New Buggy Dim Headlights
 

Just bought a 2005 Dust Devil 150cc (Kinroad Model XT-150 GK-2 USA Stand) for $500. The unit is in perfect condition, garage kept, ridden 3-5 times. The only problem I have is the headlights. When I am driving they are bright but when I come to a stop they go dim. Any Suggestions?

They are probably hooked up on their own circuit in the stator. Seems to me our Tomberlin Crossfire was the same way. When you give it gas, do they continue to get brighter as the RPM's go up or is it more like as soon as you step on the gas they get brighter and always stay that same brightness as long as you are on the gas?

Stay the same brightness as soon as I step on the gas.

Well there's a few things you could do. If your idle is too low, it would cause it to do that. If your battery is not the proper size for the machine, it would do that as well. Does it seem as if it is idling too low?

Your buggy probably has the 4 pole stator in it. In 2004-2005 most 150's come with the 4 pole stator except when they were offered with aux. lights as well than the 6 pole was used, but they too would dim at idle. When they went to the 8 pole was when the lights no longer dimmed at idle. What you have is totally normal. If you ever want to add additional lights you will have to upgrade to the larger stator. TOM

The set-up i am looking for is the same set-up that User "funindamud" has. He posted pics under the thread "light upgrade" on 7/19/2009. Would I be able to use an 8 pole or would I need to go to an 11 pole stator?

We've got a headlight similar to that on our helix. When we first put it on it would dim at idle and even bring the idle down a tad bit when sitting there and turning the switch on. We upgraded from the BS9 battery to the BS12 (same lenth and width, just a little taller) and that did the trick. The battery was able to take the load off. Just one of those headlights works REALLY well.

I would just go with the 11 pole. with either the 8 or 11 pole you must replace the flywheel as well since they are bigger. The 8 ploe works but with 2 50 watt lights and also the 35 watt lights the 8 pole only lasted about a year. I have had the 11 pole on mine for appx 2 1/2 years now and run 2 50watt as headlights and 2 40 watt on top. You can't go too overboard with the 11 pole or you will burn it out as well. The lights I have are more than ample. I use the 40watt lights on top the most though. Having all 4 on at once which I have done on several occasions but is really overkill. TOM

just found an 11 pole stator. do I need to make any mods to get this on or will it bolt right into place? rectifier? voltage regulator?

Yes you will probably have to rewire. It depends on what stator you currently have, how many wires the 11 pole has, which regulator your system now uses. TOM

I just got a 6 wire rectifier to go with the 11 pole stator i have. When I look at a diagram of how to rewire @ buggydepot.com it seems that I should have a 7th wire for the autochoke. Is this correct?

You will rewire as per their diagrahm except for the black wire. If your rectifier has the 2 pigtails comming from it which one pig tail will have 3 yellow wires, than you should just be able to plug the the new stater in. If you have only one pigtail comming from the rectifier than you will have to get the larger one with the two pigtails. Did you get the flywheel with the stator? The 10 pole requires a larger flywheel. TOM

I have the rectifier with 2 pigtails and the stator came with the flywheel. What about the gray wire for the automatic choke?

Are you using the stock rectifier or is it a new one that has the gray wire? If it is the stock rectifier you won't worry about the gray wire since it is nonexistant in your system. If you have the new rectifier with a gray wire than you will just clip the hot to the choke and splice it to the gray wire. BD has a differant rectifier which goes with their stator since most buggies requiring the upgrade has the small rectifier with only one pigtail and his complete conversion makes for an easier transition which requires less rewire.If your buggy alreadt had the large rectifier with the 2 pigtails all you should have to do is plug in the new stator since the wires should all match up with plugs. If your still not sure than give me a call 662-301 1563 and I can walk you through much easier, cause I need to know what exactly was on the buggy and what is going on as replacement such as number of wires and colors of old vs. new. TOM

Custom buggy plans
 

A site offering CAD drawings for your buggy build plans

http://minisandraildesigns.com

Tom, I will call you tomorrow during the day. What would be the best time? I am in Arizona.

I am on central time anytime between 9am and 2:45 than I take a break to pick up the kid from school and run my errands, but I'm back by 3:45. If no answer just leave a message and I'll call right back. TOM

Connected up the stator and the rectifier just as we spoke about and the buggy started just fine. When I shut off the buggy i heard a bubbling sound coming from the battery, like when you open a can of soda. Checked the voltage at the battery when the buggy was not running and was getting 12volts. When I run the buggy and check the voltage it jumps up to 18. I am pretty sure that these two are connected. Any suggestions? New Rectifier. I am not able to access buggydepot site to get the voltages for the different leads.

The rectifier is not regulating the current and is boiling the acid. Give me a call today and we can go over the wiring once again, but I think the rectifier could be bsd. Tom

bought a new rectifier and it solved the problem.

Great to hear of the fix. TOM