Let me know if I should start a new topic?
I've installed the Cougars on my bike.
I went thru the same confusion of what to do with the boots. I decided to keep them, and I just forced the components thru the rear opening..... and whatever that black cube is might be the source of my question? or perhaps not. I peeled removed one half of the cover on one of my lights in an effort to make it easier to force thru the boot.... wouldn't think I hurt it at all but I'm also out of my depth about understanding this stuff....
I got everything installed. BTW, I installed mostly from below ... I saw that somewhere. I'd love to give credit but I'm drowning in "information overload"
Anyways, this leads to my question. With the stock bulbs I noticed that when I switched from low to high beams (or high to low) there was a momentary lack of light ... ie neither bulb burned. It was likely just a half second without light ... but way longer than my comfort level.
So I decided on an LED upgrade. Bike is 2004, but VERY low miles.... less than 30K.
After installation, I had similar problems (momentary darkness and eventually only high lights burn). But I discovered at this point that my battery was likely the cause or maybe just contributing to the issue. It got very low in power ... I had been riding frequently, but I let my bike rest once I started the upgrade and honestly it's taken me a long time ... maybe a month? ... work, gun range/competitions, dating ...I've got lots of excuses!
Today I finished charging my battery. I use a NOCO 3500 ... it's a nice piece of kit and supposedly does a good job of trickle charging as well as desulfinating if the battery needs it. After a 2 day session I got a steady green light.... and voltage is measuring above 13.7 volts and CCA's measure somewhere above 600 cca..... so I think the battery is solid at this point. BTW, this Noco has revived my auto batteries AND my riding mower batteries ... I'm a believer. I did have a car batt fail to revive with it, but it was VERY OLD (more than 8 years) in a vehicle that sat unused for some time. Worthwhile piece of kit, IMO.
So I started the bike and similar issues .... but seems like a bit of variability. Sometimes they change up the "malfunction" ... the new pattern has the high beams burning but then pulsing ... I'd estimate 2 times a second.
I'm going to continue to work on this, but I decided it was time to consult the "hive mind" here. I'm not good with electronics. I don't really understand the differences in the circuits with LED bulbs vs the factory bulbs.
So, I'm opening this up for suggestions.
Extra information: I have purchased an additional set of H4 replacement bulbs ... they don't have the extra black box block that the cougars have ... I don't know what that is or what it does. So, I thought they'd fit better than the cougars (I was still concerned with running bulbs without that boot ... and these would have a better fit with the boot (that was what was in my mind at the time).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFBH7NQL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 So I'm going to swap out my LED's .
I have the original bulbs so can switch to these if I need to. But I'm on the verge of driving this cross country and would VERY MUCH like more light.
Over the winter I'll park this in my shed/garage area and work on adding running lights ... will likely have questions about wiring those in eventually. My old eyes (62) will benefit from every extra lumen I can put on the road ... and I'd like plenty of warning for potential critters on the road!
