Lights

[Gomez]

I'm looking to improve the lighting on my B2400. I rememeber someone saying they replaced the bulb with a 55 watt halogen and they weren't sure how the lens was going to hold up. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Bird]

Gomez, if you go back to the archives, you can probably find some long threads on this topic. PaulB, and some others, I believe changed bulbs in their headlights to get better illumination, but I don't think they went as high as 55 watts. Just remember to divide the total watts on the circuit by the volts to get amps and don't exceed the amperage rating of your fuses. My B2710 has 23 watt bulbs in the headlights and 27 watt bulbs in the turn signal/emergency flashers, and I added a 55 watt work light on the front and one on the rear, but with a switch so that both will never be turned on at the same time.

Bird

 

[M. Sullivan]

Sorry I do not have the answer here, but do have a related question: Where is the best place to tap the power on a B2710 to add aux. lighting. Plan to mount halogen auto grade fog lamps on the inside top of the ROPS (without drilling), one facing front and one rear. Planned to ground on a ROPS to chassis bolt. Any other ideas/experiences on what to use and where to mount appreciated. Tx!

Agree with the

 

[Bird]

M.Sullivan, you'll find a connector for the additional lights under the seat (mine was actually just to the right of the seat and taped to one of the wires going to the tail lights or emergency flashers). It's already fused and wired through the ignition switch, i.e., only hot when the key is on. Of course, there's a tool box under the seat and if you remove it (two bolts) there's a grounding bolt under the tool box where the other lights are grounded. I ran my ground wire for my work lights to that same ground.

Bird

 

[Lkraus]

I found bulbs at the local Pep Boys auto store that have 55W halogen bulbs in the same style sockets as the original bulbs on my B2400. I believe they were about $16 for the pair. I've only used them for a couple of hours so far (plowing snow this winter). They are fairly bright, but I think a lot of light gets lost on its way through the Kubota plastic lens. Or maybe I need to clear the dust out of the inside. The bulbs are intended to be used as backup light replacements for cars, and after purchasing them I saw a notice on the box that they are not intended for off-road use, so vibration might be a problem. I think I've seen similar bulbs in the JC Whitney catalog, you may wish to look up their web site if this sounds interesting.

 

[PaulB]

I did 2 things to my 1700. The first was to simply pop out the stock headlight bulbs and put in the brightest bulbs that NAPA had which would fit, which were 27 watt (stock is 15). This helped some. Then I mounted two 35 watt trapezoidal beam lights, one facing forward and one backwards. I found the hookup behind the seat, ran a wire from there to a toggle switch which I mounted to the rear fender. From the toggle switch I then ran one wire to each light. I got self-grounding lights because it seemed easier. I mounted these lights one on each fender. Higher up on the ROPS would be nice, but I did not want to drill into my ROPS, and every attemopt I made at rigging up a non-drilled mount was flimsy. Some had expressed concern that vibration of the fenders might be a problem for the lights, but I did this about 40 hours ago and so far no problem. 55 watt lights would be OK and would still fall under the limit for the fuse, which I THOUGHT was a 10 amp (hence I went with the 35 watt lights), but I then checked the manual again (after I had mounted the lights) and found that it is in fact a 15 amp fuse. If and when the bulbs burn out I will replace them with 55 watt replacements.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I added 55 watt lights in place of the stock lights on my B2400. I also added 55 watt lights to the loader arms that go up and down with the loader and always shine over the top without a lot of light bouncing back off the loader and hood. A sealed beam light was mounted behind the seat facing rearward. For a more complete description of what I did and photos follow this link:

http://www.his.com/~msimpson/tractor/hacker/loaderlight.htm

Although it is a description about a rear weight, you can see my rear light at:

http://www.his.com/~msimpson/tractor/hacker/trweight.htm

If I was to do it over again I would not even bother with changing the stock lights, the loader is always in the way and the reflection blinds you to what is beyond the loader. I usually only use the loader arm lights or rear light.

Andy

 

[M. Sullivan]

Bird, Once again, thank you very much. Can't believe the detailed info. I get here--who could ask for anything more. My dealer should pay this site a commission for all the calls from me you guys have saved him!

 

[Bird]

M.Sullivan, I didn't find anything about the wire with the connector in my manual (although the manual does show the fuse and a circuit for a work light). I learned where to find it just like you did; right here, just like I've learned a lot of other things. And now I don't remember who posted that message originally.

Bird