ok I have a 2002 Polaris 500 ho and installed a 3 light mod kit the diode one I have a led bulb for the high beam and factory lights for the low beam everything seemed to be fine until about 30 minutes later I was adjusting the pod light and all of a sudden it went dim it was not as bright I checked the voltage at the pod light socket and only had 7.6 volts so I completely removed the diode mode and now have around 11.6 volts at the socket the low beams work fine but the high beam is still not as bright as it should be. Could this be a voltage regulator problem or a shorted out wire grounding out? Any help would be appreciated.

 

check the voltage at he battery and see what you have. It should be in the 13.5 volt range. the charging systems on these bikes are not made for huge draws. the rectifier does control the amount of voltage the bike outs out and if the battery is not with in the range mentioned then it could be the issue or at least need to be checked/cleaned and put dielectric grease on protect the connections. Also check the rest of the connections such as the grounds.

 

the battery is brand new just put in last week but I will check it anyway and the charging system is also new just put in at the same time hope its not bad already I will trace down these areas and post what I find,thanks for the reply

 

ok here is what I found there was 12.6 volts on battery and everything else had voltage at 12.6v so I plugged in my optimate charger and left it for 4 hours and now up to 13.9 to 14 volt I have not driven it that much in a week so was thinking it needed to charge. I unplugged the charger and took it out for a ride around an hour and when I got home I checked the voltage and was 12.7v was thinking there might be a problem with the charge system so further investigation I found one of the yellow wires on the regulator by the radiator was unplugged I plugged it back in and now I am going to charge it over night and see what happens tomorrow.

 

Common problem on the Sportsmans with the regulator down by the radiator. Most problems I had was the funky red connector pulling loose. I'd tape the connectors to keep from having future problems.

 

ok checked voltage on battery when I got home at 6pm it now has a complete charge and over 14volts good now the high beam which is an led bulb is still dim checked voltage at socket over 14 volts..hmmmm bad bulb? Yes!!!! had one more led bulb put it in now very bright the only thing I can figure is that yellow wire I found undone on the regulator may have caused the led bulb to go bad but if it does it again it must be grounding out somewhere I will keep a close eye on it.

 

Main thing is to check is that the battery is now receiving around 14 volts or so at an idle from the regulator/rectifier and doesn't discharge over night. Battery being drained down could have caused bulb problem.

 

one of the first things to be effected by in correct voltage from the charging system is light bulbs. when through a lot of light bulbs back in the old snowmobile days.

 

the battery is getting 14 volts at idle and the bulb was still dim while running so I put the other led bulb in and it worked fine, thanks old Polaris tech and stendori for your help.