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Clearwater Company
2546 Mercantile Drive, Unit B
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
916-852-7029
Here are Some Answers to
Frequently Asked Questions about
Clearwater Lights™
What is your Return Policy?
1 year replacement warranty. Our goal is to make you happy, not fight. With over 18,000 satisfied customers around the world, we only have 3 unhappy customers (Some how we pissed them off!).
Do you offer a Military Discount?
Yes – 15% Discount.
What is the brightness difference between the Glenda and Krista lights?
Krista is over 4X brighter
Grounding – My lights are hooked up, but they do not turn on.
Check the grounding – does not work on the front forks because it is isolated. Try grounding to the ground wire. (Also see Manuals Page: How To Secure a Negative Ground).
How are these wired?
All wiring used is Silver plated fine strand copper with very tough and high temperature Teflon insulation. The conductors are housed in a tough polyethylene jacket with silicone lubricant to improve long term vibration resistance. High grade silver content solder is used on all internal electrical joints. Adhesive coated shrink tube is used on all of our harness systems and relays. Top quality parts are used throughout our products. We include Posi-Products connectors which we feel to be excellent and very reliable.
Can I install them myself?
Yes. If you perform routine maintenance on your bike and are comfortable with basic tools, this should not be too difficult. Most installations take between 1-3 hours if you take your time. Bikes with full fairings can take a little longer.
What bikes will they fit?
We are adding new bikes all the time. Check out our new application list to see if your bike is there. We also can offer custom fabrication.
Why do my lights not switch from low to high when I cycle through Low and High beam?
The white high beam trigger wire is not connected to the HIGH beam headlight wire.
What LED's do you use?
We use Seoul Semiconductor LEDS which are made from CREE substrates.
Are your PCBs upgradable when you come out with newer electronics/LEDs?
All of our lights are modular meaning that they can accept upgrades in the future.
Are your lenses shaped to help focus the beam?
Our optic produces a beam with 85% of the light in a 15 degree beam and 15% of the light in a 45 degree beam.
If I don't need the motorcycle specific brackets are your light kits offered without them at a lower price?
We can offer you the lights at a lower cost without brackets, but that particular bracket for your bike is not too expensive and it makes the job very nice.
Of the several kits for the R1200RT 10-12 Models that you have ordered and placed into service, have you ever had any reported fender contact issues?
So far, no complaints about any contact issues on RT's.
On your website I see a CANbus system for BMW. What is a CANbus system and how does it work?
Motorcycles and cars traditionally use "fuses" to protect wires against shorts and possible fires.
BMW has an electrical control system on their bikes (2005+) called a CANbus system (it stands for "controller area network"). It is a computer controlled protection system that serves as a set of automatic "fuses". Instead of having to replace a blown fuse, the computer automatically turns off the electricity to a wire if too much power is used. The computer then turns the electricity back on once the overload condition stops.
If a person is to "add" an additional Auxiliary light or heated jacket to a circuit on a BMW bike, the computer could sense this and think it is a problem and turn off the circuit. Sometimes this causes a problem with the bikes operation.
Clearwater lights do not cause any problem because we supply a wiring harness that gets all the power needed directly from the battery. The CANbus computer is happy and no troubles occur.
LEDs that use a switching power supply or PWM dimming control can emit RF signals that can be heard on certain radio bands. Do your lights interfere?
Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that your radio(s) will not have interference. In thousands of installations, we have seen RF interference in about 6 cases. In all of those, we were unable to remove the noise in 4. My background specifically includes many years experience troubleshooting noise problems in car audio installations. In fact, I lectured for over 10 years on techniques for solving noise related problems in high-end automotive sound systems.
Motorcycles by nature do not have a the steel chassis and ground planes for noise isolation like automobiles do. So, motorcycles are in fact more susceptible to noise. Noise trouble shooting can be time consuming.
That said, I might suggest you look at the grounding configuration of your radio(s). Also, consider moving the antenna and re-routing the antenna cable. The noise can be entering the radio either via the antenna or via the input power wire. A quick test for this would be to power up the radio(s) from an auxiliary battery that is NOT connected to the bike. If the noise goes away, consider adding a noise filter on the input power wire. If it does not go away, disconnect the antenna cable from the back of the radio(s). This will help indicate if the noise is coming in from the antenna or cable. Simply moving the antenna to the rear of the bike can sometimes help.
A good radio installation/troubleshooting shop may ask these questions:
1-How many radios do you have on this bike?
2-Who installed them?
3-What other accessories are on the bike?
4-How many antennas are on the bike?
5-Where are the antennas located?
6-Where are the grounds located?
7-Are any antenna cables bundled with the power wires?
8-Does your bike interfere with any of your friend's bikes when you ride together?
You can also try powering the LED lights from an auxiliary battery and then move the lights closer to your bike. This will help you isolate the cause.
Here is an interesting statement I used to make in my lectures: "All motor vehicles that use an internal combustion engine with an alternator will have noise in any audio system connected to that vehicle. Every time. On some vehicles the noise may not be perceptible, on some it may be unacceptable. The difference is how well that noise is minimized."
While I would really like you to have a set of our lights, it appears that any LED light with a switching power supply may cause interference in your radio. There might be an alternative radio installation technique that will help. Until then, I might suggest converting to a standard halogen bulb.
While it may not be what you wanted to hear, I hope this helps.
1. Our Krista is encased in a 3" housing While our Darla model is packed into a 2" housing. Still despite the difference in size Kristas and Darla lights are surprisingly close in output. While our Darla light puts out a bunch of light, our Krista model emits a little tighter beam of light down the road.
2. A pair of Kristas on high use 6 amps of power. A pair of Darlas use a little less than 5 amps of power.
3. I unfortunately do not have a picture of our lights on an 1150RT. But here is a pic of a similar bracket we make on a R1200RT
Darla is a new product therefore we are still finalizing support installation for her, please feel free to contact us with any questions.
1. Our new Darla will indeed put light down the road. Surpassing 2000 lumens, it is over 2x brighter than Glenda.
2. The beam pattern is similar to all of our lights. 85% is in a 15
degree cone, and 15% is in a 45 degree
cone.
3. The Glenda lights are meant to make you more conspicuous in traffic. The new Darla lights are to provide you with more light down the road. If you do a lot of travelling in the evening, particularly on lonely country roads, or adventure riding, the Darlas are a terrific way to provide you with the suplemental light that so many of us want at night. They also have the ability to dim so that you may also use Darla to make you more conspicuous during the day.
Furthermore, because the Darla lights are the same size as the Glenda, there are more mounting options.Motorcycles that could not use the Krista lights in the past due to lack of mounting options or space may now may enjoy the extra light the Darlas will bring.
My Glenda’s turn off when switched to high beam. What does this mean?
If you have an H4 headlight, (The low beam and high beam are contained in the same bulb) the low beam turns off when the high beam is activated. The red power wire is connected to your H4 headlight wire. This wire turns OFF when you go to HIGH beam. You need to find an alternative source for the Red wire. Try some other switched hot wire.
If the lights replace the current fog lights on the BMW do they use the same wiring?
We cannot use the same wiring. The BMW wiring does not provide for the dimmer and the Canbus circuit does not supply enough power for the Kristas.
Are the Glenda lights too bright to be used in conjunction with the low beams at night?
No. With the dimmer, you can control brightness. We like to keep the Glendas on all the time.
What is the light output in lumens?
Maximum lumen output is difficult to measure. But our lights produce the equivalent light of a 50 watt halogen bulb. With the same amount of light, our LED lights use about 1/4 of the power of a halogen bulb. A good lumen approximation is 550.
What is the brightness difference between the Glenda and Krista lights?
Krista is over 4X brighter.
How much do they weigh?
Each light weighs about 7 ounces.
What are the Dimensions of the Lights?
Outside diameter of our lights is just over 2" and about 2" deep.
Running at full power, what is the electrical draw in watts?
At full power, each light uses about 12 watts. At a slightly reduced light level, the power usage drops significantly.
The initial design parameter of the Glenda project was to create the most light possible with a maximum of 12 watts of power (1 amp). This power level was set as it is the highest power that we could safely add to a headlight system without adding a relay.
To get the most light possible, we designed a digital switching power supply to increase efficiency of the LEDs. By using some of the most recently developed LEDs and our digital power supply, we are able to produce over 4x the amount of light that a traditional halogen filament bulb can produce. And, we chose a color spectrum that is very unlike any halogen bulb headlight on the road. People will notice you.
Is there a beam cutoff to prevent nighttime glare for oncoming traffic?
By designing the beam to be broad reaching, we can make the rider more visible in adjacent lanes of traffic. The dimming function is how we address oncoming glare.
Dimming is controlled by our volume knob and it can also be controlled with your factory High beam switch. The dimming knob sets the brightness for the LOW beam switch position, when the HIGH beams are selected, our lights switch to high too. So, you simply need to dim your headlights with on coming cars. This feature is pretty cool and if you use your "flash to pass" headlight switch, cars really notice you.
These lights are meant to improve your conspicuity and to add to side illumination. The color bandwidth of our lights is such that you will be very noticeable at night or in full sunlight.
Do you consider the Glendas fog lamps, visibility lamps, driving lights or spots?
I would consider these a combination of a fog and visibility light. They can be a range of lights due to the dimming feature.
These lights are more for conspicuity than for "down the road" illumination. Some customers have commented that even in bright sunlight, cars move over in front of them during their daily commute, where as before our lights, they were constantly ignored. I find the car pool lane here in CA rarely has a car ignoring my approach from behind.
Our lights will illuminate road signs, reflectors and deer retinas very well due to their higher bandwidth light energy. You might be amazed how far away exit signs can be seen.
Our lights are much too bright to leave on high at night. So, we designed a computer controlled "dimmer" knob. It mounts on your handlebar and allows you to infinitely control the brightness of our lights via the digital controller in each light. You can use full bright for daytime or open roads and then dim it down for night time use in traffic.
Our new "High/low" relay option is a useful addition to our lights. It allows you to "set" the intensity of the lights with our volume control. And then when you switch your factory high beam switch, our lights switch to high as well. When you dim your headlights, our lights then follow the knobs brightness setting. This way, you don't have to control both lights with two switches.
If the lights replace the current fog lights on the BMW do they use the same wiring?
We cannot use the same wiring. The BMW wiring does not provide for the dimmer and the Canbus circuit does not supply enough power for the Kristas.
Can the Krista lights be mounted on the front forks like the Glenda?
It is possible, but not recommended. There weight of the Krista’s is too great to be supported by this particular mounting option.
What wiring is required for both the Glenda and Krista?
Krista comes with a harness that incorporates wires for the Glenda too. That way you only
need one dimmer.
Are the Krista lights too bright to be used in conjunction with the low beams at night?
At times, yes. That is why we provide an on/off switch. On a dark two lane road, Kristas are too bright, even on the lowest setting.
What is the brightness difference between the Glenda and Krista lights?
Krista is over 4X brighter.
What is the Krista's Kelvin color of light?
6300.
