Beware of possible issues when installing some LED lights on your tractor

[W8BYA]

Howdy everyone. I thought I would share a couple videos with you illustrating what happened when I replaced the stock front Halogen work lights on my 2019 Boomer-40 with a pair of Asian 16-LED light fixtures. Note that NH sells these EXACT lights as aftermarket add-ons ! I do not believe they are aware of the possible issues with these lights on some machines but I have passed this on to my dealer.

The first video shows what happened to the reception of strong radio stations when the lights were activated while the 2nd video details some engineering analysis I performed in my basement lab on one of the lights.

I am a degreed electrical engineer from the defense industry and have been iNARTE certified as an EMC engineer for over 3 decades so I understand that this issue may be a bit complex to some so I tried to keep it non-technical to the extent possible.

Anyway, just wanted to bring awareness to others of what may happen. The issues seen in the video can affect a lot more electronics on your tractor then your radio.....sensors, instrumentation, erratic tractor operation, etc, etc. Hope this helps out others. Also not saying this will happen on every tractor....each situation can be different depending on how power lines are routed, filtered, and what kind of devices are being powered and if they too are filtered. Clearly in my case neither the lights or the radio employed any kind of power line filtering.

LED Lights Wipe Out ALL AM/FM Stations on New Holland Boomer 4 Tractor SEVERE RFI - YouTube

WOW, UNREAL RFI Noise Measured From My LED Tractor Lights ! - YouTube

GV

 

[Roadworthy]

Thank you, sir, for taking the time to illustrate the problem with cheap power supplies. I would never have thought such things could be marketed. I suspect there is no FCC certification whatsoever on these things. Perhaps one could throw a capacitor across the power lead on the light or even open the light and place it inside?

 

[Industrial Toys]

I don't understand why LED drivers need to operate in the RF range at all.

 

[W8BYA]

Hi there. Yes it is an epidemic that is horrible and only getting worse. Our FCC goes by the honor system (LMAO) for most items and trust vendors when they say they have tested their product and it meets radiated & conducted EMI limits. What an absolutely stupid & lazy approach. You would not believe how many issues are created by simple "wall-wart" power supplies that also use SMPS technology. Same with every LED bulb in your house. Thank goodness when we design & manufacture military hardware we must perform exhaustive amounts of test & submit data & reports to substantiate our claim to qualification.

In any event, looking at these levels I suspect it will take a lot more than a capacitor across the power lines. As you know capacitors have a limited range where they are truly capacitive before their reactance starts to go ballistic. I suspect this will take a few components to knock these levels down. It will be fun to finally see what it takes to tame these lights. Also, mind you, this was only 1 light ! Imagine if I had both lights in the lab LOL.

I should also add that it takes two to tango....I am not horribly impressed with Jensen by not installing any power line filtering inside the radio. All it would have taken is a little filtering in the lights & in the radio and there would be no issues. Anyway, I will post some results after I try a couple filters out.

 

[W8BYA]

That is what makes them so efficient. The issue is not that however.....there are thousands of electrical devices that generate RF signals and are designed to co-exist & operate along with other electronics because they are properly designed. I.e., all it takes is a few more dollars to add in some filtering & shielding to ensure those RF signals do not radiate outside of the device case or get conducted out via power & control lines etc. Bottom line is they saved a few bucks but we are the ones who pay dearly for it.

 

[hawkeye08]

Looking forward to the filter you make to remedy the problem.. thanks for sharing details.

This is also why many garage door openers have warnings not to use LED bulbs.. at least one member has had shop lights make his garage opener remote not work (or limit the distance severely).

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's kind of funny. I already remember reading the FCC RFI disclaimer on electronic products in the 70s, which meant little back then. And I always wondered what the big deal was. Like someone predicted the future, which isn't likely.

 

[Diggin It]

Howdy everyone. I thought I would share a couple videos with you illustrating what happened ...

How about just telling us in words we can read here without clicking off to another site?

 

[metalbender]

Yup, have the problem with my cheapy chinee lights. In my case, the AM side still works. I notice a very small amount of noise emitted from my high end Rigid light on my truck, only when in the garage though.

 

[W8BYA]

Roger that. It could be that when in the garage the signal level of the radio stations is lower (shielding) thus making any noise from the lights that much more noticable.