Worklight wiring questions for you Electrical Gurus

[Builder]

Nice thread- very informative.

Some tractors (if you're lucky) come with lots of extra wiring for accessories & lights. I have some extra wires behind my cab. They're always hot when the key is "on". Then I have some extra wires under my rear fenders that make the continuity tester blink when the turn signals are "on".

I plan to use the "blinking" ones for a set of wide-set road flashers for when the wagon is in tow to the farm on the road so cars can see me better from behind.

I guess the constant hot wires behind the cab are for running lights or ?????

 

[HCJ]

Thanks Kennyd, I have read many of your posts and earlier today even pulled up all of your threads as they always seemed interesting. I read about many of your projects already. Looks like you have done some intersting things!

 

[bandit67]

Nice work on mounting the lights Bandit. I like how you put Caplugs in the ends of the tubing, and covers on the threads of your bolts to protect your head from cuts.

Are you going to put the wires in plastic loom? That would finish it off very nicely.

Here are a couple of older pics of the lights wire-loomed (before the FEL plow).

 

[mjncad]

Conifer is a nice area Bandit. Are you ready for another winter? I hope you don't have to commute on 285 and can work from home or locally.

 

[bjr]

I skimmed thru the Posts and was trying find out the paticulars on the lights. I'm needing a new work light for the rear. I want something bullet proof as the fender vibrates pretty good where it mounts. Is there such a thing as LED work lights? If so what vender should I look for? bjr

 

[Builder]

I skimmed thru the Posts and was trying find out the paticulars on the lights. I'm needing a new work light for the rear. I want something bullet proof as the fender vibrates pretty good where it mounts. Is there such a thing as LED work lights? If so what vender should I look for? bjr

Check NAPA auto parts. They have a nice selection at my local store for tractors & trucks.

 

[HCJtractor]

I skimmed thru the Posts and was trying find out the paticulars on the lights. I'm needing a new work light for the rear. I want something bullet proof as the fender vibrates pretty good where it mounts. Is there such a thing as LED work lights? If so what vender should I look for? bjr

Yes, LED lights are available. LED technology is really improving and it offers the advantage of longer life, lower amp, etc. Their brightness is much improved. I bought LED lights by Truck-Lite. I think Advance Auto, Truck Pro, and many retailers sell them. They are a little pricey, costing about $100 each. They make a trapezoidal spot that really projects, and a flood that is a broader, more diffuse light that would be a better rear work light. They are very well made with stainless steel hardware. I don't have the part # with me but if you can't find them, let me know and I can look them up.

I also have another really awesome LED flashlight made by Streamlight. It is very small, uses two 123 Lithium photo batteries, but has a larger than normal lense/reflector. Its is called a Super Tac. Man, is it bright. It projects a beam like a big spotlight, and has a 3 hour run time. I was bow hunting the other day and when it became dark, out of curiosity I turned it on and shined it around my stand which was in a large open kudzu patch. There were eyes shining all around as far as several hundred yards away. I decided to turn it off so a game warden would not think I was spotlighting. But it is a nice light if anyone needs a powerful compact light.

 

[BearKiller]

I didn't read every single post, so what I say may have already been covered.


1. A tractor is not a truck and I see no need to complicate a simple light wiring system by using relays.

A relay is no more than a remote switch that is subject to all the arcing and failures of a plain old toggle-switch.

I would run the power, fused of course, straight through a big toggle-switch, and on to the lights.

You want a switch that sounds like Matt Dillon cocking his .45 when you turn it ON/OFF.

A big toggle-switch will far outlast any relay.


2. I have gotten in the habit of putting those simple generic available everywhere two-wire pigtails on every 12-volt accessory I install, especially every light (not including markers).

Having a pigtail, instead of being hard-wired, it is a simple matter to un-plug the light and remove it for any servicing it may require.


3. Don't trust the tractor/vehicle frame as your only GROUNDing point.

Go ahead and GROUND to the frame via any mounting bolts/screws; but, also, run a seperate GROUND wire, from the bulb itself, directly back to a dedicated terminal bar that is directly connected to battery-negative; this one policy will eliminate 99% of all light troubles.

 

[bandit67]

Conifer is a nice area Bandit. Are you ready for another winter? I hope you don't have to commute on 285 and can work from home or locally.

We moved up here a little over 2 years ago from Boulder County. Love it up here. We're actually much closer to metro Denver now than before.

Unfortunately, I may be having to commute all the way to Boulder starting in a couple of months. Not really looking forward to that. And though I used to be able to telecommute when the weather was bad, it doesn't look like that is going to be a possibility with this latest opportunity.

But I am thankful to have a chance to bring in money in this economy. Too many folks out there can't say the same.

 

[bjr]

Bear

I've some maintenance background on my resume and I agree a hundred percent about the relays. They tend to get overused. They do have their application. I'm so over the hill now that the LED stuff is after my time, so I'm tryin to learn 'bout this new stuff. Is there a special flasher for the LED stop turn signals for low amp draw? I was thinking of mounting a set of LED stop turn on my Jinma JM354, but propbably would need the whole nine yards, you know turn signal switch and flasher unit to get the brake switch to work with turn signals. I do go down the road once in while and it would be nice to have the legal contraptions. bjr

 

[bandit67]

1. A tractor is not a truck and I see no need to complicate a simple light wiring system by using relays.

A relay is no more than a remote switch that is subject to all the arcing and failures of a plain old toggle-switch.

I would run the power, fused of course, straight through a big toggle-switch, and on to the lights.

You want a switch that sounds like Matt Dillon cocking his .45 when you turn it ON/OFF.

A big toggle-switch will far outlast any relay.

Yeah, but some of us wanted the sweet looking, expensive factory switches. The less expensive relays can protect the more expensive switches, and are easy enough to replace if/when they fail.

2. I have gotten in the habit of putting those simple generic available everywhere two-wire pigtails on every 12-volt accessory I install, especially every light (not including markers).

Having a pigtail, instead of being hard-wired, it is a simple matter to un-plug the light and remove it for any servicing it may require.

I agree that this is very good advice for ease of future maintenance.

3. Don't trust the tractor/vehicle frame as your only GROUNDing point.

Go ahead and GROUND to the frame via any mounting bolts/screws; but, also, run a seperate GROUND wire, from the bulb itself, directly back to a dedicated terminal bar that is directly connected to battery-negative; this one policy will eliminate 99% of all light troubles.

OK, but that can be fairly complicated - running the power wire was enough of a bear (pardon the pun ) to run. A long run of ground wire the entire length of the machine presents that many more chances of shorting out due to chaffing, cutting, tearing, corrosion, etc. Checking the mounting/ground bolts to be sure they're tight is fairly quick and easy, and is narrowed down to an easy to find location.

 

[Soundguy]

. A long run of ground wire the entire length of the machine presents that many more chances of shorting out due to chaffing, cutting, tearing, corrosion, etc. .

OHHH..... the ground wire shorting to.... -=*GROUND*=- .. sounds bad!



Sorry.. but I'm going to have to ask you to relinquish your wire cutters after that coment


soundguy

 

[bandit67]

OHHH..... the ground wire shorting to.... -=*GROUND*=- .. sounds bad!



Sorry.. but I'm going to have to ask you to relinquish your wire cutters after that coment


soundguy

OK, you're right, shorting was not what I should have said. I have had an instance of the ground wire not grounding due to corrosion/dirt buildup. Additional chaffing won't hurt the ground, but potential subsequent corrosion at that point may stop the ground. Kind of a pain to track that mess down.

 

[Soundguy]

Since the issue was installing a REDUNDANT ground in addition to the chassie ground.. I don't see any 'negatives' ( pun intended ) here.

heck.. run a bare copper from some 10-2.. or one of the black/white solids... it's just going to conduct some electrons.. your not wireing up a flux capacitor for a hyperdrive or anything.

wire the redundant ground with a well greased connection to the gound plane and then to the prefered chassie ground where the battery mounts up. I've even installed upgrade ground wires on tractors that had the auxiliary leads on them for just that purpose.. to mount to a barrier strip or ground bar for the purpose of installing redundant grounds.

ground bar out of a salvage breaker box works GREAT for this.

for wires that are not in movement.. solid house wire is fine. Had radios and worklamps on my tractors wired up for YEARS like that.. plus.. the hd romex or direct burry' wire with sheath is quite resistant to uv, and abrasion. I realize stranded is prefered for a primary conductor.. but inthis case.. solid is fine.

I still love that. I got to tell the other engineer's I work with .. ie.. worries about common redundant grounds shorting to.... ground..

soundguy

 

[mjncad]

We moved up here a little over 2 years ago from Boulder County. Love it up here. We're actually much closer to metro Denver now than before.

Unfortunately, I may be having to commute all the way to Boulder starting in a couple of months. Not really looking forward to that. And though I used to be able to telecommute when the weather was bad, it doesn't look like that is going to be a possibility with this latest opportunity.

But I am thankful to have a chance to bring in money in this economy. Too many folks out there can't say the same.

I don't envy you the possibility of driving 285 to C-470 to however one connects to 93 these days to get to Boulder.

 

[bandit67]

Well, mistyped stupid comments aside, I still am not a fan of long runs of ground wires in vehicles.

But, I probably went a little overboard with the ground wires on my ROPS light project. 4 worklights, each tied in to 5 different grounding bolts, with the furthest ground wire run down the ROPS to just below the fender.

 

[BearKiller]

Is there a special flasher for the LED stop turn signals for low amp draw? I was thinking of mounting a set of LED stop turn on my Jinma JM354, but propbably would need the whole nine yards, you know turn signal switch and flasher unit to get the brake switch to work with turn signals. I do go down the road once in while and it would be nice to have the legal contraptions. bjr

Seeing as how you can simply replace plain old 1157s with LEDs on trucks/trailers and them still work, I sort of figure that whatever flasher you have should work with the LEDs.

Myself, I am not a fan of LEDs in anything but a flashlight or an indicator light; I see too many big trucks that have about half the little "Ds" either constantly flickering or completely out, making a $200,000 rig look less than well maintained; I will stick with my plain old incandescants.


If you do have a brake-light switch and want to have both, flashers and brake-lights, many times I have added a second bulb into a single-bulb housing, by soldering a length of solid copper wire to the GROUND housing of the bulb, looping the copper into a screw-eyelet for mounting.

Connect one bulb to the brake-light switch, the other to the flasher switch, which can be a plain old SPDT for LEFT and RIGHT signals, with a SPST to tie both legs together for FLASHERs; wired thus, applying the brakes does not kill the flashing.