Work lights

BuckHunter69 · Mar 22, 2004

I'd like to add work lights to the ROPS on my 4310. The ROPS has holes on the top and on each side just above the joints. Since the breaker panel identifies work lights, I'll assume that there is an accessory wire somewhere hidden under the seat area or a place to plug one in.

Has anyone out there done this already and if so, any recommendations?

rockyridgefarm · Mar 22, 2004

There is a purple wire terminated in a bullet plug near the bottem of the ROPS, it comes on with the light switch full on.

JJC · Mar 22, 2004

Rockyridge is correct there is a purple and a black wire in the bundle of wires at the bottom of the rops on both sides. It is a very good idea to use the black wire supplied as your ground. with the light switch turned all the way to the right power will be supplied to the purple wire. Also it is a good idea to use lights that draw less than 5 amps each if you are going to use this set up.

fgross335_2210 · Mar 22, 2004

I bought one rear work light kit and connected it the harness/feed under the seat. Then I mounted two forward-facing 55W worklights using the existing ROPS drain holes and wired BOTH of these into the same power feed along with a waterproof toggle switch. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I was waiting for a fuse to blow, but the circuits and alternator seem to handle it fine. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I only use this setup though with my loader/blade, I have a feeling if I was running the PTO the power drain would put me in the negative.

dltimmons · Mar 23, 2004

I bought the rear worklight kit from my J.D. dealer and mounted it per the instructions. A week later, I went to WalMart and bought two more, almost identical, for a lot less money. I then mounted all three to the underside of the rops, across the top, using stainless steel hose clamps from NAPA. Since they are under the top bar, they are well protected from tree limbs, still fits under my 8' garage door, and I can swivel them either front or rear depending on where I need the most light.
They are high enough not to be a problem when running the backhoe, and since they are so high, light up the front pretty well for loader work.
I used two hose clamps on each one, and a small rubber shim under the light mount to allow the clamp to hold the bases tight to the not quite square tubing.
So far they work great, and no problems with fuses or battery run down.
Just another idea you might want to try.

Have fun,

DT

BuckHunter69 · Mar 23, 2004

I looked and found the wire that are spoken of.

Much thanks to those who responded. I think that I have the info that I need.

Buck

zuiko · Mar 23, 2004

I was thinking of adding some more lights to mine. I have the one on the back now. I saw the wal-mart ones but don't remember if they had a switch on them. Do they? Or did you use an external switch or none at all?

cadblaster · Mar 23, 2004

( I bought the rear worklight kit from my J.D. dealer and mounted it per the instructions. A week later, I went to WalMart and bought two more, almost identical, for a lot less money. )

Funny, I did the same thing for the work lights on my 2210. I just haven't installed them yet.

I am afraid that tiny little wire just won't be able to handle the draw for all of the lights. So I came up with a solution, but it involves quite a bit more wiring.
Here's what I plan on doing.
The JD worklight will be mounted low on the ROPS so that it is rear facing. The AUX Walmart lights will be mounted below the top bar of the ROPS, forward facing.
I can power the JD light by the wire under the seat because it should be able to handle the draw. I figured I can install a DTSP switch in the JD light housing to switch between the two sets of lights, and use the under seat wire to power the JD light, and also energize a relay so the big lights can pull power directly from the battery. I wil just have to run the additional wire to the battery, or see if I can tap in to the fuse block (and add a fuse). The neat thing about this is that the lights will not work unless the dash switch is turned on (non-latching relay). the bad part is that it will take some doing to implement this scheme.

dltimmons · Mar 24, 2004

The WalMart lights did not have any switches on them.
I didn't add any other switches to mine, just used the wire that was already under the seat. When I turn on the main light switch to the work light position, all three work lights, and both headlights, are on.
I haven't used them very much up to this point, so I can't really say how well this will work long term. I realize that this is a little heavy on the amperage draw on this circuit, but I figured that the wire is protected by a fuse, if the lights draw more than the fuse is rated for, it will blow before the wire melts. I haven't noticed the wire getting hot, and the fuse hasen't blown. The longest I've had them running so far, is about two hours, while plowing snow.
I think the relay is probably a good idea, and that is my backup plan if I have problems with my current set up.
The reason I mounted all three to the underside of the rops is that with the backhoe on, the rear facing light, if mounted to the side of the rops, opposite the tail/warning lights, is in my way. It sets right behind my shoulder when I'm running the hoe, and gets pretty hot, plus, I can't see what I'm doing. With all three up above, I can swivel them to the front, or back, and get all the light I need, where I need it.

cadblaster · Mar 24, 2004

( The WalMart lights did not have any switches on them.
I didn't add any other switches to mine, just used the wire that was already under the seat. When I turn on the main light switch to the work light position, all three work lights, and both headlights, are on.)

I don't know which tractor you have. I don't think the 2210 actually has a worklight position on the main switch. I've got to check the wiring out first to find out what switch position controls power to the aux light harness. This is really why I figured on using a relay for anything other than the JD light.

You may have a larger gage wire on your tractor as well. The wiring on the 2210 is really wimpy IMO. I'd guess 22 gage at most, yet another reason for doing a complete wiring.

I haven't done my wiring yet, and may experiment a bit with what is there. It's not going to be a small task to run additional wires on the 2210.

One other thing, I thought about mounting the lights to a bar that can be removed easily. That way I can mount them to the top or bottom of the rops bar.