B2910 Headlights

donalddavis · Sep 21, 2000

Hi all!
Well, I finally got to see how bright my headlights are on my new B2910 HST. I had a good deal of mowing to do (about 5 or 6 acres) after work and ended up going into the night after cleaning everything up. Not very bright to say the least! Somewhere, I read about someone putting halogen repalacement bulbs into some Kubota or another that replaces those dim tailight style bulbs. Does anyone know what wattage bulbs come stock on these machines and if the wiring will handle the 55 watts of these replacement bulbs. Also, on another note, the headlight switch is a bit of a mystery. There is a little "Off" icon in the center, and a light icon above it and another light icon below, but it'll only turn to the one below, turning on the lights. Also, there appears to be a button in the middle of the switch that looks like ahorn button. My old B7100 had one, but I guess this one doesn't....so...what's up with that button. The horn used to come in handy when beeping one of my kids to go get something for me as I was mowing...usually something cold to drink! Also, does anyone have any suggestions on wiring up a rear tractor light? I've got a rear mounted snowblower I'll be using in the dark about half the time. I was wondering if the alternator can carry the load.

thanks!
Don

TomG · Sep 22, 2000

A 55w bulb draws 4.6a@12v. The lighting circuit probably is fused at 10a. Two 55w's is pushing the fuse a bit, but it probably would carry the load unless the tail lights are on the same circuit. Carrying extra fuses would be a good idea.

I've heard of people mounting a light on the snow blower itself. My rear light is on the canopy. As it turned out, I never used the blower at night last winter. However, I expect that what I would have seen is the lit up flume from the chute, and not much else. I think I'll mount a light on the corner of the blower so it will shine under the flume. Simple connectors should enable me to change back and forth from the canopy to a blower light.

There have been several extensive discussions on this subject. A search of the archives should turn up more than you ever wanted to know about aux lights.

bsauter · Sep 22, 2000

Hi Don,

I just put some high intensity 50W bulbs in my headlights and they are nice. I was going to get some of the 55W halogens but none of the stores around carried them. I did find some on the web (50W halogen) so I may try them in the future. I wired up my rear worklight to the wires that exist on the B2910 for the Kubota worklight option. I had to put a switch in for it as those were hot whenever the ignition was on. No big deal. I mounted two switchs on the fender right behind my 3 pt lift arm lever and were I have my walkman velcroed. One for the rear worklight and one for the front fogs which I mounted on the grill guard to give me a wider and brighter beam. I mounted those on the bottom of the top crossbar just above the headlights and they work great. (I have a loader) I will mount some driving lights on the top of the rops inboard for strictly loader use. I had this stuff on my old B2150 for 5 years with no ill effect on the battery.

Can't tell you the logic for the button on the light switch, I wondered the same thing. I will try to get some pictures of my setup this weekend.

RBrown · Sep 22, 2000

bsauter,

I haven't received my 2710 yet and I am wondering what the bulb number is of the 50 W high intensity bulbs you used. I am a little nervous about the halogen bulbs, due to the heat. The last thing I want to end up replacing is my head light enclosures. It seems like you found a good compromise with 50 W high intensity and the price is definitely better.

bsauter · Sep 22, 2000

Since I don't have the tractor around me I can't tell you the number but I can tell you that I got them at AutoZone and they say Blazer Hi-Intensity 50 watt on them. They are a direct replacement for the 1071 23 watt bulb that came out of my B2910. I too wonder about the heat of the halogen. These 50 watters are worth a try for 1.99 apiece.

bsauter · Sep 22, 2000

Sorry, should have said 1073 23 watt that came out, not 1071.

donalddavis · Sep 23, 2000

Hi bsauter and everyone!
I hooked up a 55watt halogen worklight to the back of my new B2910 HST today. It turned out to be even easier than I thought. Apparently, there's a bullet type connector socket and ground lug coming out of the wiring harness over by the back of the rear right fender and tail lights. Apparently, it has it's own seperate 20 amp fuse on the fuse block so I guess, conceivably, it could drive as much as 200+ watts or so. That's REAL nice...makes life a lot easier. So...after locating the connector, it was off to AutoZone to get a light. I found a nice rectangular housing deal that was supposedly designed for tractors and other off road equipment for $13.95 (about half the price of a similar one at the tractor dealer). I also heard that the tap was not run through the light switch, but rather just through the ignition switch, so it would be activated once the key was turned, independent of the light switch. Knowing this, I bought a small, illuminated toggle switch (orange of course...to go with the tractor /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif) and drilled a half inch hole way over by the side of the light's housing to mount it. Just barely had enough clearance to get it in. The housing was plastic, which made the job much easier. Got it all hooked together and mounted on the tractor. Both the rear worklight mounting hole and the ones on either back fender deck barely allow enough radial clearance for one of these rectangular lights. The only other one they had at AutoZone was a smaller round lower wattage (I think 35watt) non-halogen light, that would have had clearance at both possible positions, but not very much in the way of illumination. I bent the fork like mounting bracket, so it resembled a parallelogram, yet still worked, and that gave me the clearance I needed (barely). Tried it out by mowing until a dark sky and rainstorm shut me down for the evening, and I backed into my barn and could actually see for once. It looks sharp, and works great. Total cost was about $18 with the assorted bullet and spade connectors I bought! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Great price for something that looks and works so sharp!

Don

Bird · Sep 23, 2000

Don, You've pretty well described how I mounted a rear facing flood light on the back of my canopy and a front facing trapezoidal light on the front of the canopy, using the connector you mentioned. I used a 3-way toggle switch so either light can be used, but not both at once. I'm not sure about the B2910, but since they are so similar to the B2710, you might want to check your manual and/or fuse because the B2710 has a 10 amp fuse on that circuit That's one reason I wired mine the way they are, so I'm only using one 55 watt light at a time.

Bird

Anonymous Poster · Sep 23, 2000

The electrical power consumed by a light is turned into two things, heat and light. The majority of the power produces heat with both an incandesent and a halogen bulb. I believe that the halogen is actually a little more efficient at producing light, which means a little less heat energy for the same number of watts. If the 50 watt bulb does not cause the Kubota plastic lenses to soften, then the 55 watt should not cause a meltdown.

I have 55 watt halogen lights on my B2400. I removed the Kubota reflector assembly and mounted 55 watt rectangular lights behind the Kubota lense. I powered the lights with a new wire from the fuse box. They turn on and off with the normal headlight switch that controls a relay. The Kubota plastic lenses hardly get warm.

Andy

DaleW · Sep 25, 2000

Don,
I switched the lights on my 2710 right after I got it. I posted the information here under 2710 lights. The ones I installed were hi-intensity back-up lights from Auto Zone. I considered the halogen but the current draw was just too close for a 10A fuse. These work great but I will be installing separate ones for the front and rear during the winter.
Good luck
Dale