Brucep Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 Ok, who can tell me what I need to do to mount a couple head lights and a fender light facing the rear on my tractor? Besides buying the brakets and lights that is. Seems like I heard or read that some thing would have to be done to the electrical system to handle the extra load. it's a 1972 3410.
Boney Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 I believe it would depend on the tractor you have. Some here {other than myself} know a lot about electrical systems on tractors and can get as technical as you want. They will need more info to help you out i believe.
thedaddycat Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 Your tractor will use the pods that mount on the sides of the hood, and you'll have to have a couple of jumpers and a switch. There will be no need to modify the electrical system other than to run the proper wiring, but I would suggest using a Type 51 battery. This is the largest battery that will fit into the available space, it is actually a car battery and much higher capacity than the garden tractor batteries commonly found.
mswyka Posted September 29, 2004 Posted September 29, 2004 I have one tractor without lights and two tractors with lights. The problem, as I see is is that the lights are in the wrong place. If I want to mow at night, with the lights in the front I cannot see the front wheel or the mower deck edge that I want to align with the edge of what I just cut. When I blow snow, the lighs shine into the chute and spraying snow. I am thinking of adding a sort of roll bar arrangement light bar that will let me see the mower deck and out in front of the blower as well as behind. And I might even add a rotating beacon for effect while snowblowing out against the highway.
Brucep Posted September 29, 2004 Author Posted September 29, 2004 So your front lights shine into the shoot instead of out in front of you? Do you have a light on your fender? I'm asking because I thought maybe that one could be easiely rotated or the direction of it changed for seeing your mower cut if that's what you needed.
Kent Posted September 29, 2004 Posted September 29, 2004 That's why many farm tractors put the headlights on the rear fenders, so you could see a belly-mounted implement. The PowrMax size machines did so, also...
Dutch Posted September 29, 2004 Posted September 29, 2004 Do you want the lights to be for “show” or “work”? Do you want your 3410 to be OEM or do you want maximum functionality? If you want OEM, consider that the bulbs used on the 4 headlight “pod” system are hard to find and are expensive. If you just want workable lights, select the bulbs carefully. Assume your starter/generator will put out a continuous 15 amps. Volts x amps = watts. Therefore, 12 volts x 15 amps = 180 watts. That means you can have a total of 180 watts of bulbs lit without discharging your battery. If the bulbs lit exceed the amount the generator is producing, your battery will start to drain if your 20 amp circuit breaker doesn’t open. Since the Briggs engine will run without a battery, you will only notice the bulbs getting dimmer. However, if the engine stalls or you turn it off…….. that’s it. You won’t be able to restart it. Lights should be located for what best suits your needs. I installed additional side lights on one of my tractors for night mowing. Lights can be separately switched so only the ones you are using will be lit. Snowthrowing presents other problems. The snow being blown reflects light. Misplaced lights may actually decrease visibility.
Brucep Posted September 29, 2004 Author Posted September 29, 2004 Lot's of good info. I want the lights for work and maximum functionality but I don't want to purchase some thing that doesn't look like it belongs on the old girl. I understand the problem with snowthrowing also. Thanks for pointing that out. My initial thought on that is, I could wire the head lights on seperate swithes so I could use the light on the oposite side that I am blowing snow to see where I am going. This does sound like it could be a pain when working the tractor but if the reflection is actualy that bad, it may be worth the hassle. I'm not a fan of the snow but I sure like to move it and help out my neighbors. Yeeha!
cwm1276 Posted September 29, 2004 Posted September 29, 2004 Bruce, you got me thinking too on lights. What is other experience with snow blowing with lights, I have a 7117, are the headlights good enough? I understand with snow flying it is somewhat difficult no matter what.
UCD Posted September 29, 2004 Posted September 29, 2004 This is what I use for lights on the 7790. A set of the quad lights from the 33/3400 and early 7000 series tractor mounted on top of the snow cab.
Brucep Posted September 29, 2004 Author Posted September 29, 2004 Neet set up. That's the way to blow snow. I'll bet you get some work done with that, and stay dry.
mswyka Posted October 1, 2004 Posted October 1, 2004 An additional comment on those little light bulbs for the 70 series tractors. I have used 12 volt halogen bulbs that can be bought at any Home Depot in the lighting dept. The base is different so it requires a minor wiring change, but they are relatively inexpensive and the what I have used have been in my tractor for at least 10 years and have not needed replacement
Ronald Hribar Posted October 1, 2004 Posted October 1, 2004 I'm going to copy Maynards cab right down to the strobe light. And was thinking i should have a light facing back for snow blowing also.
clyde Posted October 1, 2004 Posted October 1, 2004 quote:originally posted by mswyka An additional comment on those little light bulbs for the 70 series tractors. I have used 12 volt halogen bulbs that can be bought at any Home Depot in the lighting dept. The base is different so it requires a minor wiring change, but they are relatively inexpensive and the what I have used have been in my tractor for at least 10 years and have not needed replacement Mark, did Home Depot have a base for these lights also? I'm guessing they are the MR16 bulb(?). I found a couple of places the have the MR16 with the right base: [url]http://www.bulbco.com/halogenmr16dc.html[/url] I know the MR16 is the right diameter, but with the right base they look a little long for the original housing.
mswyka Posted October 1, 2004 Posted October 1, 2004 The bulb was the same dia and length as stock, the base had two pins rather than the bayonet mount. I made my own connection for the bulb with some solderless connectors. But if I ever do it again, I will likely solder the wires right to the bulb.
Ronald Hribar Posted October 1, 2004 Posted October 1, 2004 I do not think the MR-16 are retained in housing the same way as original bulb. And there are several versions of the bulb some are about same wattage and others are higher. And some have lenses and others do not. Other than trying to look original, I think the single larger headlight are the way to go. I have a set of the original style lights and housing(Brand New but old) that i will use on cab.
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