Light Bar For My BX

[BravoXray]

I have been wanting to put some flashing LEDs on the rear of my BX for visibility when I'm picking up trash or just working near the road.
I bought a set of four amber LEDs from Amazon that have twenty some flashing modes for $26.99.

Link: Amazon.com: ASPL 4pcs Sync Feature 12-LED Surface Mount Flashing Strobe Lights for Truck Car Vehicle LED Mini Grille Light Head Emergency Beacon Hazard Warning lights (Amber): Automotive

Each light has four wires, positive, negative, function select and synchronization. By connecting all the sync wire together, thay synchronized and flash in the same pattern. Grounding the select wire changes the flash pattern.

I used a piece of 1 1/2" square tube 28" long, laid out the mounting screw and wire holes and another hole on the bottom for the power cable to exit. Welded a couple of tabs on the top to use to mount it to the flood light mounts I put on a few weeks ago. Blasted the tube, primed it and painted it Kubota dark gray to match the ROPS. I tapped the holes for the light mounting screws 4mm, as there would be no way to get nuts on them inside the tube. Installed all the lights, soldered all the same colored wires together and added a couple of wires for a push button switch to change the modes, power and ground. I grounded the negative wires to the tube at one of the screws at the outside end of the tube, and added a length of wire for power with a weather tight grommet where it enters the tube.

I 3d printed a pair of end caps for the tube, one plain and one with a recessed
hole to mount the push button. Hooked up the push button to the wires I ran for it, and drove the caps into the ends of the tube. A quick check with the bench power supply showed everything working properly.

I drilled holes for mounting and one in the ROPS to run the power wire down to the lower left side, and was able to fish it out the same hole as the flood light wires. I cut another hole in the PTO console, made up one new harness for both switches, hooked it all up. Turned on the ignition switch and the new light switch and it worked just fine. Holy cow is it bright!

A pretty easy and cheap project, as I had everything but the lights on hand. Will add a little safety factor also.

 

[CJinNH]

Nice install!

 

[BravoXray]

Nice install!

Thanks!

Since I'm retired, I have a lot of time to come up with Kubota and JD tractor modifications.

 

[CJinNH]

Where did you tie in the electrical connection?

 

[BravoXray]

I connected them to the unused work light wire under the seat. It's fused and the lights only draw a total of 4-5 amps.

 

[Smokeydog]

Good write up on your fabrication. Agree anything to improve drivers attention on the road helps. Always enjoy creative solutions to problems.

 

[BravoXray]

I forgot to add the picture of where I installed the switches for the lights. I used a four conductor cable to connect the power to the switches and wires from the lights.

 

[ctgoldwing]

very nice install - well thought out!

 

[Dataway]

What brand of 3D printer do you have, and do you like it?

 

[BravoXray]

What brand of 3D printer do you have, and do you like it?

I have two, a QiDi Tech 1, and a Hyper Cube Evo 300 that I built from scratch.
I printed the end caps on the Evo, because it had the silver filament loaded in it.

The QiDi Tech is a nice machine, has been pretty much trouble free for the four years I have had it. It has a 150mm X 150mm X 200mm print volume, so I can print most items on it no problem.
The Hyper Cube is running a Duet Ethernet board and the Duet 7" touch screen display. I also have a couple of Raspberry Pi net cameras on it since it is in the basement, makes it easy to monitor from my computer, tablet or phone. I also installed an auto shutdown system on it, so that when it finishes a print, it waits for the hot end to cool off then shuts the machine down. This is so that if it finishes a print in the wee hours it doesn't run until I go check on it in the morning.