[dadztoy]

So I was on a ride with a buddy a while back and noticed that my CB would not squelch... It took a squelch adjustment of 14 before it would quiet... Today I got a chance to troubleshoot it a bit and just playing a hunch, I pulled the 15 amp fuse for the low beams (LED's) and the CB quieted and the squelch was back to it's normal setting of 4...

I don't remember if there was a problem after the initial installation of the EC LED headlights and given the fact I only use the CB when riding with a buddy who visits once or twice a year perhaps I never noticed it... Still, I want it to work the way it should and did before the LED installation...

Has anyone else experienced this issue with excessive electrical noise from the EC LED headlights and if so what was the fix??? I will give Lewis a call when I get a chance but will be away for a day or two starting tomorrow...

TIA

Les

 

[jackjohn]

When I had HIDs it took about 14 on the squelch to quiet it down, but I now have LEDs and it only takes a 7. Obviously, the LEDs are putting out some RF but not nearly as bad as the HIDs.

 

[JW.]

Yes, it's an issue with some LED lights, not necessarily high power ones either. I'm into boating as well as bikes and it's a known issue where marine VHF transmissions suffer when LED navigation lights are switched on. It can be a serious issue because marine radio is the primary method of communication in a distress situation.

A number of LED light manufacturers have developed circuits for driving their LED lights which do not function near the marine VHF frequencies.

My guess is your LED lights are operating close to the CB frequencies. It could easily be wide band interference and you're squelching it out over the full range of your CB frequencies.

 

[dadztoy]

Spoke with Lewis yesterday and he has given me some things to look at... He also mentioned that EC did a lot of work in selecting drivers that would not cause RFI with the bike's electronics... Lewis is a stand up guy and I have no reason to not believe him... I asked where they locate the driver modules when they install the lights and he said in between the headlights so I will look at relocating them there... I have a feeling this is a location problem on my bike due to other audio wiring in the area... I'm headed out to the garage shortly to start working the problem so I'll report back on what I find...

Les

 

[dadztoy]

First I relocated the driver modules to the cross bar behind the headlights... This helped some, but still not great - squelch now quieting in the 10-12 area, so I ordered some ferrite chokes and they arrived yesterday and I installed them...

I added the chokes, and a bit more improvement - 1 each on each headlight line, 3 on the main CB harness under the saddle and one on the CB power lead under the saddle... Squelch now breaks at 6 and quiets at 8... Not quite as good as OEM performance but mostly acceptable...

 

[networkguy3]

Antenna filter

I have a CB antenna filter from Bike MP3, which of course is no longer available, but this one is similar:
https://www.amazon.com/ProComm-Noise-Clipper-Radio-Reducer/dp/B0042AK9TQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=CB+antenna+filter&qid=1555622427&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I have 8 LED lights, 6 of which are from E/C, and I can set the squelch at 3 - 4.

 

[Elwood]

I just installed the EC LED headlights in my low beams only and I don't get any noise or static on the CB but I do get a faint amount on (of course) my favorite sports
radio station. Not much but it is occasionally noticeable. The improvement in lighting overrules the small amount of static IMO