I'm officially calling out EVERYONE who has HID lights in thier Sportsman!!
 

Hello all. I'm pretty close to having the scratch to buy the 3 xenon kit on eBay for my '06 sportsman 800.

I mentioned this in another light thread but since I received no response I thought I'd give it another go.

Where did you all mount your ballast boxes for the the bumper mounted light pods? Were they sucsessfully waterproofed?

Can anyone take a pic, even a phone pic and post it?

Thanks so much!

Semper fi, Erik

I put the ballast for the pod light (which is smaller than the other two) under the removal panel below the pod - you have to remove the storage box to remove it.

It's hard to describe without photos (I'll take some tonight and post) where I put the other two ballasts, but I'll give it a try. I did not want to drill the frame or the storage box, so I used one of the existing bolts on the frame to attach the ballast holder, which I then bent down over the frame above and inside the wheel. I held the ballasts in place to the mount using a few wire ties. When you reinstall the storage box, there is just enough room (2mm to spare?) between the frame and the part of the storage box that drops down. This provides protection for the ballasts.

So far I have run through a lot of water and very rough trails with no problems (even a couple of times where the water forced into the storage box). You'll have extra cable (plug and play so don't cut them) I just coiled them loosely into the space behind the fender and they haven't fallen out since.

The other main recommendation I have is to install the 3 light mod. However do not use a Diode, use a relay. The Diode will work fine at first, but then fail on the trail. I tried crimp connections, soldering, etc with the same result every time.

Good luck and enjoy the lights!

Fantastic write up! I can't wait to see the pictures!

And yes, the next time the pod comes apart (most likely for the xenons) I'll wire up the relay. Such a simple dummy proof mod.

I cannot wait to get the HIDs in and finally some some crap on ebay and craigslist so I can do this! WOOT!

Thanks again!

Ok, here are the photos - not the best but the lighting was crappy. Follow the red and white wires to the ballast held in place by the cable ties.
Attachment 20680
Attachment 20681

A very worthwhile upgrade is how I sum it up.
I put HID lights on my Sportsman a year ago, and I'm still not sure how I rode around without them for so long. The difference is truly amazing. I don't know where you live but here in NY the salt is just awful on everything and I ride all winter, so I put my ballasts inside the front box. They fit nice and don't take up much space. We all know that there is no such thing as waterproof, it's water resistant. I looked at putting them up over the radiator, but thought inside was better. I believe Xenon bulbs are different from HID, so make sure you're getting what you want
The kit came with grommets so I drilled and then sealed the grommets with duct seal (aka bear crap) it's weather resistant and hasn't leaked at all. If I have to take the box off, than the lights unplug from the ballasts so it's simple. I soldered and sealed all the wire connections with liquid electrical tape, and haven't had any issues at all, in over 1500 miles of every kind of terrain. As for the 3 light mod, I don't think I've even turned on the pod light since I put the HIDs in front. I have the ballast and bulb for the pod, but I just don't need it, so I haven't installed it. My 2 cents. Good Luck with your install. Semper Fidelis my friend.

Valid point about the ballast locations, If I was mudding I think I'd move them inside the box also, but at the time I did't want to drill any extra holes.

I see a definite difference with the headlight on, it allows me to maintain higher speeds safely. The nice thing is that on tricky trails, the headlight follows the bars, and it also allows you to sweep an area pretty easily if you're looking for something. I had enough miles without it when I had the diode problems that I'm not going back.

I don't know about you guys but I find it kind of difficult to lift the front of my quad so that the lights point further away :lol:

Besides don't you want to see if that bear is sitting in the middle of the trail waiting for you?

Thanks to everyone for your insight and pics. I think mainly due to the severe mudding we do up here and a little bit of investment paranoia I'm going to drill holes in my front box for the ballasts. I never put anything in there anyways because it's only modestly water resistant to start with but it's better than being submerged in mud.

As long as the guy who's going to buy some of my tires on craigslist doesn't fall through I'll have these ordered up on Saturday.

Sweet.

Thanks again guys!

Semper fi, Erik

http://www.newriver.usmc.mil/pressre...C-logo-b&w.jpg

Last night after going out for the BEST chinese food I've ever had I got online and purchased new bumper-headlight pods from Babbits and some killer HIDs someone on here suggested for me.

I'll post up pics when I get them in (2 weeks probably).

Here's the lights: Polaris Sportsman HID Factory Replacement Light Kit:eBay Motors (item 110338249771 end time Oct-12-09 00:15:09 PDT)

Well, I got my kit installed. The lows on low work perfect and the high (pod) light works perfect but when I put the relay in to have all three lights on, the lows flicker and the left low goes out all together. Any ideas? Thanks, Erik

Did you have this problem with the engine running? Sounds like a current draw problem - where did you draw the power from? Mine has worked perfect, but I draw power from a wire connected directly to the battery (with an in- line fuse of course). Check the voltage across the relay with the switch in all 3 both positions to see if it drops.
I had a problem before with my horn when I tried to take a shortcut with a wire that was undersized.