Schematic Diagram

This circuit automatically turns a motor cycles headlight on and off, independently of both the light and ignition switches, provided the battery is fully charged. The first stage uses the 22O resistor and ZD1 to hold transistor Q1 off while the motor is not running; it draws about 2mA. Once the battery voltage exceeds 7.0V during charging, Q1 begins to turn on.

The last stage uses the 22O resistor and ZD2 to turn on transistor Q2, which pulls the base of Q1 down, switching it hard on. In conjunction with the Vbe drop of Q2, ZD2 will turn off Q2 at a battery voltage of about 6.7V. In practice, this means that the headlight will be on most of the time while the motor is running and charging the battery. Heatsinks are required for both transistors. The circuit can be mounted adjacent to the battery with a single lead going to the headlight power feed.

Circuit diagram:
Parts:

P1 = 5R - 3W
R1 = 220R -1W
R2 = 1R - 1W
R3 = 22R - 5W
R4 = 22R - 5W
Q1 = BD139
Q2 = MJ4502
D1 = 6.2V - 1WZener
D2 = 6.2V - 1WZener
B1 = 6.6V - 7.2V
F1 = Fuse 15A
LP1 = DIP Beam 6V-25W Halogen

Do you drive an older car without an automatic "lights-on" warning circuit? If so, youve probably accidentally left the lights on and flattened the battery on one or more occasions. This headlights reminder circuit will prevent that. Its more complicated than other circuits but its also more versatile. As shown, the circuit uses two low-cost ICs. IC1 is a 555 timer which is wired to operate in astable mode. Its output clocks IC2, a 4017B decade counter. IC2 in turn drives a row of indicator LEDs and also resets IC1 (after about 10s) via transistor Q2.

The circuit works like this:

when the ignition is on, transistor Q1 is also on and this pulls pin 4 of IC1 low. As a result, IC1 is held reset and no clock pulses are fed to IC2. Conversely, if the ignition is turned off, Q1 will turn off and so IC1 will start oscillating and sound the piezo siren. At the same time, IC1 will clock IC2 and so LEDs 1-10 will light in sequence and stop (after about 10s) with the last LED (LED10) remaining on. Thats because, when IC2s O9 output (ie, pin 11) goes high, Q2 also turns on and this pulls pin 4 of IC1 low, thus stopping the oscillator (and the siren).

Circuit diagram:
Note:

That different colored LEDs are used to make the display look eye-catching but you make all LEDs the same color if you wish. Installing optional diode D1 will alter IC1s frequency and this will alter the display rate. Finally, if the lights are turned off and then back on again, the alarm will automatically retrigger. LED1 is always on if the lights are turned on. If you dont want the LED display, just leave the LEDs out.