stock lighting repair

[mavguy]

My lights have not worked on my 'shee since i can't remember when-i never used to notice the issue because i only rode during the day in the summer. Now i want to rip in the winter, and it gets dark alot earlier.

 

I have no lights, and I am soon to test the voltage regulator. My questions are

1) How often do Voltage Regulators fail?

2) What Voltage Regulators can interchange-IE warrior/banshee, maybe blasters and wolverines? Bikes? Kodiaks?Rhinos? Sleds? Etc

-this will make it much easier to replace! I imagine this part is very basic, and I would bet that yamaha uses the same one on alot of thier machines. Hell, maybe its an off-the shelf part that can be bought at an electrical store?

[BenBB]

I've never had one fail but that doesn't mean they don't, don't hear about it much though. I don't know for sure but I'd be willing to bet they are exactly the same or interchangable between models, especially something like a Blaster, I mean it's just a 12V, maybe 55W one-wire box...

 

The lighting system is pretty simple, probably most likely the stator lighting coils followed by connectors/wiring, switch or bulbs, volt reg would be my last guess but it's a possibility. Good luck.

[Snopczynski]

get yourself a test light or a meter and unplug the yellow wire out of the case. start the bike and probe the wire for volts. If you have volts, then you need to plug it in and check your bulbs. If they are all blown then you probably have a bad regulator. next step is to check the regulated voltage of the circuit at 6k rpm. It should be arounf 12.3-12.8v or so. all your grounds have to be good, and the regulator has to be plugged in.

[mavguy]

Grounds-good idea. There is that one on the back of the frame, seemed pretty dinky when i had my plastic off last summer.

 

thanks again

[mavguy]

got power to the regulator-bulbs look like thier in great shape-grounds are swell.

 

When i run it and put a test light on the yellow hot to the regulator (?) coming off the stator i got power when the switches are on...

 

so my switches are ok, my bulbs are not broke, looks like (?) my wiring is good (BUT the last owner messed with the main switch...If it runs, and the light changes acording to the switches, this can't be my prob?) I have power from the stator.

 

Maybe the regulator is broke. How can i test it-maybe check for proper resistance, or would a dealer have a component tester?

 

It is a newer quad with very low hours... I am stumped!

[csrmel]

the banshee electrical system is super simple. it is basically wired up just like a typical 110v house is.

 

one side of the stator is connected to the engine. some people call that a ground. since this is alternating current, it would be properly called a neutral.. so one of the 2 stator wires is a neutral. the other side is the hot wire. (just like a 110v house eh?)

 

the voltage regulator is basically a very simple shunting device which engages if there is excess voltage. it basically shunts excess power to the frame which is grounded. when the motor is running and the lights are on, the lights are consuming power and any excess power that is generated is shunted to ground via the regulator. if you turn the lights off then the regulator shunts 100% of the excess power to ground.

 

you could use a regulator off another bike, but it would have to be a simple a/c lighting system like the banshee, and it would need a 1 wire regulator.

 

you could also use a regulator off a 4 stroke ute like a wolverine, raptor etc, but you would need to cut the stock harness, possibly float the stator ground, and basically convert the banshee from an a/c lighting system to dc. you would also need a bunch of capacitors wired in parallel from radio shack to act as a battery eliminator. this is the most complex way to go but would yeild the best results. no more flickering lights at idle.

 

i have a passion for electronics. if you need more help just pm me.

[Snopczynski]

there should always be power to the regulator regardless of switch position. When the main switch is on hi or low, there should be power to the tail light and the corresponding headlight wire circuit.

[csrmel]

thanks captain obvious.