I was wondering if other folks who have dynamo driven headlight and taillights could tell me where I should look to get bulbs for mine. AFAIK, my Schwinn's head and tail lights should work, but I think the bulbs are burnt out. The dynamo produces a charge just fine and all the wiring to the lights seems to be in great shape, but nothing happens when I flip the dynamo over to engage with the wheel.

Also, the lens for the tail light was broken some years before I got the bike. I guess I will have to look for a replacement light or lens, though for the meantime I have taped some clear red plastic over it, like you do if your car gets rear-ended and the taillights are broken.

Does anyone have a roundabout figure for how much a new/used tail-light would cost?


Dynamo and tail-light.


Headlight. How streamlined!

They sell a set at K-Mart for $10

The bulbs?

If you have a decent auto parts store near you, they should be able to help. I have almost the same light, and I believe it's a 6 volt bulb. You'll just have to match the watts, and the type of base (I'll check mine tomorrow and get back to you).
Also, you might check to make sure you have a good ground at the base of the bulb. I ahd this problem with a headlight made by Union, so I'm not sure how the Schwinn light is grounded.

Your lbs probably has them… threaded 6v 3w bulbs with the front like a 2.4w and the rear .6w. Or try Loose Screws: https://www.thethirdhand.com/

You've got a late-'60s German-made Union dynamo light set -- the best you could buy then, and still darned good (although the later voltage-regulated Union dynos prevented popping bulbs on steep downhills). I've got Union dyno sets on all four of the bikes my wife and I ride regularly, and I'll go to bat for them anyday -- trouble free, and good light output. None of my local LBS's stock the bulbs anymore, and I've horsed around trying to substitute bulbs from Radio Shack and other contemporary sources with limited success. In a pinch, a bulb from a four-battery flashlight (4 X 1.5V = 6V) can work, but better to just order some bulbs from either of these sources:

https://www.reflectalite.com/lightmodel.html

https://www.thethirdhand.com/index.cg...d=749279623590

Dyno light sets can occasionally be irritating to set up the first time, and can have mystifying troubles but I've found that it's almost always a grounding problem, especially on lightweights with alloy components. The stock installations assume having a good ground at the point where the headlamp or tail lamp mount; usually the tail lamp mounts to the same bracket as the dyno, so that's generally okay. The headlamp however, can be a fussy bugger -- I had one that couldn't ground through the grease in the headset bearings. Alloy stems are another regular impediment to a good circuit.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I've arrived at using duplex wiring on my installations (like stereo speaker cable -- two wires moulded together). That way I can use the second wire as a negative and run it back to a common ground at the dyno mounting bracket. An added benifit is that speaker wire can be found in a number of colors to better match the frame color.

Another nice period-correct addition to a dyno light set is a Soubitez Steady Light; it's a small battery-powered module that you wire between the dyno and lights that keeps the lamps powered up for 30 seconds whenever the dyno stops. I bought one for my Raleigh and it works like a charm. There's a guy on eBay that usually has them available.

Know-it-All!!
My gf's cruiser has a similar light (it says 'Union' on the top, in a small red plastic tab), and her grounding problem was where the light housing was connected to the mounting hinge. I had to do a little soldering, but it worked out OK. I will use the speaker wire idea the next time I run into a problem like this. Hopefully, the light on my Continental won't have a similar problem once I get the bike re-assembled.

Wow, mswantak, thank you so much for the information! Thank you, too, Duane041.

I'm pretty excited to get this thing to work. I'm looking at this Suburban to be my winter ride, since it has fenders, and I'd love to be able to run the original lights, as well as have auxiliary blinkies, because I like the feeling of looking like a mobile disco.

You can use a special grease that will conduct electricity in that case -- it's used on auto steering wheels so electricity can flow to the horn and airbag contacts.

If you're going to use this bike for foul weather commuting, I strongly suggest that you get rid of the steel rims. Water+Steel Rims+Hand Brakes=Suicide.

Test the bulbs with a battery to check if they work. It is always worth keeping some spares around.
Vaseline is a good way of protecting the electrical contacts from corrosion and failure.
I used one of those 1970s style Union dynamo setups. A modern system is much better with more efficient generators and lamps. I never got on with the seatstay clamp, it seems to rotate under pressure. I had a metal tab brazed onto my touring bike to provide a mount for the dynamo and it is a zillion times better.

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

I agree; Union's newer dyno sets with regulated dynamos and halogen headlamps are a lot more effective than the old torpedo-shaped lamps, if not as stylish. The Dymotechs are even better but they cost a bundle. The seatstay clamp won't be as apt to rotate if you've tightened the grounding screw well.

As far as the tail light goes I just pulled my old bulb and wired in 4 each 2.3 volt high output LED's from Radio Shack. With a 220 Ohm resistor and everything wired in series it was a direct replacement. I pulled the reflector and then I soldered everything on a piece of bread board and popped it right in. Wired it up and I have good rear red light that will NEVER burn out at the rate I cycle with the dynamo in use.

I've been thinking about doing that; glad to hear it worked out.