I own an older (1990) Trailblazer. Although the quad is in great shape, the headlight on it "sucks"!

I decided to install some additional driving lights and added a pair of the small, high intensity driving lights similar to what is used on pickups, cars, etc. I think that was a mistake since the first time I used the add-on lights the battery went dangerously low and I almost had a problem restarting the quad.

The new lights really did a great job of lighting up the trails & roadways and I would like to keep them but need to know if there is a way I can provide enough amperage (don't know what the output of my quads alternator is).

Has anyone ever added lamps like I have and if so, how did they resolve the "needed" amperage to drive them? Would a small solar collector provide enough "trickle" to keep the battery charged when the quad is out in the daylight/sun?

Dave

 

I was thinking of doing the same thing on my Trailboss, but did not know if any modiications was needed to the charging system on the quad. someone ought to be able to help us out on this.

 

i put 55watt driving lights on my 2001 trailboss325 and they work fine. the battery is never low and i use them alot and i never have any trouble starting it either.

 

Mainjet.......My lights are also 55 amp ........

Don't know for sure if the draw is to great for my alternator or the battery was just low to begin with.

I will recharge the battery and see if the same thing happens again.
Dave

 

I will give you the answer to the mystery. The trailboss 325 has a 200 watt stator for power while the other has only a 150 watt stator. You need to replace the 55 watt bulbs with 35 watt bulbs and it will work fine. Also dont use the original headlight,though. You need to keep about 40watts of power in order to keep the battery in good charge. The running tailight is about 12-13 watts. The brake light is 28 watts, and the original headlight is about 55 watts. That 50 extra watts the trailboss has makes all the difference. If you want more, Contact Rickey Stator. He can rewind it to a little more than 200 watts for about $70-$75 if I remember correctly. The trailblazer is more of a sporty model, hence not alot of lighting needed for work or hunting or the such. Hope this helps,Bubba

 

I just want a little more light at night when I ride.

I have a 00 TBoss. So if I understand you right I can use the 55 watt lights but I can not use my factory headlight. I can run 35 watt bulbs and get by with runniing the stock headlight too. If this is wrong would you let me know. Thanks

 

Hello Blazin. Most of the 2-cycle models except for the 400 explorers and hunting rigs have only 150 watt stators. As far as I know, all the 4-cycle models have at least 200 watt stators. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I know your 2000 Boss has the 200 watt one. If you use 35 watt bulbs, then you should be fine with the original one going as well. On my wife's, I used a regular auto parts relay like the one included with some of the auxilary lights, then tied it in to turn on with the high beams. You can tuck it all neatly behind the hood piece and it works great. I usually dont include the brake light as power drawn, but if you do alot of hill riding and have to use them alot, I would unplug the switch off the brake splitter and that will save you 28 watts. I would try to stay below 150 total on that model. I hope this helps,Bubba

 

To add to Bubba297's, the output rating on the stators is measured as maximum, normally only achieved when the rpms are 3000 or above. At idle, the stator is generating only about 80% of its maximum. If you are doing a lot of night riding below 3000 rpms (with 55 watt lights), which is most of the time, you are not effectively charging your battery. Instead, most of the stator's output is used to burn the lights. If you find your battery is drained after doing a lot of night riding, then you have used all of the stators output power and some of the battery's reserve to keep the lights lit.

To check if you are draining the battery when the lights are on, measure the voltage at the battery with everything turned off. With the bike running and all accessories off, measure the voltage at idle and at about 3000 rpms. Then turn on all of your lights and measure the voltage again at idle and 3000 rpms. Your battery needs 12 volts to maintain and higher than 12 volts to charge. To keep a well charged battery the voltage output of the stator should stay above 13.5 volts and up to 14.5 volts.

Hope this helps.

SurferSam

The newer Polaris utility models have 250 watt stators. Thus, your riding buddies can get away with 55 watt driving lights.

 

Excellent addition, Sam, thank you.

 

Thanks for the info Bubba297 and SurferSam. I can now go and get myself some extra lights. I am thinging of mounting them behind my DG bumper angled to the sides a little. Better to see the deer with[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]