B2710 Lights

W5FL · Jul 17, 2000

Thanks, people seldom take all the resistance of the wiring into consideration, but nominals are close enough for most tractor wiring. I am an electrical engineer, but don't tell anyone. Unfortunately, the bulbs resistance is very non linear with applied voltage and does not lend itself to conventional linear analysis.

gordon · Jul 17, 2000

Now Wen lets see if I can get it right this time---
Good post Wen about the bulb not being a linear load.

I figured that if I went back and edited my post you might look crazy but this way I look crazy. But I forgot the word- not -in the first post.
Gordon

W5FL · Jul 18, 2000

Thanks, and it was even harder to answer it that way, but I knew what you meant. Now what I really want is some auxillary lights that are mounted on the canopy that I don't have. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

TomG · Jul 18, 2000

And if you do, I wired my pair of 55w canopy floods directly to the battery using 16-gauge wire and an in-line 15a fuse. However, the location of lights on canopies should be considered. I broke off the rear light the first time I used the carriage tilt on my 3ph forks. I also nearly damaged the front one going under an icy covered tree branch that was no problem before the light was mounted.

I think the discussion about the complexities of running a marginally high electric load is interesting. Mention hasn't been made of perhaps the biggest resistance variable in the system--the battery itself. The state of the battery is going to make a difference in how much voltage a bulb sees. Tractors have big batteries and small alternators.

Anyway, a few surges that pop fuses isn't going to make much difference. Practically, perhaps the best idea is to just try it out and see if a fuse blows enough to be aggravating. If it does, maybe a slow blow type is available that would be consistent with a warranty. Circuit protection in circuit design (at least in residential wiring) is to protect the wire, not the connected devices. Damage to wire from excessive heat dissipation is a long-term idea except for the case of unprotected short circuits.

Bird · Jul 18, 2000

I guess everyone knows, from previous discussions, that there is already a wire and connector under the seat on the B2710 for a worklight and it's fused with a 10 amp fuse. I used that to mount a 55 watt halogen light at the front of the canopy and one at the rear, mounted to the frame so they are actually back under the edge of the canopy. And I used a toggle switch so that either light can be on, but not both at the same time. Incidentally, that wire and fuse are through the ignition switch so they can't accidentally be left on if the key is off.

Bird

geneP · Jul 18, 2000

wiring loads through the ignition switch should be done with caution. Although the tractors' lights are originally wired through the switch, adding more than the switch is rated for could lead to premature failure. I don't know if the OEM lights are wired through a relay, but a cautions approach would be to have the igniton switch trigger a relay so as not to burn the contacts on the ign. switch.

W5FL · Jul 18, 2000

Tom,

Try not to ever use slow blows on tractors. They are intended only for motor load and can carry a tremendous surge and may fail to adequately protect the wiring under a short circuit condition. They should never be used for lighting loads. The solution is easy as pie if you need more current, use a power relay and run a line with an in-line fuse directly from the battery. You can activate the relay with the lighting switch or key switch.

Alternators are designed to be slightly larger than the lighting load such that the battery condition should not affect the voltage very much. However, that said, most circuits charge directly to the battery and then take the branch circuits from a heavy wire to the battery. Thus most of the higher alternator output never gets to the load for a properly charged battery.

DaleW · Jul 18, 2000

Boy what a wealth of knowledge out there for a simple little thing as changing a light bulb. Frank..thanks for taking the time and writing your reply..very informative.
And thanks to all you other folks who took the time to respond. I have left the 50w back up lights in and find them to work very well.
Canopy lights are next on my agenda but that's another post at another time
Dale

Bird · Jul 18, 2000

geneP, I certainly don't disagree with anything you said, and it's good advice in a lot of cases. I'm not concerned about it in this particular case because it's OEM wiring, fuse, etc. for an OEM optional "worklight" described in the owners manual.

Bird