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extra lights
- Thread starter labaherd
- Start date
labaherd,
Start with this thread.
http://compacttractorreview.com/cs/forums/thread/4649.aspx
Attached is an older pic but it does show the front lights.
Basically, I ran a new wire from the battery thru a conduit up the rear cage which supplied me power for everything. If I recall, it was approx. 8 gauge wire.
There's a main disconnect near the battery (but that only gets used if/when I need to service the down-wire electric (since I'll loose my stereo pre-sets) and such.
As soon as the wire gets to the upper panel, I put a 50 amp inline fuse for everything. (This is right near the edge of the ceiling panel so I can reach it without having to remove the roof panel)
From there, it goes to a fuse block which then separates the power to each of the switches.
The switches then go to their respective light/stereo or whatever.
For the front mounted lights, there's a 4-wire trailer disconnect so I can unplug that to completely remove the roof panel (so I don't have to un-wire each of the roof mounted lights individually).
The spot light and strobe light plug in to the overhead 12v accessory plug and that plug is switched as well (so I don't have to unplug the strobe in particular to turn it off).
What kind of lights were you considering?
BTW - For my setup, I replaced the OEM battery with a deep-cycle marine battery which gives me significantly longer run times of lights and stereo without the RTV running.
Brian
Start with this thread.
http://compacttractorreview.com/cs/forums/thread/4649.aspx
Attached is an older pic but it does show the front lights.
Basically, I ran a new wire from the battery thru a conduit up the rear cage which supplied me power for everything. If I recall, it was approx. 8 gauge wire.
There's a main disconnect near the battery (but that only gets used if/when I need to service the down-wire electric (since I'll loose my stereo pre-sets) and such.
As soon as the wire gets to the upper panel, I put a 50 amp inline fuse for everything. (This is right near the edge of the ceiling panel so I can reach it without having to remove the roof panel)
From there, it goes to a fuse block which then separates the power to each of the switches.
The switches then go to their respective light/stereo or whatever.
For the front mounted lights, there's a 4-wire trailer disconnect so I can unplug that to completely remove the roof panel (so I don't have to un-wire each of the roof mounted lights individually).
The spot light and strobe light plug in to the overhead 12v accessory plug and that plug is switched as well (so I don't have to unplug the strobe in particular to turn it off).
What kind of lights were you considering?
BTW - For my setup, I replaced the OEM battery with a deep-cycle marine battery which gives me significantly longer run times of lights and stereo without the RTV running.
Brian
For the lights, I opted for the cheaper tractor lights. They're about $10 each and I don't worry about breaking them. Plenty of light...
The round ones have a nice, stout rubber casing. The rectangular ones have plastic which aren't as strong but they're better protected under the roof.
The round ones have a nice, stout rubber casing. The rectangular ones have plastic which aren't as strong but they're better protected under the roof.
I put extra lights on mine as well. The worklights in front and under the high rack are the standard Kubota/Curtis worklights run off the existing wiring in the factory bundle after installing the relay that is supplied with the light kit. The spot light on the front is a wireless remote controlled spot called a "GoLight" It was a piece of cake to install. The start relay and all of the control stuff is in the light. All you do is wire it up to 12 volts and put batteries in the remote control. It will rotate 370 degrees and tilt 170 degrees. The only tricky part was building the platform I put under it so it would remain fairly level, otherwise when you pan the light chasing hogs at night you have to keep changing the tilt angle. I wired it up to the cigarette lighter supply. I also put a great dome light in the cab. Somebody makes one for jeeps that has a curved mount designed to strap on to a roll bar. It worked great on the ROPS. </P>
Andrew</P>
Andrew</P>
I have a metal top, but my memory is the plastic top is pretty stout.With a plastic topI think I would lean toward mounting lights below the roof line, like Brian did, for fear of tearing them off going through some brush. Someone else I saw mounted two driving lights on the front brush guard. That would be more protected as well. Good luck with your project.</P>
Andrew</P>
Andrew</P>
Andrew is using the nice lights... I'm using the cheaper tractor lights (but I have a lot of them...[:|])
Andrew - I have a remote light like yours but one time when wiring, I crossed the +/- and think I fried it. Any idea how to get that light back in working order?
labaherd:
- the plastic roof works fine for the lights. There's no vibration or movement (which was a concern of mine).
- A light in the cab area is key!!
- As both of us mentioned/confirmed, a deep-cycle battery may be worth the investment.
- Re. "It looks like you and Brian both mounted the lights to your tops" they work great there until/unless you get it deep fog or a snow storm. When that happens, there's a lot of glare but then again, those are the times it's time to head for the shop and have an adult beverage instead of riding....
Andrew - I have a remote light like yours but one time when wiring, I crossed the +/- and think I fried it. Any idea how to get that light back in working order?
labaherd:
- the plastic roof works fine for the lights. There's no vibration or movement (which was a concern of mine).
- A light in the cab area is key!!
- As both of us mentioned/confirmed, a deep-cycle battery may be worth the investment.
- Re. "It looks like you and Brian both mounted the lights to your tops" they work great there until/unless you get it deep fog or a snow storm. When that happens, there's a lot of glare but then again, those are the times it's time to head for the shop and have an adult beverage instead of riding....
Brian, I recall looking at it before I installed it and all the control goodies are up inside the housing. If I were you, I'd be tempted to send it back to GoLight to see if they can fix it cheaper than a new light. Otherwise there are a dozen for sale on eBay. I really like mine.</P>
Ditto your comments about a cab light. Out in the boonies the cab can really get dark. Here's a web site link for the roll bar mounted dome light I bought. I am very happy with it:</P>
http://protopaccessories.stores.yahoo.net/doliforroba.html</P>
I also bought a small LED map light from Griot's Garage. It has a flexible gooseneck and plugs into the cigarette lighter for those times when I need a little light in the cab but don't want to light up like a giant lantern out in the field.</P>
Andrew</P>
Ditto your comments about a cab light. Out in the boonies the cab can really get dark. Here's a web site link for the roll bar mounted dome light I bought. I am very happy with it:</P>
http://protopaccessories.stores.yahoo.net/doliforroba.html</P>
I also bought a small LED map light from Griot's Garage. It has a flexible gooseneck and plugs into the cigarette lighter for those times when I need a little light in the cab but don't want to light up like a giant lantern out in the field.</P>
Andrew</P>
[quote user="ajdillon"]
I put extra lights on mine as well. The worklights in front and under the high rack are the standard Kubota/Curtis worklights run off the existing wiring in the factory bundle after installing the relay that is supplied with the light kit. ...Andrew</P>
[/quote]</P>
Andrew does the factory kit have a separate switch allowing the overhead lights to be turned on/off independently from the factory installed headlights?</P>
Thanks</P>
Doug</P>
I put extra lights on mine as well. The worklights in front and under the high rack are the standard Kubota/Curtis worklights run off the existing wiring in the factory bundle after installing the relay that is supplied with the light kit. ...Andrew</P>
[/quote]</P>
Andrew does the factory kit have a separate switch allowing the overhead lights to be turned on/off independently from the factory installed headlights?</P>
Thanks</P>
Doug</P>
Yep, the factory kit includes a switch and the work lights are switched separately from the headlights. I did originally use a switch that had two positions, center off, up front lights on and down rear lights on. I was worried about the current load if both sets of lights were on at the same time. Turned out that if I switched front front to rear too fast it blew a fuse. I did a little research and found out the relay would handle all four lights at once and so would the factory work light circuit. I put separate switches for the front and back lights and ran them both off the relay supplied with one of the kits. Now I can run either or both and it never blows the fuse. Good luck with your install.</P>
Andrew</P>
Andrew</P>