Tractor lighting opinions

[lbeckm3]

I'm purchasing a 36" blower from a fellow member and got to thinking about lights on my 611LT, mainly the part about it not having any! So, the other day I stopped in at Tractor Supply Company to have a look around and they carry the round lights encased in steel very similar in appearance to the older Simplicity/Allis "bug eye" lights. I really am torn weather to get two of these and wire them up and mount them on the vertical sides of the front grill area, or to try and get the "factory" square lights for a much cleaner appearance. The other part that throws me is that with snow blowing this winter, I'm bound to be doing it early in the morning, or late in the evening when its dark out, so illumination would be quite important. It appears, in pictures, that the blower blocks the headlights in the stock position? Is that true? Anyone dissatisfied with the stock location/brightness of the lights with a similar tractor? I've included a pic of what the front of my tractor looks like so you can see what I mean.

[roma3112]

lyle On my 2 tractors I dont find that the lights are blocked by the blower at all.On my 3112h they are mounted on the corners of the hood and on the new Sovereign they are in the grille. The only complaint I have is that on the new sovereign the "lights" i think were more of a decoration!! I find that they are way underpowerd. I like yourself are limited somtimes to early or late chores(even mowing ) I find the headlights on the old machine give me plenty of visibility and useable light, whereas the new machine barely illuminates a few feet infront of the machine. If you want to keep the machine you have looking stock and put lights in the grill, i would look for some high intensity bulbs.. good luck john b

[IronPony]

I think that my Kohler engine installed in a 700 series AC tractor has the optional 70 watt lighting stator. With this arrangement, how do I chose new/better lights to replace the originals without drawing more power than the system can provide and still charge the battery? My tractor is about a 78 AC712. Dan

[mowerman1193]

I had a Simplicity 4211 equivalant to your tractor and it had the factory lights on it..they did a good enough job for me but I never had anything on it for snow removal so I don't know if the blower would block the lights or not... They seemed to be "almost" as bright as any of the older tractors I had with the bug eye lights..I just can't answer the blockage questions...

[lbeckm3]

Well, I think I'll wait until the blower is hooked up and eyeball things after that. Anyone know, if I do go with the internal square bulbs, where to get them? Any numbers etc.? And I suppose I'll need some sort of brackets etc. to mount them. I looked through the manual but there was no help there at all, other than a wiring diagram. Thanks! -Lyle

[Bunky]

Well My 7016H has headlights in the Grille like the tractor you have.. I tried plowing the other night with it I couldn't hardly see.. I would say put on some lights on the outside and maybe get alittle brighter set then the factory one's JMO

[gregc]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I believe the round lights on my Broadmoor 738 put out much more light than the rectangular lights of my 4212H or my 7014S. I'll have to take them all out sometime at night and compare.

[RedbarnRick]

all of my tractors have the factory lights and the blower blocks alot of the light, I just recently wired up a pair of blazer brand off road lights from walmart on the rear fenders one forward and one facing back what a difference, now I can see both front and rear. I plan on adding the round bug eye type to my other tractors, there are pics posted in show and tell see what you think.

[lbeckm3]

Appreciate all the replies here! Looks like I may not use the stock locations after all. Thinking about it, it would be nice to have one on the rear fender facing backwards like RedbarnRick was mentioning - nice for backing up! Or, what about some sort of swivel mount so you could point it wherever needed (both forward, off to the side to see where the snow is going, etc.). I'll post a pic of my results after getting everything hooked up (end of this month, or beginning of next month). Stock appearance is slipping, but functionality is moving up!

[mowerman1193]

quote:

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Originally posted by gregc
Maybe I'm mistaken, but I believe the round lights on my Broadmoor 738 put out much more light than the rectangular lights of my 4212H or my 7014S. I'll have to take them all out sometime at night and compare.

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Greg,My 4211 lights was as bright as any of the other tractor lights I have had...They was even brighter than some of the newer tractors I have had with the same style lights...I wonder if someone put in those higher wattage lights...They have 35w. and 55w. lights that will fit in those light sockets...They are avalible through auto parts stores and people use them for brighter back up lights...

[lucius]

I just received the pair of light brackets that I bought from Scott Salmons for my B-112. Great quality, great price! I recommend them to anyone needing this type of bracket. Thanks Scott. Milt Lucius

[gregc]

Kevin, It's possible that our tractors, with the rectangular lights, are wired different and have different wattage bulbs. Mine have dual circuit alternators and the lights are dependent on the engine speed for brightness. I can have a maximum of 100 watts total, but the alternator doesn't output 12v until 3600 rpm is reached. Could be that your lights are battery operated and maybe even have more wattage than mine.

[mowerman1193]

Greg,you might have something there...My tractor only required to have the ignition on to run the lights..motor didn't have to run...this was handy at night trying to get to the light switch in my garage as I didn't have a switch right by the door.I would park the tractor near the door where the yard light would give off enough light to see the tractor and I would turn the tractor lights on to walk across the garage to hit the garage lights...My 728 is wired up like this too..bout the only tractors I have had this way and I like it much better than having to have the motor full throddle to see...

[HubbardRA]

Why not mount a couple of aftermarket "Fog" or "driving" lights on brackets attached to the Blower, with a plug-in connector to the tractor. Make brackets and raise the lights at least a foot above the top of the blower. You can then aim them where you need them.

[IronPony]

Rod, Good idea on mounting lights on blower. Guess vibration could shorten life of bulbs?? But I still like the idea. Now, how much more power can I draw from this tractor and still charge the battery? Dan

[HubbardRA]

Dan, Get the cheaper, low wattage bulbs since you only want to see a short range in front of you. You may also want to unplug any other lights on the tractor. I would also make sure to have a #51R battery, not a garden tractor battery. The 51R has nearly double the capacity of a garden tractor battery. It may also be good to install a volt gage so that you can see the voltage level of your battery. I thought I had a charging problem with one of my tractors, since I had to jump start it every time. Replaced the one year old garden tractor battery with a 51R and haven't had any problems since. I can't tell you about the number of lights since I really don't know the capability of your chargine system. It is always good to wire each light on an individual switch so that you can turn them on only when needed. Many of these tractors were not designed to produce enough current for large electrical loads.