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@scootaboy avatar
UTC

Hooked
'84 PX150e
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Hooked
@scootaboy avatar
'84 PX150e
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UTC quote
Rookie question.

I've just picked up a PX150e (my first two-stroke) and it clearly has an incandescent headlamp running weak on start up but warming up with more gas.

Question is, how easily can I upgrade this to a halogen or similar that will kick out more light? Is it just a matter of replacing with a halogen bulb? Do I need to replace the entire headlamp with some sort of after-market headlamp?

Much appreciate your help in advance.
@rover_eric avatar
UTC

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1965 Vespa SS180, 1963 Lambretta LI150
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@rover_eric avatar
1965 Vespa SS180, 1963 Lambretta LI150
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Location: Detroit, Michigan
UTC quote
Yeah, you can throw a halogen in there.

Which bulb type is dependent on what year your PX150 is. I think the new ones might use HP4 style ... while old ones use your standard bayonet bulb. ( don't remember the code for that type of base )
@halijaro avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
'99 PX200 & GTS300 HPE SuperSport
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Molto Verboso
@halijaro avatar
'99 PX200 & GTS300 HPE SuperSport
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Location: Cheshire, England, UK.
UTC quote
I did it a couple of years back due to my commute being through dark country lanes at this time of year, the original headlamp was pretty useless.

I went for the whole headlamp unit replaced with the post 2000 version and it was a vast improvement. I paid about £35 (<$50?) for the whole thing and was a piece of cake to fit.
OP
@scootaboy avatar
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'84 PX150e
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UTC quote
Thanks both, so in short, it seems like I can either just swap out the bulb or the complete assembly. Either is fine.

Needless to say I'll start with the bulb and if that's not giving me the light I'm looking for I'll investigate the whole thing.

Presumably an '85 scoot predates halogen?
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Vespa 50 Special, Honda CG125
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Vespa 50 Special, Honda CG125
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UTC quote
Rover Eric wrote:
Yeah, you can throw a halogen in there.

Which bulb type is dependent on what year your PX150 is. I think the new ones might use HP4 style ... while old ones use your standard bayonet bulb. ( don't remember the code for that type of base )
Is it BA20d? might be confusing it with another bulb.... not sure, for some reason I seem to remember (although might have remembered wrongly) that the old PX's took a BA20d.
@eldorado avatar
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1980 Vespa P200E, 1981 Serveta Jet 200, 1982 BMW R100, 2003 BMW F650GS
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@eldorado avatar
1980 Vespa P200E, 1981 Serveta Jet 200, 1982 BMW R100, 2003 BMW F650GS
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UTC quote
My 1980 P200 and my girlfriend's 79 P200 both have H4 connectors, I think. anyway, I got a sealed-beam Sylvania auto halogen bulb from pep boys for $7, it just barely fits inside the headlight bezel, but it was a cheap upgrade - especially since I bought it when my regulator died and my headlight blew.
@rudy812 avatar
UTC

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2005 Px 150 canadian series
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Location: New Westminster,B.C. Canada
 
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UTC quote
Yes you can
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Molto Verboso
many
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Molto Verboso
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UTC quote
Just don't touch the Halogen bulb with your fingers, use
a cloth to screw it in. The oils on your fingers will cause the lamp life to shorten.
If you touch a halogen light bulb, wipe it clean with a cloth and rubbing alcohol.
http://www.westinghouselightbulbs.com/faq_01.shtml#halo4


Rob
UTC

nothing at all
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nothing at all
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UTC quote
Eldorado wrote:
My 1980 P200 and my girlfriend's 79 P200 both have H4 connectors, I think. anyway, I got a sealed-beam Sylvania auto halogen bulb from pep boys for $7, it just barely fits inside the headlight bezel, but it was a cheap upgrade - especially since I bought it when my regulator died and my headlight blew.
i use a 7 dollar replacment from kragen auto parts for my p as well
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Yamaha MIO :P
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UTC quote
Ive chage it back to non halogen again, the damn thing melt my reflector again
@rover_eric avatar
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1965 Vespa SS180, 1963 Lambretta LI150
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@rover_eric avatar
1965 Vespa SS180, 1963 Lambretta LI150
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UTC quote
there are some headlamp reflector units that i guess are built with more space between the bulb and the reflector...to stop that from happening.
⬆️    About 4 months elapsed    ⬇️
@juno106 avatar
UTC

Hooked
Piaggio LML NV VESPA 150cc
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Location: Republic of Macedonia,Europe
 
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@juno106 avatar
Piaggio LML NV VESPA 150cc
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UTC quote
So how will I know if the halogen bulb is going to melt the inside of the headlamp or no???? I have LML NV from 1991.Should I put halogen bulb or stick with regular bulb?
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UTC

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'84 PX150e
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'84 PX150e
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UTC quote
I finally did replace my unit with a halogen bulb but I'm not sure I hooked it up correctly. The only time I get a decent bright light out of it is when I hit the kill switch, at which point I get a really really bright surge of light before the engine dies. During normal riding it's no where near as bright, but frankly it's hard to tell without a mirror in front of me when I'm riding

Any thoughts?
⬆️    About 3 months elapsed    ⬇️
@gravyhand avatar
UTC

Enthusiast
P200E
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Location: Austin, TX
 
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P200E
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UTC quote
I'm considering upgrading my stock P200 headlamp assembly to the PX halogen. I read that this upgrade needs some wiring modifications. Anyone know more about that?
@scooter_west avatar
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UTC quote
I gotta give it up for the 2001 and later complete headlight that uses an H4 bulb. They look really sharp in the bike, and cast great light. One of my favorite upgrades for the P-series that didn't come with them originally.
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UTC quote
gravyhand wrote:
I'm considering upgrading my stock P200 headlamp assembly to the PX halogen. I read that this upgrade needs some wiring modifications. Anyone know more about that?
They only need creative wiring if you want to hook up the pilot/running bulb. I just plugged the hole on mine. In the USA, the headlight needs to be on all the time anyway, so there's no point in having the running light.
@gravyhand avatar
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P200E
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Location: Austin, TX
 
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P200E
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UTC quote
Motorsport Scooters wrote:
gravyhand wrote:
I'm considering upgrading my stock P200 headlamp assembly to the PX halogen. I read that this upgrade needs some wiring modifications. Anyone know more about that?
They only need creative wiring if you want to hook up the pilot/running bulb. I just plugged the hole on mine. In the USA, the headlight needs to be on all the time anyway, so there's no point in having the running light.
Thanks for the info!
@gravyhand avatar
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P200E
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P200E
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UTC quote
I bought my H4 headlamp yesterday and screwed it in. I'm trying to figure out my wiring, so I attached a picture that shows my wiring harness and the wiring setup for the halogen lamp.

I'm not sure what goes to what here. Anyone got a clue? I've got two green (high and low), a brown (running light?) two black and there was a third black that was grounded to the headset.

I want to link it all up with quick disconnect terminals since I can't find the male/female connectors that match the ones on the lamp assembly.
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
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UTC quote
Generally, you pull the harness and connector off of the new headlight, and just connect your old connector directly to the new light, but it looks like you've removed your old connector?
@gravyhand avatar
UTC

Enthusiast
P200E
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Location: Austin, TX
 
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P200E
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UTC quote
Motorsport Scooters wrote:
Generally, you pull the harness and connector off of the new headlight, and just connect your old connector directly to the new light, but it looks like you've removed your old connector?
My old bulb was bayonet style and this one is the three-prong type, so I can't use the two together.
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UTC quote
gravyhand wrote:
Motorsport Scooters wrote:
Generally, you pull the harness and connector off of the new headlight, and just connect your old connector directly to the new light, but it looks like you've removed your old connector?
My old bulb was bayonet style and this one is the three-prong type, so I can't use the two together.
I see. You already had the Euro conversion headlight in there. The new headlight swaps directly for the original Sealed Beams on the US Market bikes. Let me get you the wire colors in a sec.
⚠️ Last edited by Scooter West on UTC; edited 1 time
@scooter_west avatar
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UTC quote
Should be black to black, brown to brown, and green to purple.
@gravyhand avatar
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P200E
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P200E
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UTC quote
Motorsport Scooters wrote:
Should be black to black, brown to brown, and green to purple.
Hmm. I think I probably need to splice the two greens back together. When I got this wiring harness I separated them to prevent constant bulb blowouts.

So, I've also got the two black wires. Does it matter which connects to the all-black on the headlamp and which connects to the black/yellow?

Do you think I should also run a ground off the two blacks to the headset?

Thanks for the help!
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P200E
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UTC quote
Motorsport Scooters wrote:
Should be black to black, brown to brown, and green to purple.
Thanks, man! That worked. I decided to just leave the running light alone, wedded the two greens back together, plugged everything in the way you said. It's nice and bright.
⬆️    About 3 months elapsed    ⬇️
UTC

Hooked
1980 P200E
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UTC quote
I believe i am having a similar issue here, so i am trying to replace my harness on a US spec P200E, it has a battery and had a three prong adapter for the sealed bulb. I think the connector in some of the old harness is corroded so I am replacing it with the one that came in my box.

my wiring doesn't exactly match up.

on the bike i have

Green
Black
Brown

for the new harness i have well, I will enclose a picture.

the brown and purple connect into a plug, and the black/yellow black end with a plug and also the pilot light. I don't care too much about using the pilot light, though I do have some bulbs for it, just in case.

what goes where?
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
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1970 Vespa Rally 180
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UTC quote
UTC

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1980 P200E
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UTC quote
jamesjohn wrote:
totally.

so in the interest of being daring, i grabbed some wire cutters and some wire joining connector bit thingies, and started cutting and splicing, i matched them all up, it was fairly simple.

im having the same issue though. i think it has to do with the switch on the handle bar though. will know more on wednesday.
⬆️    About 4 years elapsed    ⬇️
@icloudfiles avatar
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1978 Vespa P125X, 150 Top End, SIP Road 2.0 Exhaust
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Location: New York
 
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UTC quote
Just resurrecting this old thread. Im in the process of getting PX H4 housing and wasn't sure what the back of it looks like. Cant find too many pics of it. How did it end up working out for you guys?
dangeross wrote:
jamesjohn wrote:
totally.

so in the interest of being daring, i grabbed some wire cutters and some wire joining connector bit thingies, and started cutting and splicing, i matched them all up, it was fairly simple.

im having the same issue though. i think it has to do with the switch on the handle bar though. will know more on wednesday.
⬆️    About 7 months elapsed    ⬇️
UTC

Lurker
None at the moment - looking!
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Location: Trondheim, Norway
 
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UTC quote
Solution?
Did anyone figure out a solution for the last pictures?

Also sorry for bumping this old thread, but I just bought the H4-housing, and do have the same problem.
UTC

Addicted
1974 Rally 200, 1974 Rally 200 with sidecar, Vespacross bike
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Location: Atlanta
 
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UTC quote
Black to black, brown to brown, and the two that remain are green to purple.
Boom, done.
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UTC quote
I was thinking about the issue with the switch, but thanks for replying
⬆️    About 3 years elapsed    ⬇️
UTC

Hooked
1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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Location: Florida
 
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1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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UTC quote
So where does the yellow/black wire goes?
Thanks
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
UTC

parallelogramerist
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
colosseo wrote:
So where does the yellow/black wire goes?
Thanks
Those yellow/black wires go to the pilot light (if your new headlight has an opening for one). I never bothered installing a pilot light when I converted mine. I found that it was a waste of extra watts that could be used elsewhere. You see, the Euro market PX has a multi-position headlight switch that makes it possible to turn on just a pilot light (with no headlight on). The US market P series never came with a switch like that. So if you decided to hook up those wires to a pilot light, it wouldn't be noticeable because the main headlight would be on at the same time. Essentially you'd be wasting something like 5 watts.

Option B would be to wire it up so that the pilot light turns on when you switch the key on. But as soon as the engine starts, the pilot light wouldn't be noticeable anymore.
UTC

Hooked
1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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UTC quote
Are both the high and low beam supposed to work, or just the high beam?
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
colosseo wrote:
Are both the high and low beam supposed to work, or just the high beam?
Just the high comes on.
UTC

Hooked
1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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Location: Florida
 
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UTC quote
Thanks
UTC

Hooked
1980 P200E - GT 200 L - 2005PX150
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UTC quote
I get only the "low" to come on
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parallelogramerist
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parallelogramerist
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UTC quote
colosseo wrote:
I get only the "low" to come on
Is the filament for the high beam burned out?
Is the wire that's coming from the headlight switch to the headlight broken?
Is there power going to the highbeam?

Use an electrical tester to help pinpoint the cause.
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