12v headlight on a 6v system

Yes that would not be a good thing. The bulb is designed to run at 12v. When you slap it into a 6v system, it's drawing considerably more current which will burn out the filament.

 

I would double-check elsewhere first. Gixer_racer has it backwards - the 6v lamp is drawing twice the current of the 12v one, because they're both rated at the same wattage. Take a voltmeter and make sure your lighting system is supplying only 6v to the light socket. I can't think of a non-far-fetched reason it wouldn't, but it doesn't hurt to check.

That said, gixer_racer is right in that lamps are designed to work in the conditions specified. It probably was the fact that you supplied 6v to a 12v lamp that blew it out, despite the current draw being lower.

 

Woops Tophyr's right. I had my V=IR backwards been looking at too many structural drawings the past two days and my brain is fried! (hmmm I better go back and check all my reply letters! lol)

 

no worries lol, i double-checked like three times to make sure i wasn't gonna come off as an r-tard calling you out :mfclap:

 

LOL.. *bites tongue* :mfclap:

No, that won't be it. However, on that note - it looks like the bike in your avatar is NOT a two-stroke.. why would you switch to two-stroke oil?

EDIT: Nevermind lol, because a DT400 is a two-stroke. Duh.

Double edit: Something to be aware of when you install yet another bulb - if you handle the actual bulb itself (not the housing) then when you install it, wear a pair of fresh, clean latex or nitrile gloves. It doesn't sound like this happened to you, but sometimes if you get contaminants (such as oil from your fingers) onto the surface of the actual bulb, then the extreme heat of the bulb can cause the oils to burn and break the thin glass.

 

you BETTER be looking at drawings! I'm getting one of your boats this summer......Cape disappointment is getting theirs for 3 months to break it. then I'm getting it.

sorry to threadjack:nana

 

hehe First boat goes in the water in two weeks!!!

I'll have to hide a note in the second one for you! hehehe:secret:

 

A 60-watt 12V bulb supplied with 6V will only draw 15 watts of power. Halving the voltage will also halve the current, so the total load will be 1/4. The bulb will work just fine, but it sure won't glow very brightly. Find the proper specs for your application... that's the best thing you can do. 8)

 

Ok, if the batterys toast, the bike will still run the lights. Thats how the old enduro's
worked. However, the battery is used to help with controling the charging system.
I had a DT250, and DT 175. BOTH did the same thing. You will first pop the H/L then tail light bulb then insterment bulbs. Sorry about the spelling. New battery, and use CORRECT bulb's.

 

Hook your meter up to the terminals and check voltage - it should be at or near 6V. If it's below that, replace it. However, there're still ways it could be bad even if it shows 6V - I'm not sure if your standard AutoZone or w/e can test a 6V battery, but that's what I'd do.

 

A fully charged, fresh 6V battery should read ~6.40v after resting several hours. Test the battery for voltage stability by placing it (off-bike) on a charger until "fully charged." Disconnect the battery from the charger, and leave it on the shelf for more than four hours. Note the voltage across the terminals. Test again 24 hours later; the battery should not have lost any voltage.

If the battery lost any significant voltage over the 24 hour period (more than say .02v), keep monitoring; if it continues to discharge on its own, replace it. The approximate "age" of your battery will be its final resting voltage. Anything over 6v may still be used, although I'd start considering a new battery at anything less than 6.20v retained.

 

pull your stator/ flywheel cover and check for water. I had a dt 250 and a old 400 both would get voltage problems when there was water in the stator cover.

the dt250 was just from washing it, it was my street bike at the time . where the wires come out of the stator water would run down the wires. same thing with the 400 but it was from mud puddles then washing.
not much water needed to screw things up.

 

A few notes on your bike.

The 1975 DT400 (I have 3) does NOT come with a voltage regulator. The Battery must be in good shape, as it acts as a voltage sink for the system. The battery, taillight, brake light and blinkers run off of the battery which is on a DC system, while the headlight and indicator bulbs in the instruments run on a separate AC circuit which is unregulated.

Yamaha published a dealer notice for a "fix" by implementing a voltage regulator to all of the early enduros, and simply added a voltage regulator from the factory to all of the 400's starting in 1976.

If your battery is not good, and you don't have a regulator, you will blow either a 6 volt or a 12 volt bulb.

You can adapt an aftermarket one to the bike as the originals are becoming unobtainium.

You can get a lot of information on the Yamaha Enduros at www.yamahaenduro.com. I am a mod there, and there are a number of good restoration threads there.