How to wire aux. lights on my ATV?

[4wheeled maniac]

OK, I went pig (wild boar) hunting about 2 or 3 weeks ago and we got some, the only problem was the truck headlights weren't cutting it. So we started brainstorming ways to get more light and we decided to put some lights on my 4 wheeler. the current lights on the ATV are 25 watts a piece, which equals about 4 AMPS. it says the alternator makes about 3.075 Amps @ idle( 1400 RPM +or- 100 RPM). is there any way i can run dual 55 watt (about 9 Amps)or 100 watt(about 16 Amps) lights?and how would i wire them up?? i already know how to mount them its just finding out what lights i can run and how to wire them. Please help me!

[79driver]

KC makes lights for ATV's. I'm sure they take into acount the smaller battery and alternator. I have a winch on mine and i know it pulls more amps than lights will and i have no problems, so you shouldnt have any problems running some lights. Wiring diagrams usually comes ith the lights, but generally you have a relay with a (+) and (-) for each light, 1 wire to the battery, a ground, a wire to the switch, a ground for the switch, and power for the switch. The most time consuming part is routing the wires.

[4wheeled maniac]

well thats the thing i dont know if i will be able to turn the engine on fast enough to power the lights. and KC is very very expensive in their light pricings! i was thinking of these but im not sure http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...+10213/c-10113 we will be steaking the pigs out from some brush and several ppl will be shooting, i hope the engine will start quickly!

[Rayman969]

Why not just mount a deep cycle battery to the rack(that is if you have a rack) Wire whatever lights onto it. It won't be charged but should power some lights for quite a few shots.
Just a thought- To charge it- just put some cables on it to a running vehicle

[4wheeled maniac]

have you noticed texans are the only ones replying!lol i guess that would work but i wanted to see if i could wire it to my ATV just for kicks. i dont know if ill get the lights in the link ill prolly go to academy and see what they have, plus itll be cheaper! and yes a have a rack in the front and rear. this is what i have.
http://www.atvillustrated.com/indust...2/recones.html

[Jeep4by4]

You should be able to put them on there just fine. Even though the alternator is putting out less amps than the lights are drawing, it will just get the extra amps from the battery. This will reduce your battery life (don't leave the lights turned on for too long or the atv will die) and is hard on the alternator since it's running at 100% all the time when the lights are on, but it's do-able.

79driver nailed it on the wiring.

[79driver]

Those Warn lights look like they'll do the trick. Are you hog huntin for sport or are they tearing up your land? Up here they tear the heck out of everything and they'll attack you if you make em mad. I shoot em every chance i get. You should carry a handheld spotlight around to, that way you dont have to turn the ATV toward whatever you need to shine the light on. I carry two of them, one that plugs into the cigarette ligher and one cordless.

[4wheeled maniac]

where in texas do you live? i go out to land in lampassas were they are tearing up this guys deer feeders, there even fliping them over!last time i was out there i was shooting with an AK-47, my dads friend used a SKS, mw dad used a mosin nagant, and the owner of the land used an FN FAL, the owners son didnt hear us call for him and just about scared the poo out of him! we got all 3 of the hogs with 11 shots i think, 3 of them were definate misses. i went to academy today and and bought some marine docking lights and installed them, they are 55 watts and dont drain the batt after 10 min of use! this morning i looked at them just to admire them when i noticed that one of the lenses was cracked! after further inspection the cause was that there was water in them when i turned them on and it got hot real quick and cracked the lens, though it dosnt effect the beam it looks bad when they are off. sorry for the long post!
so far when were out there over a period of 2 years we have shot 23 hogs total, one time we got 10 of them when they came out and started to eat the dead pigs we shot earlier! GROSS!!!

[79driver]

I live in Stephenville, not too far up the road to the north. At my house we shoot 2 or 3 a month but i hunt at other peoples land and we have shot 20 or 30 in 1 night. Out there he has a wheat field they tear up and there are round pens at one end of the field and we shoot them from inside the pens. I tipically shoot AR-15 but my dad uses AK-47 and his AR-15. If they come close to the pens i bring out the 12 gauge.

[4wheeled maniac]

my friends dad uses an AR-15 sometimes but not recently. one time the pig was shot in the rear and just fell squealing like crazy until we pulled the barreta 22 and shot it in the head. other times its a one shot deal type thing.