Ed Scherer

Thanks, Jim. Within the next couple of days, I'll try to establish some reference points that would allow reliable, repeatable measurements to be taken and and conveyed.

I think on my next iteration, I'm going to try to further increase the gap in the areas I'm concerned about.

I'm probably going to scrap the "wing" for the cap and instead have a platform for the LED driver module above and in front of (closer to the front of the headlight) of the cap retainer clip handles.

I'm going through the usual process of refinement, where messing with a prototype for a while, test fitting, staring at things, and then thinking about them some more results in continued improvements.

I've got some ideas for a modular center on the cap that would accommodate multiple bulb barrel sizes and shapes, but I think I'll put those ideas on hold unless it seems that there might be demand for other such shapes.

77tony

^^"I've got some ideas for a modular center on the cap that would accommodate multiple bulb barrel sizes and shapes, but I think I'll put those ideas on hold unless it seems that there might be demand for other such shapes"

Hi Ed, Anything on the horizon for Woodypeck H4/LED's that have been on the market for some time ?http://woodypeck.com/?product=928-h4...9600-lumensset TIA T

Ed Scherer

If it's the one with the braided heatsink at that page, they've got a 25 mm barrel and would feed through a hole just fine; I'd just need to make caps with a 27 mm hole (and appropriate O-ring) instead of the 24 mm hole (for a 22 mm barrel) that I'm prototyping right now.

But if there's sufficient demand for different versions, I may want to give more thought to making a single cap with adapters for different H4 LED bulbs.

Hmmm...

77tony

Units purchased last year look more like this....

Ed Scherer

Do the heatsinks come off? Also, the barrel (cylindrical area between the three tab mounting surface and the heatsink) looks very short on that bulb, which could cause some trouble since, ideally (and maybe necessarily), the heatsink has to stay behind the cap.

If you can get (or refer me to) exact measurements, it would help. Barrel diameter and length, and heatsink diameter are the most critical dimensions.

Ed Scherer

You called this one correctly. I'm abandoning the wing on the side of the cap. Next iteration (please let it be the final one!) will have a minimally-sized cap, will have symmetry on everything (except the vent hole) about the Y axis rather than the X axis (when viewed with cap flat on table), and will have provision for a couple of brackets to support the LED driver module at an angle above the cap (between the cap retention clip handles and the headlight reflector assembly).

I've got to work on some other stuff for a while and probably won't spend much more time on this until next week.

superock

Have you guys ever seen these ? :

Ed Scherer

I have now.

Ed Scherer

And... here it is. Prototype #3.

As I was continuing to use the same sheet of ABS, there were a few hold-down holes that were in the wrong places; these show up as "half holes" on the sides of the ears. Those aren't supposed to be there and will not be there when I switch to a fresh sheet of ABS (or Delrin).




The hardware for mounting the LED driver module is shown next. M4 screw and square nut for attaching the brackets to the cap and M3 flat head screws for attaching the brackets to the LED driver module.

The brackets are a pain to make. I was just drilling them manually on a drill press. I don't have any good bar bending tools; my vice and hand-tool solution didn't work all that well. Need a really small radius bend to 80°. If I stick with this solution, I'll have to come up with an appropriate (and compact and fairly inexpensive, if possible) tool for this.




Here's how this LED driver module mounting solution works.

Here's the driver module. Note that it has its own little ears, which could either be used for nylon wire ties, Velcro straps, or rounded head or cap head M3 screws. Without going into a lot of detail, I'll just say that I considered for quite some time trying to make use of the LED module's mounting ears, but eventually elected not to use them (there's very little clearance between the headlight reflector and the center of the LED module for the mounting location I chose).




So instead, I elected to use the four existing threaded screw holes already present in the LED driver module. Remove the four screws (M3 × 6 mm) on its cover. You don't need to remove the cover, but if you're curious, you can peek inside and see that the electronics in this module are potted.




Put the cover back if you removed it. Attach the brackets to the LED driver module using M3 × 10 mm flat head SS screws. You'll have the module's original M3 × 6 mm left over.




Lay the M4 SS square nuts in the channels in the ears on the back of the cap and attach the brackets to the cap as shown using M4 × 10 mm (I used 12 mm because that's what I had on hand) SS rounded head screws.




Note that there are channels on the ears for the brackets, too, so they mount flush.




Does it work? Next post...

Ed Scherer

Yes, it does!

Here's the installation sequence. We start with the headlight cover off, and the H4 LED bulb — minus its heat sink and wave washer — already inserted and clamped down with its retainer clip in the H4 reflector assembly. The H4 connector and cap retainer clip are moved out of the way.




Install the cap/driver module assembly. You just feed the LED bulb cable through the center hole in the cap and work the cap closer and closer until it just about touches the barrel of the LED bulb. Then go slowly, being careful to keep things centered. You can rotate the cap a bit about its axis as you slowly press it on, making sure that the O-ring doesn't dislodge.




Close the cap retainer clip.




Feed the H4 LED bulb's wave washer over the LED bulb cable and put it on the barrel of the H4 LED bulb barrel.




Feed the H4 LED bulb's heat sink over the LED bulb cable and screw it onto the barrel of the H4 LED bulb. There is very little clearance behind the bulb barrel and some metal (the squared notch) behind and under it. I can see this being a potential problem based on how your headlight is aimed (note, though, that this has nothing to do with the cap; it's a problem you'd have regardless of whether or not you're even using a cap).




Plug stuff in. LED driver module plugs into car's three-terminal H4 connector and LED bulb plugs into the LED driver module four-terminal round connector. I thought about using some nylon wire ties to clamp the wires somewhere, but decided that it might be best to just let them get naturally squeezed to the back of the headlight cover.




Put the headlight cover on.

Ed Scherer

A few bonus photos showing some detail from different viewing angles.

Ed Scherer

I would call the design done at this point except I don't like how time consuming it is to make the brackets. I'm considering an alternative design that would have the cap ears just angled 10° at the top ("top" when viewed as mounted to the back of the headlight reflector) and then use flat brackets screwed (with self-tapping screws into pre-drilled holes in the plastic) to that surface. That would at least eliminate the need to have bends in the brackets.

It wouldn't be as strong, though. But probably strong enough.

Rob Edwards

Where do I sign?

Ed Scherer

Prototype is one thing... making sure I can produce reasonable quantity with minimal labor is another... but I'm working toward that. Really want to wrap this up soon, though, as it has become a more substantial distraction than I was expecting.

77tony

I'll take measurements later in the week. Looks great Ed T