# Any 50W conversions to fit in a POB?



## Parker VH (Jan 13, 2009)

I'm wondering if there are any 50W bulb/ballast kits such as those on Ebay that would fit in a POB? Is that all that would be required so long as a kit contained the H7 style bulb and there was room for the ballast? I'm not against doing mods to the light to make a ballast fit. In other words, if grinding were required etc. I would still be interested. I have not had my POB apart other than to swap out a bulb so I'm not sure how much room there is. Any info. would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Bob


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## Parker VH (Jan 16, 2009)

Anybody?????? Let me restate, for anyone else who as done an HID upgrade whether in a Thor etc. Since the POB is already an HID, what else would be needed to upgrade to 50W other than a ballast and H7 bulb? Are there other components I need to consider? Any help would be appreciated.


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## BVH (Jan 16, 2009)

It's probably as simple as you state. A new bulb and ballast. I haven't had my Amondotech 3152 (precursor to the POB) apart so I'm not sure of the size of the original ballast. I'd recommend taking yours apart to double check how much room you have for the aftermarket 50 or 55 watt ballast. All other wiring, switches, battery should be fine for the minor power requirement increase. If you want more run time, look into the 9AH sla batteries available from many sources. You can find them in the same exact size as the 7 AH batteries.


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## Parker VH (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks. I've already bought two 9AH batteries locally for $20.00 each but haven't put one in yet.Are you aware of any particular ballasts that might work that you have seen or heard of? I know I can just search Ebay but is there somewhere else worth checking? As far as ballasts in general, is a 50W a 50W? or are there different configurations to be concerned about?
Thanks again.
Bob


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## BVH (Jan 16, 2009)

I purchased a 55 Watt, two-ballast/bulb kit for my 08 Chevy pick-up and am very happy with the performance and color of light. I bought from "Retro-solutions" on Ebay. I bought the 5000K color temp and am extremely happy with them. Not too purple, not to yellow. He has all the different bulb bases and was very responsive in the sale.


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## Richie086 (Jan 16, 2009)

Parker VH said:


> Anybody?????? Let me restate, for anyone else who as done an HID upgrade whether in a Thor etc. Since the POB is already an HID, what else would be needed to upgrade to 50W other than a ballast and H7 bulb? Are there other components I need to consider? Any help would be appreciated.


 


Hi Parker,

I needed to disassemble my POB's today because I wanted to shine up the reflectors on them for maximum brightness. While in there, I took a couple of photos of the ballast and measurements for you. Hope this helps. 

Stock ballast - 3-1/4" Wide X 2-5/8" Deep X 1-1/4" High


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## Parker VH (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks guys. Do you think that a 50 or 55 watt ballast would have the same type connectors on it that my POB has? I'm not unwilling to do some adapting, soldering etc. to make it connect if necessary. Do you think ballast heat will be an issue with this upgrade?


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## amaretto (Mar 18, 2009)

Today i wanted to exchange the stock ballast against a 55 ballast. But i have a problem with the connectors. As you can see on the picture above there a three wires going into the original ballast (black, red, yellow). The new one has only two. So what's that yellow one for? I would be happy for any help.

edit: here's a picture from another thread (where i found no answer): http://rsdivelite.com/photos/harbor.JPG


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## Richie086 (Mar 20, 2009)

amaretto said:


> Today i wanted to exchange the stock ballast against a 55 ballast. But i have a problem with the connectors. As you can see on the picture above there a three wires going into the original ballast (black, red, yellow). The new one has only two. So what's that yellow one for? I would be happy for any help.


 

Hi Amaretto,

I just took apart a POB today I was lucky to get as a "spare parts" POB. I checked that yellow wire you mention. From what I was able to tell, it may be for those charge LED lights. If correct, I'd worry about them another time. I've never found them to be of much help when it comes to remaining battery power. I'd get the positive and negative wires hooked up and see if the modication works correctly before dealing with that circuit board. Whatever you end up doing, please post the outcome.


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## petersmith6 (Mar 22, 2009)

i cant help withe the yellow wire but i do love the wooden floor boards you have.hey im sad, but you have respected the wood.


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## AlexGT (Mar 22, 2009)

Hi Richie086! I am wondering how you shine up the reflectors on your POB, what did you use and what was your result?

AlexGT



Richie086 said:


> Hi Parker,
> 
> I needed to disassemble my POB's today because I wanted to shine up the reflectors on them for maximum brightness.


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## Richie086 (Mar 22, 2009)

AlexGT said:


> Hi Richie086! I am wondering how you shine up the reflectors on your POB, what did you use and what was your result?
> 
> AlexGT


 

Hi Alex,

The POB reflector has good plating on it, and I used some Meguiar's automotive carnauba wax. I let it dry as you would on a car and then buffed it off with a very soft cloth. Just don't muscle into it. Prior to reassembling everything, I used my compressor to blow air on the reflector to make sure no lint was remaining on it or the lens. I also washed the lens to remove the fogging residue from burning in the new HID bulb.

The result was a really shiny reflector because that fogging all POB's accumulate on the inside of the lens also gets on the reflector.


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

Hey Guys bear with me as I try to post pics of my 55W mod. We'll see if this works.:shrug:


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

I'll try and make the images smaller as I assume this is too large. I'm using Photobucket but it's new to me.


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

We'll see how large th



is is.


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

How do I delete this post and pics that are too large while I try and downsize the images?


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

Another try. I loaded this image to size "medium" hopefully it's smaller than the previous two tries, if not, I'm sorry. Any help would be appreciated.


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## saabluster (Apr 10, 2009)

Parker VH said:


> How do I delete this post and pics that are too large while I try and downsize the images?


You can't technically delete your own posts but you can edit them. There should be a button to click on when you are looking at your own posts that says edit down at the bottom right.​


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## Richie086 (Apr 10, 2009)

I can't wait to read about this one. Make sure you post where you purchased your parts from. Thanks.


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

Well,
I finally got my POB converted to 55W. I bought the 55W ballast locally form a guy on Craigslist for $75.00. It has an internal igniter but was a little too big to fit in the stock ballast location so I placed it along side the Lipo battery in the existing battery compartment. The battery I bought from Hobby King along with a charger that I still need to learn how to use. I made a divider out of lexan and aluminum that fits fairly snugly between the battery and the ballast to help hold them so they don't flop around in the battery compartment.
I ground off the round ring from inside the tailcap to hold the divider in the compartment as you can see in the pics. 
I weighed the complete unit on my digital fishing scale and it said 5lbs 11oz. Not sure how accurate the scale is but it's noticeably lighter than with the stock SLA battery.
I spliced in another Deans type connector to the battery leads and ran it out the top of the light below the handle along with the Lipo balancing lead so I can charge the battery without removing it from the light.
I've only run it for a few minutes so far so I don't know how long the Lipo will last but it's not a real concern for me as I don't use this light for long periods at a time anyway.
I'm probably going to put a small digital meter on top by the Deans connector so I can plug it in when needed to keep tabs on the battery status.
All in all a pretty easy mod once I found a suitable ballast. I will post some beamshots soon when it warms up a bit here in MN comparing it to a stock POB.
I'd like to thank "Patriot and Richie086 for all their help in leading me along with this mod. I wouldn't have attempted it without the help from great guys like them who aren't afraid to help a newbie like myself. 
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii1/Parker-VH/POB55W001.jpg


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

Here's a pic of the ballast and battery alongside each other.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii1/Parker-VH/POB55W002.jpg


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

Here's the ground off tailcap.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii1/Parker-VH/POB55W004.jpg


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

The Lipo battery.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii1/Parker-VH/POB55W005.jpg


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## Parker VH (Apr 10, 2009)

The lexan/aluminum divider.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii1/Parker-VH/POB55W003.jpg


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## saabluster (Apr 11, 2009)

I think this was what you were aiming for right? You can just copy my post and paste it into yours and I will delete them here. Nice job by the way.


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## Patriot (Apr 11, 2009)

You're welcome Parker and I'm very glad that you got this up and running. I know that you put a lot of time into this and asked a bunch of questions. Your batter fit looks great. I did notice in one picture that the solder point at the deans connector looked slightly exposed. I'm not trying to be critical but just wanted to point it out so that you have a very safe set up. If one wire strand pops out and contacts that other side you'll have a serious short. Maybe you can put some more heat shrink over it or just squirt a blob of silicon over it. 


Very nice work all every regard! 

So are you using your new charger yet?

Also, did you order the pack voltage monitor that I linked to you?


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## BVH (Apr 11, 2009)

My Amondotech POB is a great thrower at 35 Watts so I'll bet your 55 watt mod really throws a distant beam! Good job!


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## Parker VH (Apr 11, 2009)

Patriot said:


> You're welcome Parker and I'm very glad that you got this up and running. I know that you put a lot of time into this and asked a bunch of questions. Your batter fit looks great. I did notice in one picture that the solder point at the deans connector looked slightly exposed. I'm not trying to be critical but just wanted to point it out so that you have a very safe set up. If one wire strand pops out and contacts that other side you'll have a serious short. Maybe you can put some more heat shrink over it or just squirt a blob of silicon over it.
> 
> 
> Very nice work all every regard!
> ...


I haven't ordered the voltage monitor yet as I'd like to find it available here in the states instead of having to pay shipping from China for that one little item. I haven't used the charger as I need to check the runtimes of the light like you advised me of as to not overdischarge the Lipo.
Thanks.
Bob


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## Patriot (Apr 11, 2009)

oh ok. The charger itself will also tell you the voltage if need be while you're waiting for you meter. Just hook up both leads, set it to 4 cells at about 2.50A rate and push the charge button. It will show total and individual cell voltage. It sure is a nice, lightweight 50W light. Again, nice work.


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## Richie086 (Apr 11, 2009)

Parker VH said:


> I'd like to thank "Patriot and Richie086 for all their help in leading me along with this mod. I wouldn't have attempted it without the help from great guys like them who aren't afraid to help a newbie like myself. http://


 

Hey Bob,

You're very welcome. 

Just a couple of questions for you. That li-po battery you purchased, how does it compare in size to the original battery used, it is smaller in all dimensions? Also, if possible, when you give it a full runtime test, is there a way you can check the temperature of the ballast body. I'm curious to know how hot it may get and if there should be a concern over-heating the battery itself. I ask because I'll likely following in your foot steps, but since I've already purchased a high power AGM, I'd likely keep using it for now.


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## Parker VH (Apr 11, 2009)

Richie,
The Lipo battery dimensions are as follows, converted to inches.
5.51 long, 1.33 wide, 2.04 tall and it weighs 16.61 ounces so it's definitely smaller and much lighter than an SLA. If I could have found a ballast to fit in the existing location I probably would have stuck with the SLA for now, at least initially. I don't know how I could measure the temp. of the ballast as I don't have an IR thermometer unless you know of a way that I might try.


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## Richie086 (Apr 11, 2009)

Parker VH said:


> I don't know how I could measure the temp. of the ballast as I don't have an IR thermometer unless you know of a way that I might try.


 
I thought you might have an IR thermometer, but I suppose as long as it's not to hot to touch would give a good indication that everything is good. I'm really curious to see what runtime time is on a fully charge.


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## Parker VH (Apr 14, 2009)

If anyone's interested, I talked to the guy I bought my ballast/bulb from and he does have more of these. PM me and I'll give you his info.


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