Upgrading factory work lights - L6060

[jk96]

Decided the factory lights on the L6060 I just purchased weren't cutting it. Ending up removing the 4 factory lights and replaced with a couple of led light bars.

For the rear I installed the blazer single row 52 inch bar. I know the 52 inch is overkill but it fit perfectly without modifications to the existing factory brackets so 52inch it was.

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Up front I added the blazer 24" bar. It took some modification but still pretty simple. Only required cutting off the bolt tabs on the factory brackets and adding a piece of steel flat bar stock between the two brackets to mount the light to.

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These things turn night to day. My only concern is going to be plowing snow. Not sure if they will generate enough heat if any to melt snow buildup. I'll try to get a few night pics soon to post.

 

[Roadworthy]

Will the factory work light circuits carry the added load or did you do some rewiring, too?

 

[jk96]

Will the factory work light circuits carry the added load or did you do some rewiring, too?

The L6060 cab model has a 15 amp fuse for the work lights. The 52" bar is rated at 8.4 amps and the 24" is 4.9 amps for a total of 12.9. I was crossing my fingers that the led ratings were correct but no issues so far.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Does the rear light interfere with opening the back window?

 

[RjCorazza]

Very nice install. I used (2) 9" wide 55 watt LED's front and rear on my L4060 a few years ago. The stock 60a alternator keeps up with the tractor lights all on, but I usually leave the oem headlights lights off unless I'm on the road.
I have not had any issues with the lights during snow removal, including blowing. The only issue I have with the LED lights on my tractor is that there is no going back to incandescent!

 

[jk96]

Does the rear light interfere with opening the back window?

The windshield wiper will hit the light bar when opened so could be a problem if you operate with the back window open. The only time I ever open the rear indow is to turn a sprayer on or off, otherwise it stays closed. There is plenty of opening for that so it's not a problem for me.

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[Fallon]

Keep an eye on the rear bar. Yours looks thinner & lighter than mine, but I'm not clear if its mounted to the hazard arms similar to mine. At any rate one of my hazzard arms got fatigued & broke off due to the extra weight hanging that far out. I ended up welding on some supports to repair & prevent future issues.

My measurements on my cheap LED bars showed them drawing a little over half their rated wattage if I recall. So I may have been able to avoid the overkill wiring project I did on mine & just use stock wiring.

Documented the build, issues & stuff on https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/376458-let-there-light-l4060-light.html.

 

[jk96]

Thanks for the heads up. Yes mine is mounted to the hazard arms as well however I'm using a single row led bar where it looks like you used a double row. I imagine there is quite a bit of weight difference between the two.

 

[jk96]

Here's a quick wrap up on the install. Left both front and rear lights on while working the tractor for a few hours yesterday. No issues at all running off the factory wiring. I was a little concerned about the factory wire gauge on the larger rear light bar but put an ir thermometer on the wiring before heat shrinking it yesterday and there was no warm up to it at all. Read about the same as the ambient outside temp. The rear light bar seems to be lite enough for the current mount on the hazard bar supports without any additional support needed. There is very little movement over rough ground. If that changes I'll update the post. This seems to be a very easy upgrade for even the novice tractor owner. Only thing needed is a piece of flat bar stock, a couple of nuts and bolts, grinding wheel with cutoff blade, drill bit, and some electrical tape/heat shrink. I think the install both front and back could easily be done in an hour minus the time to paint the front support bracket. Here's a couple of night pics. Don't forget to turn the lights of for oncoming traffic if roading. They are bright.

Also forgot to mention previously that the front factory L brackets had to be bent out slightly from 90 degress to move the mount away from the front glass a bit.

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Front view

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Rear View

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[PILOON]

Having switched to LED's for 2 seasons I'd suggest you'll not have problems as LEDs do create enough heat to avoid snow/ice problems.
I rapidly switched to LEDs as my CUT has limited alternator output but I wanted to see and be seen.

 

[jk96]

Having switched to LED's for 2 seasons I'd suggest you'll not have problems as LEDs do create enough heat to avoid snow/ice problems.
I rapidly switched to LEDs as my CUT has limited alternator output but I wanted to see and be seen.

Good to know

 

[TimP]

Nice Clean Job JK96.

The light output looks Great !

 

[buck12]

Thanks for posting. Better lighting is on my todo list.

 

[OrangeMuscle]

I also upgraded the lights. Just picked up my new L6060 and added two light bars. 48" curved for the front, and 52" curved for the rear. After installing them I found that I was overwhelming the 15 amp fuse that was designated for the work lights. I swapped it out for a 30 amp fuse and it works great now. I also got the hi amp alternator. The lights are amazingly bright. I also love the way they look even when they are off. So sharp looking. I will post some nighttime pics soon.

 

[Fallon]

I also upgraded the lights. Just picked up my new L6060 and added two light bars. 48" curved for the front, and 52" curved for the rear. After installing them I found that I was overwhelming the 15 amp fuse that was designated for the work lights. I swapped it out for a 30 amp fuse and it works great now. I also got the hi amp alternator. The lights are amazingly bright. I also love the way they look even when they are off. So sharp looking. I will post some nighttime pics soon.

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That is a HORRIBLE idea. Pull that fuse immediately. Fuses dont protect things, they protect wire. If you pull more amps through a wire than its rated for, it turns into a heater element. You are quite likely to burn your machine (or house or whatever) down if you put a big fuse or circuit breaker on small wire bad things happen.

Unless you know all the wire is 10ga or bigger & you are going to run into voltage drop issues. Those wires were reasonably small if I recall, so probably only barely rated to 15@. All the switches need to be rated for 30@ or more as well. Switching higher amperage eats switches up quickly, not to mention being a fire hazard as well. Generally switches arent rated for more than 15@. Any bigger than 15 or so needs a relay to not fry and or cause voltage loss issues.

Automotive Wire -12 Volt - American Made - WiringProducts. Ltd. & many others have have charts for wire gauge vs amps & acceptable wire lengths.

 

[jk96]

Fallon you are correct. Not sure the guage but the factory wire is small enough that I had concerns even though I'm pulling under 15 amps. So much so that I ran both the front and rears while working after install and checked the wires with an ir thermometer just to make sure they were not heating up. They were not but drawing more than 15 amps is likely to melt those wires.

 

[OrangeMuscle]

That is a HORRIBLE idea. Pull that fuse immediately. Fuses dont protect things, they protect wire. If you pull more amps through a wire than its rated for, it turns into a heater element. You are quite likely to burn your machine (or house or whatever) down if you put a big fuse or circuit breaker on small wire bad things happen.

Unless you know all the wire is 10ga or bigger & you are going to run into voltage drop issues. Those wires were reasonably small if I recall, so probably only barely rated to 15@. All the switches need to be rated for 30@ or more as well. Switching higher amperage eats switches up quickly, not to mention being a fire hazard as well. Generally switches arent rated for more than 15@. Any bigger than 15 or so needs a relay to not fry and or cause voltage loss issues.

Automotive Wire -12 Volt - American Made - WiringProducts. Ltd. & many others have have charts for wire gauge vs amps & acceptable wire lengths.

Wow, I had no idea. It was the Kubota dealer who installed them. When I told them they weren't working after after turning them on only once, they switched out the 15 amp fuse for the 30 amp. I will pull it out immediately. I did buy the heavy duty harness kit that was recommended to buy with from Amazon. Dealer said it was unnecessary. Now I realize I should run the new heavy harness kit. What a mess. I thought I was all set. No idea who I can find to do this job. Thank you very much for letting know how dangerous this is. Now I realize after reading your thread about your install why it was so involved. Because you did it safely and correctly.

 

[5030]

Does the rear light interfere with opening the back window?

My question as well.... Don't look like the window will open with that bar in place.

 

[Fallon]

My question as well.... Don't look like the window will open with that bar in place.

No issues with my rear or side windows opening fully on mine. I assume the bottom of his bar is even with mine as they are both mounted to the hazard light arms. My supports I put in later dont interfere either. Close where it mounts at the bottom, but doesnt touch either window open or closed.

 

[Fallon]

Wow, I had no idea. It was the Kubota dealer who installed them. When I told them they weren't working after after turning them on only once, they switched out the 15 amp fuse for the 30 amp. I will pull it out immediately. I did buy the heavy duty harness kit that was recommended to buy with from Amazon. Dealer said it was unnecessary. Now I realize I should run the new heavy harness kit. What a mess. I thought I was all set. No idea who I can find to do this job. Thank you very much for letting know how dangerous this is. Now I realize after reading your thread about your install why it was so involved. Because you did it safely and correctly.

Yup, I went a bit overkill on mine in some spots (4ga up to the fuse box), but I wanted to make mine safe & future proof. I can safely replace several of my low 5@ & 10@ fuses on my auxiliary fuse box as every component is a minimum of 14ga, mostly 12ga. Switches are probably rated to 15@, but they just drive relays with under 1@ that are 30@ or so. Generally OEM systems have the fuse matching the max rating of the wire. So unless you know the wire & other components are heavier than the OEM fuse, never ever put in a bigger fuse. A fuse is just a small bit of wire in a flame retardant case. If you upsize it, the wire will be the bit that heats up & melts, not the fuse. A fiery death for your machine or house usually follows.

I put in 5@ fuses running the switches & relays as an extra layer of protection. No need for bigger fuses despite the wire & stuff being rated for 3x what the fuse is. I want that fuse to blow WAY faster if there are any issues.

The good news is this isn't rocket science. A competent car stereo guy should be able to wire it in properly. They might need to be shown how to pop the roof off, maybe the trim. But the rest is just running the appropriate sized wires around then putting in the switches & relays in.