headlights

[Mahindra35]

Doe anyone know what the purpose for the headlights are on a Mahindra
3510?

It sure isnt for seeing where you are going.

 

[shvl73]

My 2810 is basically the same. I think they're bright enough, just set low due to the sloping hood. The price we pay for visibiliy over the nose.

 

[Mahindra35]

I have found one use for them. You can attract insects with them ,and
then kill the bugs with insect spray.

I love the tractor "I would love to see where I am driving"

 

[YanmarFever]

A lot of tractors have the lights to low, I mounted a set of driving lights on my grill guard and it cured the problem.

We even put them them on for backup lights, they are great for night time mowing, implement hook up or backhoe work.

 

[Mahindra35]

I am making a light bar with a magnetic mount to attach to my ROPS so I can easily remove the lights from the ROPS if I wish and so I dont drill into the ROPS.

I am mounting two common rectangular 55 watt driving lights that are available at the automotive parts store or auto depts.

The point is why cant the manufactures just make headlights that project
usable light. The headlights are bright enough,they just dont project
any real usable beam of light directly in front of the tractor. My Sears Super Twelve
tractor from 1968 has small sealed beams that project nearly as much light as my car.

Mahindras,from what I have read arent the only models that have this issue. It seams nearly every Compact tractor manufactures lights perform about the same way.

My neighbor was driving my tractor back to the garage one evening and he commented on the headlights

I told him I had the polarity reversed to the headlights and the lights
were projecting the beams in the opposite direction.

I thinked he believed me.!!!

 

[Mahindra35]

Here is the new Mahindra grill used on the 3215HST with headlights that look like they would produce more light.

Sharp looking grill

 

[George2615]

I agree. A lot of tractors have headlights in a similar location which is not much good when you need to raise the bucket to go somewhere which then blocks the lights and its not a good practice to raise the bucket above the lights and drive that way. The lenses on mine also seem to diffuse the light instead of focusing them in a beam. My 2615 is no exception and I hardly use the headlights. I mounted a HF $15 pair of driving lights up high to my homemade cab / canopy and one on the ROPS with a 2" squared U-bolt for a rear work light. I may build a front grill brush guard for mine this spring and when I do I'll get a nice set of lights to mount on top of the guard.

 

[Iowachild]

I am making a light bar with a magnetic mount to attach to my ROPS so I can easily remove the lights from the ROPS if I wish and so I dont drill into the ROPS.

I am mounting two common rectangular 55 watt driving lights that are available at the automotive parts store or auto depts.

Post some pics when you "get er done"!

 

[knute_m]

A ROPS lightbar is actually quite easy to make. Mine cost me less than $50, and that included the switch, fuse, relay, wiring, cable ties, and the three lights. Start-to-finish I had about two hours labor in the job, not including the shopping.

My two front-pointing lights and a single rear-pointing light are mounted to a pressure treated 2x2, which is then mounted to the ROPS with two u-bolts.

I have just about completely quit using my tractor's headlights. The 55-watt halogens (about $18 per pair at Walmart) are aimed out about 50 feet in front of the tractor, and they provide incredible light.

 

[wnymudd]

I did almost the same setup on mine but without the rear light. Good Idea, I think I'll add one!!

 

[srjones]

Here's mine...

4 forward, 2 aft. 55 watt, harbor freight on sale, $8.99 a *pair*, mounted on a 1.5x1.5 square tube.

This thing lights up the night

 

[knute_m]

Here's mine...

4 forward, 2 aft. 55 watt, harbor freight on sale, $8.99 a *pair*, mounted on a 1.5x1.5 square tube.

This thing lights up the night

Wow! I bet it lights up the night.

I've just got two 55 watt halogens facing forward, and one 35 watt conventional facing backward. When I fire it up at night, I see many illuminated eyeballs glazing in the woodlands.

If I put four more of those halogens on my ROPS bar, the ASPCA would cite me for blinding the critters of the county -- but I think I could get by without a snow plow. That much light would melt 5-foot snow drifts in front of my tractor, and 3-foot drifts in the back.

Neat looking project though.

Happy tractorin'
Knute

 

[BTDT]

Here is the new Mahindra grill used on the 3215HST with headlights that look like they would produce more light.

Sharp looking grill

That picture is just too funny. Looks like a crab or something. Can't see the back wheels, looks like operator platform just sticking out in the air behind hood.

 

[Mahindra35]

That picture is just too funny. Looks like a crab or something. Can't see the back wheels, looks like operator platform just sticking out in the air behind hood.

Yea I guess it must be a two wheel drive ?

It does look like its smiling though

 

[k54frog]

srjones and Knute...
How do you go about wiring up the lights? (schematic)
Where do you plug them into the electrical system?

 

[Mahindra35]

srjones and Knute...
How do you go about wiring up the lights? (schematic)
Where do you plug them into the electrical system?

In a few days or week I will post the light bar .the wiring harness and wiring diagram .

I am out of town on business for an unspecified time but will post when I return

Briefly:

I tapped a new circuit direct from the battery with a installed fusible link to a set of relay contacts, and then to the rear of the tractor. From there it goes to an installed inline fuse to the lights. The relay is turned on by tapping into the Bright Headlight beam circuit.The lightbar turns on when I turn the bright lights on from the tractor headlight switch.

I installed a Blocking diode across the relay coil windings to prevent transcient
voltage kickback when the relay deactivates

 

[Mahindra35]

srjones and Knute...
How do you go about wiring up the lights? (schematic)
Where do you plug them into the electrical system?

In a few days or week I will post the light bar .the wiring harness and wiring diagram .

I am out of town on business for an unspecified time but will post when I return

Briefly:

I tapped a new circuit direct from the battery with a installed fusible link to a set of relay contacts, and then to the rear of the tractor. From there it goes to an installed inline fuse to the lights. The relay is turned on by tapping into the Bright Headlight beam circuit.The lightbar turns on when I turn the bright lights on from the tractor headlight switch.

I installed a Blocking diode across the relay coil windings to prevent transcient
voltage kickback when the relay deactivates

 

[knute_m]

K54FROG,

I did mine a little bit different than Mahindra55, but mine works similarly. Mine can be operated whenever the ignition key is ON. The headlights/tail lights do not need to be on.

My lightbar switch activates a relay, which applies power to the light bar. Although a switch could control the lights, the relay will take a heavier current load than a switch, and the switch line can be relatively light wire -- which is a lot easier to run through and under the tractor frame.

Walmart had a nice lightbar wiring kit for about $10 that included a lighted switch, a fuse holder, a relay, and a wiring harness.

The 2015 and 2615 tractors have an auxilary +12 volt line at the base of the ROPS bar. It comes from the fuse panel located in the engine compartment. It is activated whenever the ignition key is ON. In my experience, many newer tractors have an auxilary line similar to this. It now connects through the relay contacts to my new light bar.

I was originally going to connect a fused line, for the switch circuit, directly to the positive (+) side of the battery. But, I found it easier and more convenient to connect to the +12V stud on the alternator. On these tractors, it connects directly to the battery.

So, I connected a fuse holder to the alternator. The other end of the fuse holder wire was routed with the existing wire harness to the back of the tractor. I brought it up to the base of the ROPS bar on the right-side fender. It connects to one side of my light bar switch. The other side of the switch connects to the relay coil.

I did not add surge protection diodes across my relay like Mahindra55. It is a good engineering practice to do so, but the impedance is so low on that line, I didn't feel it was necessary.

I picked up frame ground (battery negative(-)) through bolts at the rear fender. I mounted the switch with 3M tape in a protected area, on the fender, near the base of the 3PH adjustment lever.

I've attached a quickly hand sketched diagram.

I was going to take more pictures of how I did mine, but it is dark, very windy, and uffda-cold at only about +10 degrees F. Don't be afraid to ask for more clarification if this doesn't do it. It will warm up one of these days.

Knute