Rear Light on Fender

[retiredrich]

I have an International 504. It has a rear light about 4 or 5 inches in diameter mounted on the left rear fender that points towards the rear. The light sits inside a metal cone shaped cover. Here's the question: Inside the cover is a small bulb (about 3/4 inch) set into a clip that looks to be factory and not an add-on. The small bulb was wired in direct line from the positive feed. When the light switch was turned on, the small bulb would light up, but not the rear light. I eliminated the small bulb and wired the positive feed directly to the large light and it works fine now. What was the small bulb in there for? It kept the large light from working and was not visible when lit because it was inside the metal cone. Thanks, Rich

 

[DennisFolsom]

I remember the rear light on an International that one of our neighbors had when I was a kid. It had a red bulb for a tail light and a white bulb for a work light. If I remember correctly, there was a switch on the light housing to toggle between the two. I don't remember the details of how the bulbs were arranged in the housing, or whether there was a cone inside.

Your description sounded a bit like the arrangement I remembered, so I thought I'd throw it out there for whatever it's worth. I thought it was pretty cool at the time, because our tractors had neither tail lights nor rear work lights.

 

[retiredrich]

The small bulb inside the metal housing is not visible at all. If I hadn't eliminated the small bulb from the wiring, I still wouldn't have the rear light functioning.
This rear light turns on with the headlight switch and no toggle on the housing.