I know that this has probably been a a beaten to death question:

What does it take to mount a headlight on a '93 Xr200?
What wires will work? and how many watts is safe to use?
I just want to mount a small light on the front just for slow summer moonlight rides with friends (they have 4wheelers) down by our river. So I don't need much, I have even looked at some of the cheap pairs of lights at the auto parts stores.
Any cheap easy suggestions are welcome  
Thanks

You can use the earlier (86-88) XR200R headlite/numberplate, it is a 12volt 35watt unit.  The 81-83 XR200R used a simular headlite/numberplate  but it used a 6 volt bulb.  I converted an 82 XR to 12 volts by using a 12volt AC regulator ($13) and a 12 volt bulb, lots of bright lite.  

There are also other options from Baja Designs and TrailTech.

Your alternator should have a pair of pink wires under the tank that will provide plenty of 12 volt AC for a headlite.

So does my bike need the regulator like the 82 did? Mine is a 93.

my headlight on my 1982 200r has no power going to the headlight.  any ideas?

4runnerman88 said:

Yes you need the regulator or you will blow bulbs at higher rpm's,  The regulator holds it at 14 volts.  There is both a pink and yellow wire coming from the alternator.  It is usually shorted between the two with a short pink wire in the harness beneath the tank.  It is AC current.  Get rid of the short connecting wire and make one of those (either the pink or yellow) ground and ground it to the grounding bolt on the front part of the frame.  The other wire will be considered hot.  Connect one wire of the regulator to it, and the other regulator wire to ground.  Also connect one wire from your headlight to this hot wire and the other wire from you headlight to ground.  

You're done.  You now have lights.

VintageHondaKid said:

Start checking your wiring.  Mostly have a broken wire, short or unplugged wire somewhere under the tank or near your headlight,

4runnerman88 said:

Probably not because the alternator was changed in 86 and did not use a regulator.  If you lose the tail lite or substitute a LED tail lite you may start blowing headlite bulbs and then you would need a regulator.  I was able to get a bright headlite by using a LED taillite/brake lite that has a very low power draw, leaving more watts for the headlite and the regulator protects against blown bulbs.  

Quote

On my 82 there is a blue wire in the harness out of the alternator that provides power for the lights, the other end of the alternator winding is connected to the engine ground so the other side of the lighting circuit is the bike's frame.  The blue wire should go to the headlite or an on/off switch, and then to a Hi-Lo switch if you have a hi/lo headlight. The bulb base of the headlite should be connected to the frame. A good frame point is the coil bracket.  

First thing I would check is the bulb, you can do that with a volt/ohm meter, or a continuety light.  Also check the taillite bulb.  If either bulb is blown there will be less load on the  alternator and the circuit voltage will rise enough to blow the other bulb; that is why I added a 12 AC regulator ($13)and replaced the 6 volt bulbs with a 12 volt bulb and a LED tail/brake lite, no more blown bulbs and a brighter headlite.

I have done the exact same thing as Chuck. He was the one who suggested it to me. It works awesome. I went to trail tech and got an on/off hi/low switch with built in kill switch to use. I got a 12v hi/low bulb and used the 12v regulator. I ordered the regulator from thumpertalk. My headlight is very bright. I don't really do any night rides, but I like the headlight in case something happens and I have to get back after dark.

That is why i want one on my little blender. You know Just In Case!

I have a question regarding the twin 35W UFO headlight that I saw discussed in an earlier post as it relates to a 95 XR200.

I have recently acquired one of these lights and am curious as to what the two wires coming of each lamp are for. The light was previously used and did not come with any instructions. If someone could give me any insight as to how to proceed, then it would greatly appreciated? Would it be very involved to put some sort of on/off switch in the connection?

I also see mentioned the suggested use of the Moose "volt pack." Is there a decent place to affix it to the bike?

I do appreciate you taking the time to possibly assist me with my problem.

Sincerly,

Joe

You should have a power wire and a ground wire coming from each lamp. A couple of months ago I wired up a Polisport headlight on my son's 96 xr200r and it had a high and a low beam. I made a bracket just behind the headlight for a center off switch. If you search the garage for bamascout223 you can see a picture of it. There is a factory tab under the gas tank to mount the voltage regulator. That's where we mounted the Moose volt pack. I can send a wiring diagram and pictures to you if you need it.

currently working on my 95xr200. what a nice trail ride, looking forward to a night ride! Bare with me as I am awful at electrical at best:banghead:. As i understand this post i will need 3 grounds? one from light one from regulator and one from spare pink wire? where do i get hot if regulator only has 2 wires and one is tied up with ground, 1 with incoming hot. where do i find nice silicone factory bullet connectors or should i get out the solder? and lastly how do i keep this from looking like an over decorated christmas tree with excessive wiring hanging everywhere? Thanks crew

bumpity bump- gotta be somebody willing to help the electrically challenged out there?

I've been working a lot lately or I would've replied sooner. If you would like I could PM you some pictures and wiring instructions. It will be this afternoon before I can do it though.

bflower said:

Ground is ground, multiple grounds are just a convenience to save on wire that is why some alternators are internally grounded, to save on wire. The engine cases and the bike frame become one big common conductor.  All of the XR200s have two section alternators; one sectionpowers the ignition and the other provides power for the lights.  Both of these sections output AC power. Your 93 alternator is wired a bit different than the earlier XRs; the lighting section is not internally grounded and has two wires (yellow & pink) going up under the tank. At this point there should be a pink jumper connecting the two together.  The black/red wire goes to the CDI unit.

The two wire output is usually provided for use with a battery charging system but can be used for AC lighting.

To make trouble finding and follow on work easier you may want to consider following Hondas convention for wire colors by using green wire for the grounds, almost any other color for the hot wires except red which Honda uses for DC hot. White and Lavender are often used for hi/low beams and yellow or yellow/white for AC hot.  


Pick the pink wire as a ground (the yellow will be the "hot") and connect it to the frame, Make up a little jumper with a connector to fit the pink wire with a lug and  on the other end to suit the nearby coil ground bolt.  

You can also mount the AC regulator under the tank or on the steering head, I used a bolt hole on the left side of my steering head because it was convenient, and I ran the two wires back under to tank to connect to the "hot" yellow wire and ground point at the coil. Either wire on the AC regulator can be grounded, pick a color.  

Make up a wire to run from the "hot' yellow to your light switch, you might want to put a Y in this wire under the tank as a connection for the regulator.  From the light switch run a wire to the light, connect the base of the light socket  to ground and your done.  

If you splice any wires I suggest soldering and then covering with shrink tubing.  I also solder the wires into the connectors after crimping. Use dielectric grease on all of the push connectors and light bulb bases as a water seal, available at automotive stores.


Turn the light switch off and start the bike, turn on the light. stop the engine and try to restart, if the engine is hard starting switch the pink yellow alternator wires; make the yellow ground and the pink "hot".

On edit:  Clarification on ground point; when I said the ground point was on the coil mountingt bolt that applied to the early XRs. The 86+  models use the CDI module attach bolt for the ground.
Hope this helps

Edited by chuck4788, 27 November 2009 - 02:15 PM.

Let there be light- Finally got it all wired up, a special thanks to 95 xr and chuck for walking me through the process. My only question is how the regulator works, when you have it wired this way? does it act as a sink for excessive juice, it seems like power can go there, but doesnt have to go thru it to get to the headlight as wired. - seems to work just  fine, just dont wanna fry anything. Thanks

The alternator is a finite source so its output voltage is inversely proportional to the load; no load = high voltage, total short = no voltage.  The regulator places a load on the system by shorting to ground whenever the voltage exceed about 14 volts, this extra load controls the voltage.

I have a 83 and i keep just blowing 6 volt and 12 volt bulbs where can i find a 12 volt regulator?

We use the Moose Voltage Regulator. They have them here in the ThumperTalk Parts Store and most online parts stores. I forgot where we bought ours.

XR200kid said:

TT Store; the MSR Regulator is about $13.  I used it on my 6volt XR and it stopped the the bulb blowing.  I replaced the 6volt 35wat head light bulb with a 12volr 35watt Hi/Lo bulb and replaced the stock tail light with a BD LED tail/brake light. I now have a much brighter headlite.