First off, how many watts does the 400EX alternator put out and what is largest size lights it would handle without being an alternator-eater?
Next, how many of you 400EX owners got that little thing in the mail about "Owners Manual is now available for your purchase"? how many of you are pissed about that? i think it should come with the 4 wheeler at no extra charge just like the rest of the units out there. i think we should do something.

i ride a 2000 honda 400EX with maier purple plastic, purple renthal bars, black seat cover,motion pro twist throttle, prm full body skid plate, prm swing arm skid plate, prm front bumper, 22 inch blackwaters on rear, and in the mail are graydon proline aluminum nerf bars and 20 inch turf tamers. dont make fun of the color until after you have seen it. go to www.angelfire.com/stars/stuff4
click ATV PICTURES then click HONDA ATV PICTURES.
please let me know what you think of it.
kip_71@hotmail.com

 

where do you ride at

 

mine came with a manual and i also got that card in the mail

 

i ride in ohio along the sandusky river in bucyrus and at sunset ramblers track in galion. i plan on going to wayne national forest this summer with my brother

 

Hmm, my 2000 400EX came with an owners manual....

 

mine came with a owners manual too
www.geocities.com/cory_14

 

Mine also came with an owners manual maybe what they meant was the $40 service manual. I did not receive the card cause I live in the Philippines.

 

Received my owner's manual when I bought the quad, then automaticly bought the factory service manual. I would think that you could run you extra lights directly off your battery. One morning I jump started both my truck and another guys truck off the 400EX's battery, its pretty powerful. We made a Suzuki quad street legal by adding lights that were running off its battery, it works fine.

 

I think his concern was about the alternator being able to keep up with the lights. If you put on 200 watts worth of lights, and your alternator can only put out 150 watts, it's gonna put a 50 watt drain on your battery, which would lead to a dead battery after a few hours of riding with the lights on.

 

Kip,

I too have wanted to add some wattage to my lighting. I am inexperienced at this and don't know what to get, but have a good idea. The alternator capacity is 147Watts at 5,000rpm. The current drain, given that everything is on, would be: Headlights-30/30W X 2, Taillight-5W, Neutral indicator-3.4W, and about 50W for battery charging. These added together equal 118W. 147 - 118= 29W available before drain is encountered on your battery. Considering the 400EX has two headlights, then divide 29 by 2 to equal 14.5W per light extra capacity. So, the max wattage light you could probably use on your quad would be 44-45W (you would be purchasing two of these bulbs because you have a dual headlight system) total. My one main question; what does 30/30 mean? This could drastically change my above calculations. Does it mean that when you are using high-beams, your headlights are really using 120W instead of 60W?

Like I said, I am inexperienced at this. This is my theory and am encouraging someone who is more experienced to correct me...PLEASE!