HEADLIGHT BULBS

[SIKEWARD]

My stator went out on my sled and the dealer claims it was because of my HID headlights. He put stock bulbs back in it and I just can't stand it. Should I go back to HIDs or try a set of LEDs? Thoughts and suggestions please.

 

[turbogts22]

Pretty unlikely that was the problem. Stators wear out over time from heat breaking down the insulation, your HID bulbs wouldn't contribute to that.

 

[SIKEWARD]

The sled is a 2012 Apex XTX so while it was 8 years old when it happened the sled only has 3000 miles on it. Maybe I just got a bad one idk. Seems like it wore out pretty fast. The repair was $1100 so kinda pricy in my book. The dealer did a good job fixing it and getting it back to me in a timely manner so I guess I don't know what to think. My thought was to try a set of LEDs.

 

[steiner]

What HID kit did you have? I know that Roc's HID kits are actually easier on the stator as they draw less power (35w) than the factory bulb (50w).
When picking HID or LED kits look for the power consumption. Stay under 50w per bulb so there is no added strain on the stator.

 

[turbogts22]

Many don't understand how sled stators work. On a car, the alternator's output is regulated by controlling the current in the field windings. This alters the magnetic field output which in turn affects the power being generated by the stator windings. The more you load it down, the more it try's to put out... up to it's limit.

On a sled, the magnetic field is produced by permanent magnets which have no control. They put out there maximum all the time. The faster it spins, the more it puts out. The only way to control the peak voltage is to shunt it to ground. This is what the regulator/rectifier does. If you remove load from the stator, the voltage try's to go up and the regulator has to shunt it to ground to keep it in check. This generates heat in the regulator which is why they have a large heat sink. In the very early days of snowmobiles, they often times didn't use regulators at all. The total load of all the bulbs was enough to keep the peak voltage in check. The problem was when a headlight burned out, the voltage would go way up and burn out the rest of the bulbs.

The main advantage to reducing load on the stator is to improve low RPM voltage output. Once up to operating RPM any extra power just gets turned into heat in the regulator.

 

[turbogts22]

While my above statement is correct for sleds 20 years ago, it might not apply to modern sleds if they use a switching style power supply. These are able to take whatever voltage is coming in and convert it directly to what's needed on the output side without loading up the stator anymore than necessary. I don't have a schematic of the Yamaha regulator/rectifier to know for sure how it works. By the looks of the heat sink I'd guess it's the old style but who knows.

 

[steiner]

Many don't understand how sled stators work. On a car, the alternator's output is regulated by controlling the current in the field windings. This alters the magnetic field output which in turn affects the power being generated by the stator windings. The more you load it down, the more it try's to put out... up to it's limit.

On a sled, the magnetic field is produced by permanent magnets which have no control. They put out there maximum all the time. The faster it spins, the more it puts out. The only way to control the peak voltage is to shunt it to ground. This is what the regulator/rectifier does. If you remove load from the stator, the voltage try's to go up and the regulator has to shunt it to ground to keep it in check. This generates heat in the regulator which is why they have a large heat sink. In the very early days of snowmobiles, they often times didn't use regulators at all. The total load of all the bulbs was enough to keep the peak voltage in check. The problem was when a headlight burned out, the voltage would go way up and burn out the rest of the bulbs.

The main advantage to reducing load on the stator is to improve low RPM voltage output. Once up to operating RPM any extra power just gets turned into heat in the regulator.

Interesting. Had no idea about that. I do know that my sled has over 16k miles and had a HID kit in it for over 12k miles of that and still has the factory stator. I also have added extra lighting and other electrical gadgets with no ill affect.

 

[turbogts22]

I did some looking and found that the Yamaha regulator/rectifier works like most every other. A/C power from the three stator wires flows through the rectifier diodes to convert it to DC power, then it gets pulled down to the correct system voltage (13-14v). The regulating process makes a lot of heat if there's an excess of available power to clamp down on. Running extra accessories that brings the system total wattage closer to what the stator puts out relieves the regulator of having to do it.

 

[SIKEWARD]

So I used 55w HID's and installed projector lenses in my sled. I agree that rock makes a nice product however his and everyone else who just throw HID's into their sled really piss me off when you are coming at them head on. The light is unfocused and obnoxiously bright because of the spill over. That being said you haven't seen bright until you've ridden with projectors installed. Night and day difference. Here is the thread that I followed installing the projectors. https://ty4stroke.com/threads/my-apex-gt-projector-headlight-retrofit-hid-enabled.116209/ I could always grab a pair of 35w HID's if that would help save the stator.