Waxman, ...when I discovered your thread for the electronic level indicator, I was immediately captivated by your ingenuity & craftsmanship. I found this forum shortly after purchasing my new
BX2370 & am amazed at the projects & designs for improving tractor ownership posted by members. That being said, none have struck me like yours....! I am hooked on making one for my little BX...!
My shop is pretty well equipped, including a 8 x 30 knee mill & a 12 x 36 Atlas lathe. Since I have already gathered the bill of materials you listed, I am about to begin fabrication following your lead. Having studied your photos several times, I am compelled to ask a couple of questions. First, in regards to the milled flats on the stainless rod, to what depth did you mill ? Since the length of the flat equates to duration of time the lights are active, are all three the same duration ? If you milled the flats different, what are the measurements ? If one were to draw an imaginary line axially between the on-off ramps of the flats, would they intersect or have a pause ?
Thanks in advance, Robert
Thank you very much
ropayne,
I am really pleased you like it and want to make one of your own. I can tell you its very handy and very quick to find the level you want.
I really have been enjoying it. And found myself depending on it without even realizing it, like second nature. And it has been holding up very well without problems for over 100 hrs now.
If you look at this picture below of a backup light switch for reference , not the one I used but same little ball on the end.
The ball has very little movement so depth is not the issue.
The issue is when you weld the three nuts on the rod you have to make sure you mill/file down the depth of the nuts so once the switch is threaded on with a toothed lock washer, only that little ball sticks down into the tube.
So you have to take into consideration the thickness of the tube the nut and lock washer.
You do not want the threads of the switch sticking down but flush with the inside of the tube. So once you slide the 5/8 rod into the tube it will push that little ball up on the switch.
The light is off when the little ball is pushed in. You also don't have to place the switches as close together as I did, it won't matter if they are further apart.
Now it does not matter what depth the grooves are, as long as its deep enough to release the ball on the switch thus turning the light on.
It's the length of the groove that you will have to adjust.
You start with the middle switch "level" first, make the groove about 3/4 in length.
At first I only had a 1/4 groove, it was too sensitive to stop fast on green level, you had to slow down when coming up on level because by the time the light came on and your reaction time to let go of the control was too short. As shown in the first video of the indicator you can see I was coming up slow. With it 3/4 you can stop on green much quicker and it doesn't offset the level of the bucket at all.
For the two other two grooves start with a file and take your time. The thing you don't want is the green level on at the same time the red up or down arrow is on, but as soon as the green light goes out you want the red arrow to come on without a blank spot with no light on. So there is the fine tuning. You want it to go from red arrow green light red arrow flawlessly. not red arrow black green black red arrow if you know what I mean.
You can weld and file till you find what works best. I would say do a little at a time but if you filed too much Not a big deal to put a spot of weld and file again, (unless you don't have a welder)
It sounds hard but it's not, once you see how every thing works you'll know what to do.
Once you get the grooves right its grooved in stainless steel and will be right forever. No further adjustments will be needed.
I always said if it ever gives me problems I'm going to redesign it so the switches slide on the tube to adjust the three lights, but it hasn't and I didn't.
Good luck, I can't wait to see it on a BX.
And again thanks for the compliment. I'm glad finally someone likes it enough to make one.
If you ever want to add the auto stop at level or stop at the up or down arrows you already made the triggers.
Once you have the rod with the switches made, the sky is the limit for lights buzzers auto stop what ever you want it to do and whatever lights you want to use.
Just to let you know how rare this setup is, there is only one tractor in the world that has it, mine

and Now you'll have one soon:thumbsup:
I was very surprised there was not much interest in the Auto Stop Control, that with the Electronic level indicator was clearly my greatest accomplishment on my tractor.
Look at my other Mods anyone can buy a backup camera and install it, or buy a set of gauges and install them, add mirrors, lights etc. All common everyday stuff.
But the Indicator that you want to make and together with auto stop took a lot more thought and time, figuring out how it will work the relays and valves, I didn't have things to go by or people to follow, this was something that was not done before as far as I know. Bucket Auto Level Stop on a tractor this size. Who has that?
To come up with the idea then get everything working together and work well using old school dependable lights, relays, and switches, and to be all bullet proof was really a feat, well for me it was.
So I'm glad I can help you. Let me know if you have any other questions or run into any problems.
Thanks again, your interest made my day.