DC-DC Ebike Lighting System

Waterproof LED Lights with 15-100V input range

These waterproof LED lights can be used with virtually any ebike setup. Unlike other lighting systems that require either an auxilliary 6V or 12V battery or a separate DC-DC converter, these units will connect directly to your main ebike pack. Highlights include:

• Efficient and Bright The lights are based around the latest ultrabright LEDs, providing significant illumination and visibility with minimal power draw from your battery pack.
• Variable input voltage All of these bicycle lights are designed with an integrated DC-DC converter so that they can be plugged into any ebike battery pack, from 24V setups up to 72V or higher (100V max). You'll be able to port them from one vehicle to the next and have them go through rounds of battery upgrades without ever worrying about voltage compatibility issues.
• Robust Construction The light housing is a single monolithic block of epoxy, rather than thin shells of die-cast plastic. They'll survive being crashed, driven over by an ebike, or hit with a hammer without shattering into a million pieces of plastic.
• Waterproof These lights are not just sealed against water, they are 100% potted to be fully submersible. Unlike most commercial bike lights, these won't develop erratic behaviour, corroded battery contacts, or fail completely from prolonged water exposure.
• Made in Canada Like the Cycle Analyst, these lights are both designed and manufactured by us here in Vancouver, Canada.

Models Currently Available

To buy any of these lights please visit our online store.
	Front 12 LED: The regular front light encases a dozen ultra-bright white LEDs in with a total LED power consumption of 1 watt. It will shine with equal intensity from 15V up to 100V, with some brightness from 11 - 15V. The 12 LED array is bright enough to light up a wide swath of the road in front. Because of the efficient DC-DC input stage, the current draw from your battery pack depends on the voltage. At 24V it consumes 50 mA, while at 72V the light only draws 20 mA. This model turns on whenever power is supplied to the red and black wires, with a 3rd wire to control the flash mode.
	Front 12 LED with Button This is a variant on the front 12 LED light which has a waterproof push button incorporated into the moulding, making it more convenient in certain situations where the light is permanently wired into the system. It has just a 2 wire conductor for power, and then the state of the light is controlled with the button. Pressing the button will cycle it through on, flashing, and off modes.
	Rear 6 LED: The rear light is designed to tie around your seat post and makes you visible for miles from behind. The LED power consumption is just under 1/2 watt, making it a lot brighter than the regular AAA powered rear flashers. This light operates from 10V to 100V, and can be made to run steady or flashing depending on how the 3rd signal wire is connected. As of June 2009, we have discontinued the 6 LED rear light, replacing it with an 8 LED red light with button.
	Rear 8 LED with Button: The rear LED light has been expanded to include 8 LEDs and a waterproof ON/OFF/Flash button. It is typically attached horizontally with a pair of zip ties to the rear rack of a bicycle. Both the front and rear button lights have built in memory, and will remember their state when power is turned off and then reapplied.

Additional Details

Mounting

The moulded LED lights are designed with a grooved channel on the bottom and a pair of holes going through the housing so that they can be readily secured to the bike tubing with a pair of zip ties. The front light sits on top of the handlebar, measuring 41 x 41 x 21 mm, though the height can vary slightly. The rear light is secured with zip ties in a similar manner, but either to the seat post or rear rack.

Wiring the Power

These bike lights need to tap into your electric bicycle battery pack for power. Since most ebike systems don't have a convenient access point for running auxiliary devices from the main battery, a small amount of custom wiring is required to hook the light into the system. We suggest any one of the following techniques:

1. Anderson Powerpole Tap: Use a small screwdriver to remove the pins from the Anderson powerpole battery connector on your motor controller. Then solder thin wire leads to both the positive and negative leads pins, and press them back into the housing. You'll now have a tidy tap point into the motor controller power bus which can be connected to the bike light.
2. Inline Powerpole Splicer: Another approach is to make a device similar to the Cycle Analyst shunt which is terminated with Anderson powerpoles on either side. This then plugs in between the battery and the motor controller, and unlike option (A) it can be easily removed from the system if necessary.
3. Cycle Analyst Tap: If your system already has a Cycle Analyst, then there is already the full battery power available at the handlebars and you can tap into this rather than running an additional wire down the bike. This approach will require opening the Cycle Analyst box, drilling a hole in the casing to feed the wire out, and soldering the wire to the battery power leads which you'll find connected to the pads labelled V+ and G.
4. Battery Charge Port: One possible location to access power from the battery pack without additional wiring is through the charging port for the battery. If you attach a 3-pin male XLR connector to the leads of the bike light, then this can plug into the charge connector on the battery pack for powering the lights up while you are riding.

There are certainly other possible ways of accessing the battery voltage, such as a tap inside the motor controller, wiring an additional auxiliary power line directly to the terminals of the battery pack, or partially stripping the insulation off the battery leads and splicing in this way. Just note that in any case, the light is supplied with bare wires on the end, and you'll need to do a bit of work to hook it up.

Wiring Switches

The regular front and rear lights do not have a built in on/off control button, so you will likely want to wire up a switch in series with the power going to these lights, or terminate the leads with a connector that is easy to plug in and unplug. When the light is on, you can control the flash state with the 3rd ground shield wire. If this is shorted to ground, then the light will operate in a flashing mode, while if is left disconnected the light will be steady.

Power from the Wheel

If you have a direct drive hub motor (Crystalyte, Nine Continent, Wilderness Energy etc.) the hub motor itself can act as a generator and power the lights up so that you aren't riding in the dark, even if your main battery pack is toast or not connected. So long as the motor controller remains connected to the hub, it will rectify the AC voltage produced by the spinning wheel and convert this to a DC voltage which will supply power to the light. Most hub motors will produce enough voltage at about 6-8 mph to cause the lights to turn on.

Stand Alone DC-DC Converters for ebikes

Last Updated: June 5th, new 8 rear LED button light and stand alone DC-DC converter details added.

Photo credit: Mick