Magnetic mount lightbar for the Z930M

nikdfish · Aug 8, 2025

I just finished up doing warning flashers for the Z930M & figured I might as well do a lightbar. Unlike the flashers, the 120 watt lightbar will be run from a relay & a seperate, fused, battery connection. The switch controlling the relay will be supplied from the same key switched power source as the flashers so the key has to be "on" for the lightbar to be on.

I chose a 22" flood/spot combo lightbar with the intent of using a magnetic mount. The lightbar has a gentle curve. The magnets I used are some 36mmx7mm cup magnets with a claimed straight pull grip of 150lb. I'm using 3 on each mount.

I just finished a test fitting to check positioning and retention. It looks good so far, but I'm still going to do a bit of revision.

This is what the test fitting looked like. No electrical connections yet.

The magnet sid of the mounts.

Mount attachment to lightbar.

Placement, roughly centered & above the warning flashers.

Electrical connections still getting laid out.

part-time-Farmer-NC · Aug 8, 2025

Howdy Person Co neighbor... That looks pretty good there. I bet you could sell that as a solution!

Roadworthy · Aug 8, 2025

Before you go crazy buying relays and such power the light bar with a twelve volt battery through an ammeter. My 240 watt light bar would draw 20 amps if it were really 240 watts. Since it's LED it only draws five amps and no special wiring was required.

nikdfish · Aug 8, 2025

Roadworthy said:
Before you go crazy buying relays and such power the light bar with a twelve volt battery through an ammeter. My 240 watt light bar would draw 20 amps if it were really 240 watts. Since it's LED it only draws five amps and no special wiring was required.

Yep, the actual draw @ 13.8v is only about 5.75 amps, maybe a bit more when all wiring is added. The thing is, I'm already using a formerly capped off switched power connector on the mower harness for the warning flashers. I don't know the current draw it was designed for (no label regarding the intended use on any diagram I've seen), but flashers draw so little it shouldn't matter. Adding the relay is cheap insurance that an additional 6 amps don't create an issue.

nikdfish · Monday at 4:16 PM

Finished up today.

The new lightbar switch beside the flashers switch

I redrew the supports to better accomodate the lightbar curve. I used a cylinder profile & slotted opening for the M8 mounting bolt.

In this case I used a direct battery connection for the lightbar feed via relay. I checked the current draw at 13.8v & it was about 6A. The fuse holder has a 10A fuse. Power leads were 14awg copper.

The rat's nest before a bit of organization & connection covering. The small oval shows where I "twinned" the positive & negative switched power leads to service both switches rather than just the flasher switch. Rather than cut & solder, I just made up some adapters with crimped spade connectors. The large oval shows the connections to the lightbar feed line. The extra, small, lead on the ground line connects to the relay control line. It is hard to make out, but the relay is attached to the cover wall with servo tape.

No night pics yet.

The spot portion of the lightbars shows pretty well, but the floods to either side are too washed out to see in daylight.

If you want to print a set of mounts, I put the files on Printables: Magnetic Mount for Lightbar on Commercial Ztrak Mower by Nikdfish | Download free STL model | Printables.com