Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I have a 1981 Yamaha xs400.It had the orig. headlight in it.25W bulb.WEAK!Anyway i put in some dual 3" lamps up front.Looks great.The lights work great,even though only single beam.I found out my battery was dead after about 2 hrs of riding.Checked volts when bike was running,just about 12.6v @ 3000 rpm's.Thought it may be the charging system,until i shut off the lights!Charging sys,and battery were fine,just pulling too much juice w/ the 2- 55w bulbs up front.I really dont want to get rid of that look,and the lights are the cheap kind that you dont replace the elements on..(like drop in 25w.. )What are my options?I really miss the bike as it is my 'round town getter...Thanks to all who reply..

just added a webpage below to view my bikes,sold the Gixxer750 and miss it..

Try switching all the running lights and turn signals to LED's. If you can make up for the extra draw from the driving lights things might return to normal.

maby get your alternator rewound so it puts out more amps? You are overloading the charging system, you could allways get lower wattage bulbs that fit the bike

No matter what i do with the alternator,it won't matter due to the regulator "doing it's job",correct?I sit possible to get a regulator that allows more voltage to get to the battery,or is my thinking messed up entirely?

You could put a trickle charger on the battery after every use.

The rear brake/tail lamp had a 2 bulb set up of 1157 bulbs.I removed both of them and ran 1 LED converted 1157 bulb to the rear.Ran the rpms up and it had the same draw as the 2 regular 1157 bulbs.Might have to just trickle after every use...

the regulator regulates voltage, volts are not your problem. you need to have your alternator put out more amps, check with a starter/alternator rebuild shop and see if they can rewind your alternator for you so it puts out more amps