LED light upgrade for my tractor!

Welcome to FHC corncob ... as others have noticed, you fit right in. Great intro story.

 

Jack Straw ... you've got me thinking about LED lights now for the JD. Might get a couple small ones to replace just the headlights...

 

If you ever need to spend some money I have all sorts of ideas, that’s my problem!

 

Add in a resistor and your flashers will work again with the LEDs.

 

LED lights are a massive upgrade for headlights on anything over the halogens. I have just 1 of these on my old Kawasaki bayou and it's super bright. No need for any more light in front.
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"Amazon.com: Nilight 2PCS 18W 1260lm Spot Driving Fog Light Off Road Led Lights Bar Mounting Bracket for SUV Boat 4" Jeep Lamp,2 years Warranty : Automotive"

Here it is.
LED pod on the left, original light on the right. That original one is broken glass, but I didn't have the heart to take it out as long as it's making light.

 

Congratulations sir!

 

100% correct. I refitted my Kubota's with HID lamps, not LED. HID bulbs don't scatter light like an LED does, especially the cheap ones do. HID's cost more but do a much better job. Both of my Kubota's are 100% LED except for the 4 way flashers and the OEM headlights. The OEM lights (dim filament bulbs) are HID now.

 

SE Michigan, 15 miles north of Ohio..... Just south of Cabelas.

 

B's are bulletproof little tractors. Keep the fluids changed and follow the owners manual and if it don't have a manual you can download one for free at www.kubotabooks.com in PDF format. Not only are the owners manuals there but also the shop manuals. I prefer not to think about snow....

 

Yep... I think I'll add 2 small ones to the top of the bucket support framework. Just plug them into the aux power outlet. Thanks for the info tho B... now I won't even think about swappin the mains...

 

Nice! You're plenty close to join us in the spring for the gtg & we can meet in person! If you ever come west, drop me a line & I'll buy lunch/dinner & shoot the bull with ya.

 

I come west quite a bit and I know exactly where Gun Lake is, south of GR. We own 142 acres of mixed hardwood just off 131 at exit 131 south of Big Rapids.. We hunt it and camp on it in the summertime and my niece and her husband live just south of GR. I'll buy, I can afford it. Heck if my wife is along, she can buy for everyone... Farmers have all the money so they say.... Not big into fishing but the Muskegon runs just south of our property so we fish it off and on. Have a Powerstroke 1 ton 4x4 myself that sleeps in the winter and has no rust on it. It's a 97 4 door, OBS truck, 6 over stock. Wish it wasn't lifted. I did that when I bought it and now it's a PITA to get in and out of. I drive a little shoe box most of the time. 40 mpg I like.

 

Actually, converting the headlight buckets on a Kubota to HID is pretty easy, big issue is securing the ballast to the inner supports.

 

Very true. It depends on how the led drop in bulb is made. If the led isn't where the original filament was, you can get a bunch of crap light.

Those light bars or pods are pretty good for what they cost.

 

HID are expensive compared to LEDs, and not usually as good.

 

I disagree with your comment. Good HID's are as good as, most times even better and they focus the beam, not scatter it. I had high buck LED's in my pickup truck and they were horrible so I installed HID's. Huge difference.

Like I said, HID's in both tractors, LED for everything else (except the 4 way flashers). Install was easy other than the ballasts but I removed the buckets and modified them which is no problem with either because the buckets are removable. The problem with LED's as headlights are the scattered light beams and blinding oncoming drivers. One thing I do is, I remove the loaders when I'm farming so the loader buckets don't block the light. Kubota mounts their headlights too low and always have.

Far as light bars go, I don't like them. People put them on their road vehicles and blind oncoming drivers with them, very inconsiderate. I have a pair of 50,000 watt KC Daylighters under the bumper of my truck that I only use after I flash my headlights at oncoming inconsiderate drivers who don't get it. I give them 2 chances and then I fire up the Daylighters and they dim their light bars instantly because they cannot see anything but the sun under my bumper. Great deterrent for inconsiderate drivers.

Lucky I'm not a cop because I'd be writing tickets for illegal illumination. Every one of those 'light bars' have a sticker on them that says 'For off road use only' They are not legal to use on any roadgoing vehicle. Guess people never bother to read that warning. I have a pair of 'educators' under the bumper and I don't mind using them after a fair warning.

The 'Daylighters' are really aircraft landing lights. They pull 10 amps each.

 

Your lights in your truck were not designed for the housings when you put in led bulbs. There's the huge distinction.

I had factory HID's on my Audi. I have factory LEDs on my Ford. The LEDs are better. There's a lot of variables, but all in all, LEDs are less complicated and just better. There's a reason LED lights are being used in automotive use and HID are really not any longer.

I absolutely agree with you about illegal lights on street use vehicles. Chucking light all over the road and blinding oncoming traffic is a really bad thing.

 

Well I determined that the 4 work lights on the cab have a H3 bulb (Sylvania) so I ordered LED H3 bulbs. I’ll keep you posted.
Now I’m pondering trying to wire the front windshield wiper so it has an intermittent switch.