Too hot for the alternater?

[jbw1963]

I am getting ready to start my ROP lighting project and want to get some opinions on the lights I am thinking about using. I have been considering using 130 watt off road lights, two forward, one to the rear. Would these be too hot for the alternator? or should I go with the 55 watt halogens instead? I want to throw as much light as possible.

 

[Singlemalt]

It's amazing how little light it takes to see in the dark.

 

[Whitnel]

I just put some lights on mine. I found that two 35 watts out front were not enough. I ended up with two 35 watt and 2 55 watt out front and 1 55 watt out back. Don't know how much charge your alternator puts out but 3 - 130 watt lights will suck up 32.5 amps if all on at the same time.

 

[VictorW]

My CK30hst has a 50 amp alternator. Maybe a bigger DK has a larger output. That may be only leaving @17 amps for the rest of the tractor if all three were on. I would be trying less wattage lights. You'll be surprised at what those 55 watt lights will do. I have one for the rear and I see fine.

 

[LBrown59]

Two 55 watt lites will give you 2 360 degree circles of light all around your tractor .
It all depends on how they are mounted and wired up.

 

[Coyote machine]

If I were concerned about my alternator's output I would get some LED lights which do not use as much energy- amps from the alternator. Less strain on your tractor.
Try superbrightleds.com

LED lights are more expensive than halogen or std bulb lights but they offer longer lasting bulbs and lower wattage usage. Check out the section that shows lights for RV's, Fork lifts, atv's, etc.

 

[BobRip]

The rating of an alternator is based upon the engine running fast. At idle it is much lower. So you can easily run the battery down at idle. With LEDs you can run for quite a while with the engine off. I have each front lite on a separate switch so I can reduce the power consumption when needed.

 

[Coyote machine]

The rating of an alternator is based upon the engine running fast. At idle it is much lower. So you can easily run the battery down at idle. With LEDs you can run for quite a while with the engine off. I have each front lite on a separate switch so I can reduce the power consumption when needed.

What lights are you running on your rig?

 

[BobRip]

What lights are you running on your rig?

I have three LED headlights. Two in front and one in back. I don't know the brand. The $60 one puts out a lot more light than the $30 one. With the 15 amp alternator on the Power Trac 422, I was concerned about discharging the battery. There is a cooling fan that pulls about 5 amps, so that takes 1/3 of the current.

Edit. The nicer one has only 7 leds, versus many on the not so nice. It also had a flat heat sink grid on the back, versus a rounded back. It is several years old, so there are probably better ones out. It is not as bright as the Halogen ones I had earlier, but very adequate.

Another Edit: The LED is a truck star with 6 LEDs and is sold by Northern Tool for $69. It pulls a little over 1 amp, one fith of a typical headlight.

 

[Coyote machine]

Thanks Bob, This will hopefully be useful to the op too.

 

[5030]

The alternator supplies amperage to the storage device, the flooded cell battery. All your posts concern is running additional amperage and overtaxing the alternator which probably won't happen because the lights aren't on all the time.

I added 4 additional 55 watt halogens to my M9 for night work and it's 50 amp juice provider has no problem and that includes the computer and the electricals to run the round bailer plus the on board electronics for the real time moisture sensor outfit and the acid application hardware plus it's pump and magnetic controlers.

The only way you'll wind up with too little juice is if the battery is marginal or your alternator has a faulty voltage regulator.

Probably the most forgotten item is properly fused circuits for auxilliary items not supplied by the OEM.

I added an electric fan to my AC condensor as well to keep me cool when the engine is idling in hot weather and I powered it through a relay in line with the a/c compressor magnetic clutch feed.

It's like your home. The total sum of all your appilances, the lighting and everything else you have that is electrical powered is most likely many amps above what your service is..... but you don't power everything at once.

 

[mrutkaus]

Here are some sort of newish LED 12 flood lights on ebay, they look like they would be good for the tractor, I'm thinking of getting the rectangular one:

justforlive2008 | eBay

Mike