L185 L175 head light mod

[Oil pan 4]

I happened to notice the head lights weren't working.
Look at the lights and see the wire is just cut.
So I get some wire and power a light directly off the battery, no luck. Upon closet inspection I see they are clearly burned out.
Take the bulb out and right away I realize have never seen anything quite like it and that they are rated for 35w each.

I saw bulbs on ebay a few months ago (they're gone now) back when i was first thinking about buying this tractor and they were expensive enough to make me not want to buy any spares.

So to have more effective lights with available replacements I was thinking about putting 100w H1 bulbs in the old housing and rewiring the circuit for the nearly 3x the power per bulb.

Edit: I was able to locate the stock style bulbs, $15 each. But I am still going to replace the stock bulb with something else.

 

[D2Cat]

A couple of years ago I put LEDs in an L1500. Not much work, really. LEDs were $25 or so. Here's a couple of picture of the back of the lights, a bracket I made to mount them and the grill. I got a piece of SS that was part of a french fryer and made the grill.

 

[200mph]

At 100 watts each bulb your likely to max out the alternator due to the electrical load. (Assuming you have the typical 15 amp output)

I’d go LED to reduce electrical load and to have greater light output as post #2 did. You’ll be shocked at the light output of these cheap LEDs found on amazon and others.

 

[Oil pan 4]

The alternator wires are burned up and cracked.
So I was going to redo the stock denso charging system with a GM 12si and heavier wire on the charging post.

I was going to use H1 bulbs because I should have some in my junk collection. If I don't have any 55w or 100w H1 bulbs I will try and find some LEDs like that.

 

[Oil pan 4]

I said H1 bulbs, I was thinking of H3.
H1 might not even fit in the housing.
H3 would put the glowing element close to where it is in the original bulb.

 

[Oil pan 4]

A 55 watt H3 bulb is plenty.
Turns out I have 1 spare 55w H3 and 1 spare 100w H3 bulbs.
55w H3 bulbs can be had for about $5, 100w H3 bulbs are $9 to $12 each.
The only down side is 55w H3 bulbs are rated to run 40 or 50 hours, they usually last a lot longer. 100w H3 bulbs are rated for 20 hours.

 

[prof.fate]

I'm soon to add aux lighting - my headlights work fine.

But taking hay out the fields in the dark..sucks.

Thinking of adding a mast (since I have no ROPS) and putting an LED flood light or two...

Yeah, I'm sorta weird.

LIke my own portable street light. Illuminate all round the tractor, 360 degrees.

 

[Tooljunkie]

I bolted rubber tractor lamp housings in place of originals. Quite happy, still need a light on back,will be led.

 

[Oil pan 4]

Before too much longer I was going to put some basic rop on mine so if I do tip it over I'm not as likely to die, since I am new to using a real tractor, even if it's real little one.
I have a 50 something inch wide 150w LED flood light bar I'm not using at the moment that I would like to attach to the tractor up high.
I figure with 55 or 100 watt each head lights and a 150 watt light bar which is probably the equivalent of about 1000w of incandescent light I should be all set.

 

[bucktail]

I'm soon to add aux lighting - my headlights work fine.

But taking hay out the fields in the dark..sucks.

Thinking of adding a mast (since I have no ROPS) and putting an LED flood light or two...

Yeah, I'm sorta weird.

LIke my own portable street light. Illuminate all round the tractor, 360 degrees.

Kubota dealers will give you rops for cost. I think they're less than 2 bills for yours.

 

[Oil pan 4]

For around $200 I will be going to the Farwell, TX kubota dealer on my next day off.
Even if I have enough 2x2 square 1/4 wall steel laying around it's still worth getting the proper rops.

 

[200mph]

Are you aware of the ROPS program Kubota has?

https://www.kubotausa.com/service-support/safety/tractor-safety/rops-safety

 

[Oil pan 4]

I did not know this.

This is what my danger is. My neighbor told me that there are some 1 foot to 18 inch high stumps in my field, left by the last guy that owned the land. The weeds are at least 2 feet tall in most places. Some places over 3 feet tall.
I haven't ventured into the tall weeds with the kubota since then.

When I cut down a tree I scrape back the dirt from the base with a shovel or hoe, use a saw with a carbide chain and lop off the stump level with the dirt so a push mower can clear it.

 

[prof.fate]

$148...probably worth it as a light/tool box mount, extra weight, handle to get on off..
Do I need to have them install it, or can I do cash and carry and do it myself?

I have no way to transport my tractor and as in most things, the money I don't spend on this I can waste on beer!

Are you aware of the ROPS program Kubota has?

https://www.kubotausa.com/service-support/safety/tractor-safety/rops-safety

 

[D2Cat]

"When I cut down a tree I scrape back the dirt from the base with a shovel or hoe, use a saw with a carbide chain and lop off the stump level with the dirt so a push mower can clear it."

I do as you do with the exception of I do not cut the stump level. I plunge cut downward and go around. Then when the stump is left there is a funnel built in. Traps water and allows quicker deterioration.

 

[Oil pan 4]

Yes I do that too, make a funnel shape with the roots/stump.

 

[Russell King]

You can buy the ROPS through the dealer and install it yourself


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Lil Foot]

I plunge cut downward and go around. Then when the stump is left there is a funnel built in.

Yes I do that too, make a funnel shape with the roots/stump.

Great idea! I will be adopting this technique, thanks gentlemen!

 

[Oil pan 4]

I got the 100w H3 bulbs installed.
You can see what you are doing that's for sure.
I recommend only installing 55w H3 bulbs unless you are planning to do or have done a GM SI10 or SI12 alternator upgrade.
For 100w bulbs run preferably 12 gauge wire then split off 16 gauge wire to each bulb. Same for the ground, don't rely on chassis grounding, run a wire to the battery since it's right there.