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Is there such a thing as too much lightbar for the electrical system?

1093 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Alexandrageorge
I could use more light plowing snow at night. I'm thinking a 20" bar on the front and a pod or 2 in the rear might be about right. (amazon has a nilight combo for all three, wiring, and a switch for $50 and I'm a sucker). Do I need to be worried about drawing too much power between all that and winching the plow?
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Yes, you can end up drawing more amps than your stator is producing. The 12V ACC (cigarette) plug is fused with a 10a fuse, so assume you get about 10 extra amps to play with for added electrical accessories. You will probably be fine with what you're planning but I've found that good quality lighting is much better than large, cheaply made huge LED lights. Don't forget if you're running heated grips/throttle too, (you mentioned) winch, those are pulling amps as well.

I do have many aftermarket electrical accessories on my Grizzly 700 but find it is very infrequent they are all running at the same time... you might find the same. For backup lighting, look into the Powermadd backup kit made for the Grizzly. It is really worth the price, which isn't too bad to begin with. But the light can be set to only come on when you put your Grizzly in reverse, just like automobile backup lights. Since I feel I'm burning more amps than my stator will produce while out plowing, I keep my Grizzly on a Battery Tender Jr once parked in the garage.
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Your battery capacity and condition will be very important as to whether or not you run out of juice.
Keep it on a maintainer as @RedRocket does would be great insurance.
I could use more light plowing snow at night. I'm thinking a 20" bar on the front and a pod or 2 in the rear might be about right. (amazon has a nilight combo for all three, wiring, and a switch for $50 and I'm a sucker). Do I need to be worried about drawing too much power between all that and winching the plow?
this is the one i got for my 2018 yamaha grizlly, plugs into the cigarette lighter ,



LEMIL Led Light Bar 72W Led Magnetic Work Light Spot Led Bar Cigarette Lighter Light Fog Light Truck Light Driving Light Boat Light Truck Pickup SUV ATV UTV 12V 24V (Spot)



I have had NO issues and it is EXTREMELY BRIGHT
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this is the one i got for my 2018 yamaha grizlly, plugs into the cigarette lighter ,



LEMIL Led Light Bar 72W Led Magnetic Work Light Spot Led Bar Cigarette Lighter Light Fog Light Truck Light Driving Light Boat Light Truck Pickup SUV ATV UTV 12V 24V (Spot)



I have had NO issues and it is EXTREMELY BRIGHT
Nice! I hadn't seen a light bar setup like this before. I kind of really love the idea. I am going to shop around more, but this would be great moving between the griz and my tractor as needed.
Key is good wiring and kits with relays, then run those wires to their own fuse with a direct link to the battery or power source. Lucky these days all these LED lights draw so little you about can’t overload circuits, batteries or switches.

Good luck show us what you get setup!! The best way is what works best for you, so many mounting options available!!
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With all my lights on and grips at idle I can watch the volts slowly drop. I pull just over 16amps with lights not including the stock headlights. That's a10in bar, a pod light on front and a single row 2 led pod on the rear. Now I don't normally run the rear light at the same time but it only draws just over 1 amp. Any rise in RPM and it is fine.

Now 2 full size pods, a bar, winch, grips might be taxing on the system. Your battery should have enough reserve in it to last for a while. But like was previously mentioned. The powermadd reverse kit would help a lot if your running a couple pods.

Some other things to help Most aftermarket lights are for trucks. The wire harness is 10-20ft long. Cut all your harnesses down to the length needed. Also helps with wire management. The cheaper bars usually pull less amps than the higher end lights. Not as bright but still more than most would ever need.
With all my lights on and grips at idle I can watch the volts slowly drop. I pull just over 16amps with lights not including the stock headlights. That's a10in bar, a pod light on front and a single row 2 led pod on the rear. Now I don't normally run the rear light at the same time but it only draws just over 1 amp. Any rise in RPM and it is fine.

Now 2 full size pods, a bar, winch, grips might be taxing on the system. Your battery should have enough reserve in it to last for a while. But like was previously mentioned. The powermadd reverse kit would help a lot if your running a couple pods.

Some other things to help Most aftermarket lights are for trucks. The wire harness is 10-20ft long. Cut all your harnesses down to the length needed. Also helps with wire management. The cheaper bars usually pull less amps than the higher end lights. Not as bright but still more than most would ever need.
The likelihood of your battery dying depends heavily on its size and condition.
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