I scoured everything Walmart had to find a good base and found a pack of "Pilot 1157 LED bulbs" (
I got them home and did some tests to see if I could retro fit them and was confident I would be able to. I started by snipping the "nipples" off. I also had a headlight in which the "ring" had already fallen off from (that’s what started this whole thing). The next thing I had to do was determine which side was the highbeam and which was the low beam. I found that the white dot goes as 6′ o clock and the tab in the metal ring goes at 12′ o clock. Another way to align it is to put the nipple closest to the bulb and the tab on the metal ring together, literally put them on top of each other and that get’s you the right depth and orientation. Also make sure the flat part of the metal ring faces away from the bulb.
Next I had to sand just a small bit of the led circuit board down to clear the hole into the Grizzly. If you start to see copper, you’ve sanded enough. I also sanded enough that it fit easily, I was thinking of removal when it becomes time. I might have been able to just force it in without sanding.
I then failed at trying to get the ring hot enough with a soldering iron, it didn’t work. So outside into the workshop and I used a propane torch. I used small flux core solder for electronics with a propane torch for plumbing, I set the flame as low as I could and soldered the ring onto the bulb:
Before installing the bulb I tested to make sure the heat didn’t ruin anything and it worked perfect.
I moved on to removing the ring from my other existing bulb, I was really nervous here since I didn’t want the glass to shatter from the heat so I took it slow, eventually the ring heated up enough and the bulb fell right out of the ring.
I sanded and installed the ring on the 2nd LED bulb and tested, it worked too! I moved on to install them as you would the original bulbs (I know you don’t need a picture for this but… I couldn’t resist
Now the moment of truth, does it work?!?
It does :happy:
But it’s still daylight… ughhh I want to see if they are bright enough to actually do anything. So, I take the Grizzy for a rip up and down the road to pass time, go inside wait impatiently and then, when it’s dark I call to the dog and start to head outside, damn-it my phone is dead! So I put it on the charger and do a couple of tricks with my dog to distract her from the disappointment of not going outside. I wrap that up and my phone has 15% battery, that’ll do.
:lala:
I’m happy with the light output (picture above is high beam) the low beam is OK, I won’t be able to tell for sure if I’m happy until I do a bit of trail riding, it’s hard to gauge in the garage.
Let me know if you like the mod, and if you want pictures or explanation of anything else. I’m happy with it so far.
