rated? Some have a wide voltage range.

Lakebit

Smart thing to do is get a 48 volt to 12 volt converter I replaced my 16 volt to 12 volt reducer and installed 30 amp 48 - 12

All batteries will have the same load on them and will prevent shortened life of two batteries with extra load Pay now or pay later

jjance

Plus it you buy the 16 to 12v converter it will cost more than a 48v to 12v converter.

stang99x

Just hook it up on 16volts. I do it all the time. You will get really bright lights that help immensely at night. It won't ruin the lights. I could show you pics of 100's I've done that way with no returns.

mrgolf

You can blow LED lights with too much voltage. Depends on there rating.

Gregorio

16v is typically the maximum rating for automotive bulbs but the higher the voltage the shorter the life.

stang99x

Actually what you are thinking about is the higher the voltage the lesser the lifespan of the wire at the harness if overheated. The bulbs themselves will see voltage changes and most auto systems run 14V while operating. Contrary to popular belief your car battery does little more than start the system. The alternator then runs everything.

Gregorio

You must not have read my post carefully. Most automotive type bulbs are rated at 14v but can take much higher due to operational differences.

A light bub is not the same as a resistor of a given value which is made to have a stable resistance over a wide range of voltages. As voltage increases in a light bulb, so does the resistance through the filament as it heats thereby increasingly limiting current and overall heat. Not saying that burned wire harness is not possible with slightly higher (16 vs 14) than rated voltage, just not probable. 16v is sometimes seen under certain automotive charging conditions for brief periods but would be considered a problem if it was this level all the time.

I can't remember the exact numbers but as little as 5% higher than rated voltage can cut service life by half and 10% over voltage by over 2/3. The inverse is also true and why it is very common for household "long life" or even "rough service" incandescent light bulbs to be rated at 130v instead of 120v or even 110v. Wikipedia (not that I trust them completely) lists the factor as "Lifetime is approximately proportional to V^−16".

stang99x

While I'm not in disagreement, my point is made from the aspect of the old school high wattage bulbs that used to be the "cool blue" craze back in the 1990's. Typical auto headlights run 55watt lowbeam and 65 watt highbeams. The high power blue halogens of that era ran 80 watt lowbeam and 100 watt high beam. The bulb life was no different than stock, but the plug and wires within a couple inches of the plug would melt if no relay was installed. This is what I was speaking of. I've not experienced any difference in lifespan of bulbs on carts in reference to the difference in using 12v or 16v nonreduced.