Hi All!


This is my first post to ATV Connection and ive read many posts and gained a lot of good info so I decided to join! My issue is with my '87 230E. Its a great quad for being so old and slow.


Anyways the 230E isn't like the LT230S bikes, it has a battery and a starter. I got it with a bad battery so Ive never run a battery in it. I thought about buying one but the battery box is rusted crap and I don't mind pullstarting it. My problem is that with no battery the lights are dim at idle and get dimmer as I rev the engine. The ONLY time they get to full brightness is when the engines slowing down after being shut off.


Also if I connect the Positive and Neg. battery cables together the headlight barely emits any light and the taillight goes dead. Soooo I have a basic understanding of ATV charging systems and I heard that guys who try to run no battery in a system typically equipped with a battery, use a capacitor to give the regulator a clean signal so the lights don't flicker.


But mine don't even do that with the batt cables connected? Id like to be able to simply run the bike with no battery and have lights....
So Iam at a loss here and probably missing something important.... If any of yall have any insight into this it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Easier if you just repair/replace the battery box and install a battery and check that the regulator is charging 14 volts back to the battery. As it is you'll never have enough voltage going to the lights running off just what the regulator is putting out. Plus having the option of electric starting is worth something not having to pull start it all the time..

 

So the regulator won't produce full output without a battery?

 

And why won't the regulator be able to power the lights without a battery? I believe you I just don't quite understand why that would be so. Thanks for the response by the way!

 

Lights really depend on the battery for the 12 full volts needed. The regulator out put keeps the battery at full voltage all the time when it's operating right. Charging is between 14-14.5 volts whether it's in an atv or an alternator in a car. This extra voltage just keeps the battery maintained while lights,etc are pulling a drain on the battery. We installed a few regulator kits in dirt bikes without batteries to be able to run lights,but they only ran bright when the engine was fully reved up.

 

See if this is what you're trying to do and if it helps.

 

Ok thanks for your input! This does help. The only thing I don't understand is why my lights dim as the engine revs? The stator is producing more power and sending that to the regulator....so why do the lights dim? I understand the lights need the battery for a steady 12v...but why would they dim as the stator is producing more watts?

 

Your atv is a dc system.. The regulator/rectifier converts ac power from the stator to dc and limits the amount of voltage output so you wont burn the thing down to the ground. That's what I said you need to get a battery,make sure the regulator is working properly and you can have good lighting.All you're heading for with running without a battery is blown out bulbs if you get a surge.
The only other way I can think of to wire the lighting coil up with an ac regulator like some dirt bikes. Don't know if this would even work right..http://www.motosport.com/trail-tech-...tage-regulator

 

if you dont have a battery the stator will produce voltage anywhere from 1-12v but if you have a battery you will be at the peak of its voltage. of course it will still be limited by the regulator, but it will be more steady peak volts than the stator. My 230 did that until i got a battery.