85 to 88 Suzuki LT230S Quadsport help.
06-07-2011, 02:31 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pennslyvania
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I figured they were made the same, but didn't know how the power rating is on the AC bulbs. Is it rms or peak? And how would that compare to DC power? In other words, I guess what I wanna know is can I grab any ole 45 watt bulb and shove it in the front on the 230? Will a DC bulb shine as bright as an AC? Will it draw too many amps and burn up the magneto?
so 12 volts rms ac divided by .707 is 16.97 volts peak. 16.97 volts times .637 gives you 10.8 volts. so basically a 12 volt ac bulb is compared to a 10.8 volt dc bulb
06-07-2011, 02:35 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pennslyvania
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Think I found the answer: Answers.com - Can AC bulb works with DC
So,,, to use a DC bulb we would have to divide the wattage by 2? 22.5 watts? If so, that seems to back up my fear that a 45 watt DC bulb would draw too many amps and burn up the magneto coil.
ohms law. current = wattage 45 divided by voltage 12 which means ur using about 3.75 amps to power your bulb.
06-07-2011, 02:35 PM
Well theres alot more to it. When you talk about your average 120 volt ac comming from your wall thats the "effective dc" voltage actrually. When talking in terms of Ac you have peak voltage and peak to peak volatage. Peak voltage is 1/2 the wave. and peak to peak is the full wave. you actrually have roughly 340 volts comming out of your wall. 120 volts time 1.414 gives you about 170 volts peak and to get peak to peak you double that and get 340 volts. So as it would seem you would assume it to be less than 50% taken away but in reality your not. There are 2 types of rectifiers half wave and full wave. On a half wave rectiefer your rectifeing either the positive or negative parts of the wave while leaving one or the other intact. A full wave rectifer rectifies both positive and negative going waves. You can certianly use leds on dc, but you must pay attention to which is negative (cathode) or positive (anode). What makes up a rectifier is diodes. well led's are light emiting diodes (diodes restrict current to flow in only one direction) Ac - alternating current so it flows both ways Dc- only flows in one direction. If you put an led in to ac it will only turn on for 1/2 the wave while with dc it will be on the whole time as long as you have the polaritys correct when connecting it
06-07-2011, 02:39 PM
you are correct in drawing to many amps. you need a much bigger dc bulb than 45 watts in an ac circuit to get the same wattage as if you put 45 watt ac bulb in. you would need probably a 60-75 watt dc bulb to get 45 watts of light out of it.
ohms law. current = wattage 45 divided by voltage 12 which means ur using about 3.75 amps to power your bulb. if you stuck a 60 watt dc bulb in you would burn your poor electrical system to pieces.
ohms law. current = wattage 45 divided by voltage 12 which means ur using about 3.75 amps to power your bulb. if you stuck a 60 watt dc bulb in you would burn your poor electrical system to pieces.
06-07-2011, 02:39 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: nova scotia canada
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
They are practically the same thing you can use an ac bulb on dc but you wont get the best wattage output. When you use a rectifier from ac to dc ur basically taking out the negative part of an ac wave than you use capaciters to filter out what we call ripple voltage. After you rectify and go through the filtering you get an effective dc voltage from ac which is 63.7% of the ac voltage so basically if you put 100 volt of ac through a dc bulb you only get 63.7 volts worth of output. Plus a dc filiment is thicker i belive 
. And light bulbs dont mater which is positive or negative unless you get into leds, but thats a whole other story
. And light bulbs dont mater which is positive or negative unless you get into leds, but thats a whole other story
06-07-2011, 02:40 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pennslyvania
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
leds can only be hooked up one way. if you hook them up backwards they will try and resist the current flowing through them and if it can't handle the backwards current it just burns up and kills the led.
06-07-2011, 02:42 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pennslyvania
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you put them in there respective circuits the dc bulb with a dc power and ac with an ac power they both consume the exact same power. if you put the same wattage bulbs one ac one dc into an ac power the dc bulb should consume less amps, but will not be near as bright as if you put an ac bulb in
06-07-2011, 02:47 PM
Range Rover
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pennslyvania
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Theres just so many things involved with it all. The best bet is to just stick with what you know works good and keep it simple. i would just look for 12 volt ac bulbs in the wattage range you need. Or switch out to Led's. I would just keep dc bulbs out of the whole thing.
Oh before i forget if you buy any led lights make sure they are for 12 volts. Led's run on 1.8 to 3.2 volts. So a resistor has to be added to soak up the xtra voltage if not that will blow the led's to. If you buy an led ment for 12 volts you shouldn't have to worry about the resistor but if it doens't say ment for 12 volts i would be a little worried about putting it on
Oh before i forget if you buy any led lights make sure they are for 12 volts. Led's run on 1.8 to 3.2 volts. So a resistor has to be added to soak up the xtra voltage if not that will blow the led's to. If you buy an led ment for 12 volts you shouldn't have to worry about the resistor but if it doens't say ment for 12 volts i would be a little worried about putting it on
06-07-2011, 02:57 PM
If you put them in there respective circuits the dc bulb with a dc power and ac with an ac power they both consume the exact same power. if you put the same wattage bulbs one ac one dc into an ac power the dc bulb should consume less amps, but will not be near as bright as if you put an ac bulb in
Yeah, I forgot to qualify that question lol. So, A 45 watt DC bulb will draw more amps than a 45 watt AC bulb when both are supplied with AC power, right?
That link I found said to double the wattage of an AC bulb going into a DC circuit to get the same amount of light (I'm equating light to current flow because it takes current to make heat, which makes light). Therefore, to get the same current flow to the bulb you would have to double the wattage of an AC bulb going into a DC ciruit. Conversely, you would have to half the wattage of a DC bulb going into an AC circuit to get the same amount of light. According to that, a 45 watt AC bulb has the same resistance as a 22.5 watt DC bulb... and a 45 watt DC bulb would have too little resistance for the coil in the 230 magneto to not burn up.. since that would be something like 90 watts AC. If not, then I'm thoroughly confused
