Cowboy did you use the wire and the switch that came with the lights from Cabela's? Sounds like you stripped the bulky conduit and taped the wire to the rack. Then did you go under the hood and up into the steering column? That switch looks water proof but how do you mount it? I think it makes alot of sense to have it hot all the time. Five minutes of light here and there can really help and no flashlight in my mouth while I work on those little chores. Thanks....

 

Buckfever:
Sorry about the delay, had a terrible weekend-check out my newest post. Anyway, yeah, I removed all the conduit, that way you can get a nice clean fit job. I mounted the lights, then ran the wires where I wanted them. From the battery, they fun along the right side frame-zip tied to the frame nice and tight. They then run under the gas tank, and up the steering column into the light indicator assembly. On the left side of the ignition switch, there is enough room to fit the two switches side by side, though it is tough to get your fingers in there. The switches are a push button type and fit nicely in position. I've had the lights and switches in a ton of water before and not had a problem yet, so I hope that helps. I did use some of the extra conduit over the wires to the lights themselves though for a cleaner look. -only about 6" or so to each light, as the lights stick out a ways from the rack and machine. Oh yeah, I just drilled a hole threw the black plastic there, the switch fits right in from the back side, with a screw type washer holding it in place. The rubber switch cover fits over that.

Hope that helps,

Mike

 

Have you guys that are running auxillary lights ran into any problems with draining your stock battery? I've been thinking of adding Cabelas ATV lights to my Rancher but I'm a little concerned that my battery might not be able to handle the drain of extra lighting along with my heated grips/throttle, and the occasional use of the winch. I guess my question is, would I be able to run everything at once with no problems? I know the winch would seldom be used at the same time but it's always a possibility.

Cowboy, would the mounting hardware that comes with the Cabelas lights allow them to mount to the handlebars without looking too awkward? I like the idea of "steerable" lights. Sure wish Ranchers had the third light pod like the Foremans.

 

UtahRancher:
I frequently run my auxillary front lights while winching, and have not had a problem to date. Have also had both front and rear lights on, along with running the winch on one occassion, but the winch pull was pretty easy and didn't last long. I usually only use the reverse lights when I'm backing up, or towing stuff after dark, or occassionally when extra light is needed in the back. So, like I said, under those conditions I haven't had any battery problems yet. I run the front lights quite a bit.

As for the mounting, Cabelas does do a good job about sending a TON of mounting hardware. They'll mount to nearly everything you can think of. Hell, I have most of the kit left over for spare parts in the garage from both sets of lights. I'm not sure though how much long distance light they will give though from mounted that high up on the bars. They have that ion coating, which is more or less like a fog light of sorts. I haven't really aimed mine properly lately-they got knocked around pretty good a few times, but they won't put a long distance beam out, like a kc daylighter would for instance. They do a great job up close though, and compliment the stock lights very nicely. I've considered rubbing off the ion coating, as that just might give a longer beam, but I'm not sure, don't want to try and be sorry I did if you know what I mean.

Hope that helps, and best of luck,

Mike

 

Utahrancherrider,
Do you know the watts or amps your stator puts out? match this up with the total draw by your lights, winch, etc. If you exceed the amp/watts of your stator then you will start to drain your battery. If you are below then your stator will put out enough power to run the accessories and still charge your battery.
Now you can send your stator in to have it put out more power if you need to.

 

I've added running lights and hooked them up straight to the high beam hot (no relay) I was concerned about too much draw or over loading, but for several weeks they presented no problems. We used some clear-lens Driving lights from Wal Mart, they cost about $17 bucks and are very bright. I added a reverse light to mine using a spare fog light, At first i was going to use a relay spliced into my reverse indicator, but after I thought about it, I figured there would probably be times when I would want the light on and not be in reverse, so i just hooked it up to a standard toggle, mounted next to my reverse **** so I can just nudge it with my hand when I go into reverse. I'm glad i did it that way, I've used that light many times when I didn't need to be in reverse. A buddy of mine wired in a backup beeper on his Honda for the hell of it, now that gets some looks when he starts backing up..

 

Okay here is a formula I got from an electrician to help convert watts, amps, and volts. This will let you know how much draw you can pull with the accessories versus the output by your stator.
"P=IE" Where P=power in watts, I= current (amps), E= voltage.
Example: If your stator is putting out 25 amps. Running from a 12 Volt source. You are wanting to install two 55Watt lights. You want to know if you will have enough power to run the lights without draining the battery. 12V/110 watts = 9.16 Amps. So, If your stator is putting out 25 amps and you install two 55 watt lights then you will draw an additional 9.16 amps from the stator leaving 15 amps left to power your other equipment.
I hope I made sense with this!!!!!