Work Lights

[kennyd]

The TC34DA is pre wired for lights does this mean it already has a relay?

Probably not. It is usually just wired to the headlight switch and goes HOT when the headlights are on. And the pre-wires are usually only good for one or two lights max.
I chose to not use the pre-wire as I wanted seperate control of all the lights.

 

[LBrown59]

lites -------------------------

Here are some thoughts I've been kicking around concerning lights on rops.
1. Use two lights rather than 4 lights. Mount them on a light bar that will swivel the lights up and down. I install the lights on the bar in a manner that will permit the lights to be rotated 360 degrees. The 360 degrees allows you to have light to the rear and front or both to the front or both to the rear.
Use magnets to mount the brackets for the light bar to the top rear edge of the rops instead of on top of the rops or under the top of the rops. Next bolt the ends of the light bar to the brackets with one bolt through each bracket into the bar.
Tighten the bolts just enough to hold the bar in place but loose enough to move it by hand. The swiveling light bar allows:
(A) Allows adjustment of the distance the lights shine out from the tractor.
(B) Gives more clearance above the lights and more head room under them.
(C) Lessens the chance of catching the lights on something overhead.
(D) Allows the lights to flip down if hit rather than breaking them.
(E) You can just flip the lights down to work under low hanging branches instead of having to remove them from the rops. However you still have the option of removing the bar and lights and unplugging the trailer connector.
*Advantages of the 360 degree rotation *
(A) Permits two lights instead of requiring 4 lights, thus reducing current flow.
(B) Lights can be turned both to front or both to rear. Or they can be turned one to front and one to rear. They can also be used for side lighting. Swiveling lights can provide illumination 360 degrees around the tractor.
Adjustment from one position to another is instant by hand. No wrenches or tools required.
A low profile light preferred over high profile lights.
I've been using this system of combining a rotating light bar with swivel mounted lights to install fog and driving lights on my pickups successfully for years.
More thoughts on lights.
Use a dual direction light with a clear lens on both sides that will cast light to the front and rear at the same time.
Thinking about experimenting with a hanging swing light magnetically attached to the cross member of the FEL to illuminate the bucket shadow when using the head lights.
L.B.
I would not disconnect the head lights but would run the extra lights connected to the key on side of the ignition switch and a separate switch in the line between the connection and the lights. You could also use a switch for / on each light if you desire to control each lite separately.
The reason I prefer going through the key switch is because you can't forget to turn the lights off and run the battery down.
I use a 10 AMP Fuse.
>>> >>>

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I'd gotten some snowplow lights that I tried and they were OK. One nice thing about some of them is that you can actually wire them for bright and dim with the amber light on as a constant, which is nice if they're front facing. The problem I had with them is that they were huge and heavy.

I subsequently bought a set of four Caterpillar heavy equipment work lights recommended by a friend who's a Cat mechanic. I don't know the wattage but these lights are incredibly bright. I think I paid just under $100 for four of them and they are well worth the money. With just a pair of those on my ROPS I can work in the back field by the woods on an overcast moonless night and not miss a thing. Sometimes when I make a turn at the wooded end of the field, the number of eyes I catch staring out from the darkness is a bit disconcerting, though.

 

[LBrown59]

I'd gotten some snowplow lights that I tried and they were OK. One nice thing about some of them is that you can actually wire them for bright and dim with the amber light on as a constant, which is nice if they're front facing. The problem I had with them is that they were huge and heavy.

I subsequently bought a set of four Caterpillar heavy equipment work lights recommended by a friend who's a Cat mechanic. I don't know the wattage but these lights are incredibly bright. I think I paid just under $100 for four of them and they are well worth the money. With just a pair of those on my ROPS I can work in the back field by the woods on an overcast moonless night and not miss a thing. Sometimes when I make a turn at the wooded end of the field, the number of eyes I catch staring out from the darkness is a bit disconcerting, though.

The EYES have it.

 

[Dusty]

I'd gotten some snowplow lights that I tried and they were OK. One nice thing about some of them is that you can actually wire them for bright and dim with the amber light on as a constant, which is nice if they're front facing. The problem I had with them is that they were huge and heavy.

I subsequently bought a set of four Caterpillar heavy equipment work lights recommended by a friend who's a Cat mechanic. I don't know the wattage but these lights are incredibly bright. I think I paid just under $100 for four of them and they are well worth the money. With just a pair of those on my ROPS I can work in the back field by the woods on an overcast moonless night and not miss a thing. Sometimes when I make a turn at the wooded end of the field, the number of eyes I catch staring out from the darkness is a bit disconcerting, though.

They are eyeing you..

 

[escavader]

Sometimes when I make a turn at the wooded end of the field, the number of eyes I catch staring out from the darkness is a bit disconcerting, though. [/QUOTE]
You dont need lights,you need a set of night vision goggles,a good rifle,and a front end loader!
ALAN

 

[Westonium]

I plan on converting my work lights to HID. See attached link HID Work Lights

Why on earth would you?

Pretty expensive last I checked.

edit: I mean, I haven't requested a quote on those specifically, but generally speaking HID is more expensive because of the high voltage transformer required etc. The $15 rubberized lights I bought are just dandy.

 

[shaley]

I see a bunch of conversion kits on Ebay for HID lighting. This one is 2 lights for $120 total. You get too select the bulb style and my Peterson work lights use a H3 halogen. So this kit would convert it to a Xenon HID gas bulb with no filaments to break and 4X brighter. Wow, I could cut wood a night!!

 

[gladehound]

I'm resurecting this thread because I feel these are still unanswered questions.

What lights work well?
What lights don't?
What do you get for the price?

I will share my very limited experience and hope it is useful to someone. I'm still searching for the perfect lighting system. Mine is far from perfect. But compared to the stock headlights which shoot right into the back of the bucket... well, the difference is night and day.

When I started this project I decided to go cheap and bought one round tractor light of unknown wattage (probably 35 watt) from Walmart - Rally Multi-Use Utility Light, Part 3150, $9.95. I hung it from the ROPS with a U-bolt in the upper right corner. Being somewhat satisfied with this light, and thinking all I needed was another on the other side, I got a second light to hang on the left. After using these at night a little bit I decided I really wanted a dedicated rear light rather than turning one light around when I needed it.

For the Rear light, I wanted something with a wider beam. The Walmart lights are kind of like a car's headlights. Good for distance, too focused when you point them at the ground near by. So I tried a Blazer Multi-Purpose Tractor Light, Part C8007, from Tractor Supply, $16.08. This is a 55 watt halogen in the flood light configuration. I thought this light should be significantly brighter than the others, but it isn't. Maybe because I'm comparing 2 forward to 1 back, and wide spots compared to a flood. But then the flood pattern is not as wide as I had hoped it would be.

I'm currently using one toggle mounted on the fender with a plastic electrical box (which I will eventually paint to match the tractor) and a rubber boot over the switch for weather resistance.

The tractor is a Kioti LB1914 which has a red wire under the right fender for work lights. This wire is on a 10A fuse which I'm surprised didn't blow when I connected the third light. I'm at 125 watts total (I think) on a 12 V 10 Amp circult that should be good for 120 watts - 140 watts depending on what the actual voltage of the system is at the time.

What I've learned is 125 watts of cheap lights is not nearly as much as I want but is much better than what I had. I can work at night with it. But it's not like day light. And if I have the choice to wait for daylight I will. I would love to have lights that make it seem like daylight.

So here is what it looks like...

In order the pictures should be 1) lights on ROPS from the front left of tractor, 2) Switch and box, 3) at night with lights on from side, 4) at night with lights on from rear.

 

[gladehound]

So I guess I should come back and give direct input on my questions.

What lights work well? - The two lights I tried work, but I probably would try my luck with something else before buying either of these two lights again. I want a more even flood light.

What lights don't? - The Walmart lights do not work for the back. They are much too focused. When you point them down at an implement you get a bright spot about a foot tall and 4 feet wide. The "floods are better and give you a 4 foot tall and 6 foor wide bright area when pointing at and implement.

What do you get for the price? I tried cheap lights. I'm guessing the more expensive lights are better. Maybe I'll scrape up the cash to do a head to head comparison in the future.

 

[clenhart]

I have a Kubota L2800 with a hard canopy. I used 2 Petersen 3" X 5" lights from Wal-Mart in a Flood pattern mounted on the rear of the canopy for rear work lights and 2 3" x 5" lights with a trapezoid pattern mounted on the front edge of the canopy to supplement the headlights. All are 55 watt halogen and are controlled by 2 toggle switches mounted in the daqsh panel with rubber marine type covers to keep the moisture out. The switches operate 2 relays using key switched power with the main feed directly from the battery. I am very happy with the performance of the setup.

I believe the Floods from Wal-Mart were $12 each and the others were $10 each from Auto-Zone. I had the switches and relays...

 

[gladehound]

OK - I'm a wiring idiot!!

Tonight I made some changes that made a ton of difference. I now love my light set-up. Not saying they are the best lights. But they really work for me now.

1st - My wiring was more to blame for my dissatisfaction than the lights. I know because when I disconnected one light the others got much brighter. I rewired with 14 gauge. I don't know the gauge of what I used the first time but it was small and felt warm with the lights on.

2nd - the tractor wiring that is labled for a work light is also too small and can't handle 3x55 watt lights. (After seeing what the walmart lights can do when getting full power, I'm sure they are 55 watts not 35 as I previously suspected.) I now have 2x55 watt lights on this circut, yet even these would perform better if the tractor had heavier gauge wiring. Something I may change in the future.

I now have the rear light runing off the high beam circut for the headlights and I disconnect the high beams since I don't use these anyway. My front lights are twice as bright as they were. My rear light is 4x as bright as it was before. With only 3 cheap lights I have plently of light to work at night.

I did one more thing to improve the function of the lights. I mounted the fronts on the curve of the ROPS so that they are tilted about 30 degrees sideways. This makes the focus beams of the two lights suround the front of the tractor. Hard to describe but it works great. Great light in front and to the side.

I have to revise my previous rating of the lights. I would buy them again but may try something else that someone else rates highly. Espectially if someone recommends a light with an extremely even light spread.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I went with the ultra-luxurious Harbor Freight 55w driving lights!
On Sale for $7.99 and comes with wiring and switch!
Still in the package , but it's on my project list before Daylight Savings time ends this fall.

Used this cheapo kind of light on my Ford 1210 for many years, worked fine unless poked out by tree limbs.
On the Ford I wired right off of the battery with an in-line fuse.
I am going to try to go through the factory fuse panel on the BX, if possible.

 

[resaca]

Hey SkunkWerx,
Could you give me the part # of your Harbor Freight lights? I've been looking for some but have not found what I want yet.

Thanks,
David

 

[SkunkWerX]

Hey SkunkWerx,
Could you give me the part # of your Harbor Freight lights? I've been looking for some but have not found what I want yet.

Thanks,
David

David,
I just checked HF's on-line catalog and don't see them. i got them at one of their stores. They are the standard 55w driving/fog lights. Rectangular.
Most AutoZones and AdvanceAutos would also carry this style.
In fact, i would imagine Walmart would have them.

 

[kennyd]

OK - I'm a wiring idiot!!

Tonight I made some changes that made a ton of difference. I now love my light set-up. Not saying they are the best lights. But they really work for me now.

1st - My wiring was more to blame for my dissatisfaction than the lights. I know because when I disconnected one light the others got much brighter. I rewired with 14 gauge. I don't know the gauge of what I used the first time but it was small and felt warm with the lights on.

2nd - the tractor wiring that is labled for a work light is also too small and can't handle 3x55 watt lights. (After seeing what the walmart lights can do when getting full power, I'm sure they are 55 watts not 35 as I previously suspected.) I now have 2x55 watt lights on this circut, yet even these would perform better if the tractor had heavier gauge wiring. Something I may change in the future.

I now have the rear light runing off the high beam circut for the headlights and I disconnect the high beams since I don't use these anyway. My front lights are twice as bright as they were. My rear light is 4x as bright as it was before. With only 3 cheap lights I have plently of light to work at night.

I did one more thing to improve the function of the lights. I mounted the fronts on the curve of the ROPS so that they are tilted about 30 degrees sideways. This makes the focus beams of the two lights suround the front of the tractor. Hard to describe but it works great. Great light in front and to the side.

I have to revise my previous rating of the lights. I would buy them again but may try something else that someone else rates highly. Espectially if someone recommends a light with an extremely even light spread.

Just a note:
It's always best to add a relay and make a new circuit for high amperage accessories like lights. The factory wiring harness's are not designed for multiple lights, usually just one.
I'd sure hate to see you burn your machine to the ground!

 

[SkunkWerX]

Just a note:
It's always best to add a relay and make a new circuit for high amperage accessories like lights. The factory wiring harness's are not designed for multiple lights, usually just one.
I'd sure hate to see you burn your machine to the ground!

I second what KennyD sez. (2) 55w lights are gonna draw roughly 9 amps.
That draw is gonna needs it's own circuit.

On my Ford 1210 I had 2 facing front, 2 facing back, and wired off of the battery with a 20 amp fuse and some very thick wire.

 

[gladehound]

Good comments. I should have just started with a 20A fuse, some 10 gauge wire and a switch for each light. If I install a new fuse and line to run the front facing work lights, where is the best place to get power from. Battery, starter, other?

 

[gladehound]

Just want to add that the work light circuit on the LB1914 is dedicated to the work light and has a 10A fuse. I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that it was therefore designed for up to a 10A draw? Is this not the case? The wire does look small and I've been assuming it is 20 gauge but I don't actually know the gauge.

Even if the work light circuit is designed for a 10A draw, I'm calculating about a 1.5 volt drop from the fuse to the lights. So performace would be better if I rewired it.

The rear light should be OK because I basically replaced 2x35 watt head lamps with one 55 Watt rear flood. So there is a reduction in draw on that circuit compared to the factory set-up.

 

[resaca]

Thanks, SkunkWerx,
I've got to pick up some parts at autozone or advancedautoparts so I'll check out what they have.

Thanks again,
David