Changing headlight on ST2

[Chuck E. Cheese]

The Supernova light on my ST2 is insufficient for where I ride. I need something with a wider beam and a longer throw, preferably with a cutoff focus to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. I'm looking at the Seca 1800 which looks like it would do a better job, but without disassembling the bike I don't know how to wire it. Does anyone know if the OEM Supernova E3 uses the same connector as the Seca or whether it is soldered directly to the motherboard? Would I be better off just snipping the existing wire from the Supernova and splicing the wire from the Seca to it? I have a ton of soldering experience and am confident I could make a clean, waterproof splice, but I'd rather not cut the wire if it's not necessary. I read somewhere that the OEM light runs off a 6V rail. It's hard to find other well-reviewed lights that operate at that voltage. Most seem to be either 12V or higher. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The Supernova light on my ST2 is insufficient for where I ride. I need something with a wider beam and a longer throw, preferably with a cutoff focus to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. I'm looking at the Seca 1800 which looks like it would do a better job, but without disassembling the bike I don't know how to wire it. Does anyone know if the OEM Supernova E3 uses the same connector as the Seca or whether it is soldered directly to the motherboard? Would I be better off just snipping the existing wire from the Supernova and splicing the wire from the Seca to it? I have a ton of soldering experience and am confident I could make a clean, waterproof splice, but I'd rather not cut the wire if it's not necessary. I read somewhere that the OEM light runs off a 6V rail. It's hard to find other well-reviewed lights that operate at that voltage. Most seem to be either 12V or higher. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

While splicing + soldering is easy and the SECA 1800 is an excellent light, the lighting system on the ST2 is not setup for such high current draw.
So, the best option would be use the NIP 800 or 500.

The current spec is E3: https://supernova-lights.com/en/products/dynamo-lights/e3-pure-3/, which has 205lm rating but puts out decent amount of light but is in no way comparable to M99.

If I were you, I would switch to NIP 500. I have both the NIP 800 and SECA on my Haibike/BULLS. Seca is blindingly bright but draws more amps than the NIP 800.
For it's size, NIP 800 is very bright compared to the Supernova E3. But, it is my hunch that NIP 800 would still draw higher amps than what is permitted by the ST2 motherboard. So, the best bet would be NIP 500.

 

[Chuck E. Cheese]

Thanks as always Ravi. You are a fountain of ebike expertise and wisdom. Do you know where I can find the specs of the circuit for the ST2 headlight? The NIP 500 might be fine, but if the circuitry could supply enough current for the 800 I'll go that route. Someone somewhere must have the answer.

Thanks again!

 

[siclmn]

To get more light on the road you need to draw more power from the bike. If you succeed in finding a light that matches the same specs as the original light you will end up with the same lousy light. The dealer told me that the only way is to just put on an after market light with it's own power source.

 

[Chuck E. Cheese]

To get more light on the road you need to draw more power from the bike. If you succeed in finding a light that matches the same specs as the original light you will end up with the same lousy light. The dealer told me that the only way is to just put on an after market light with it's own power source.

I emailed Stromer asking for the supply values for the headlight circuit. I received a response saying that even if I found a different light that worked, installing it it would void the warranty. So I still don't even know whether the motherboard can supply sufficient voltage for one of the brighter hardwired lights I was considering. I gave up the quest and bought a NiteRider Lumina 1100 Boost rechargeable light which, in conjunction with the existing Supernova E3 does the trick. I focus the E3 close and the NiteRider further out and it works great. I'm going to have a tab 3-D printed that can act as a height cutoff so I don't blind oncoming motorists and I'll be all set. I don't understand why light manufacturers don't all provide a height cutoff. The beam on the Niterider is great in terms of width and distance, but I've had two oncoming cars flash their headlights at me when riding at night the last two evenings. That's no good.