SlickShift
New member
Equipment
B3030, LA403, BH77, RC72-30B; IH1000 Sickle Mower; BushHog SBX60, 25-06;
How often have you got on your already idling tractor, started to pull away, and finally realized the parking brake was dragging?
Over the weekend, I added a feature to my B3030 that it should have come from the factory with. I now have a light on the dashboard indicating that the parking brake is set. Adding a switch and a lamp to a DC circuit is not particularly difficult or noteworthy. What I was happy about is that I found that I was able to take apart the instrument cluster and put the light in the cluster under the plexiglass lens. I drilled the hole using one of the unused bulb pockets as a guide. I also found that there was an empty terminal pocket in the cluster harness. I soldered the new bulb ground wire to the ground wire node in the gauge cluster and added a new terminal in each connector half. Those connectors turned out to be Sumitomo HD 090 series (8230-4272 for one side). The result here is that the cluster still only has the one connector to it. I routed the wires through the existing loom so it looks factory.
Then I ran the lead out of the mating connector and down to a microswitch I mounted to the steering column support flange just above the parking brake lever. I pulled switched power to the other side of the microswitch and the light lights whenever the key is on and the parking brake lever is in the down position. I'm sure this took more time to route all the wires that way. But the only way it could look more like it was factory installed is if I could have laser-etched the P symbol into the applique for the gauge cluster.
Over the weekend, I added a feature to my B3030 that it should have come from the factory with. I now have a light on the dashboard indicating that the parking brake is set. Adding a switch and a lamp to a DC circuit is not particularly difficult or noteworthy. What I was happy about is that I found that I was able to take apart the instrument cluster and put the light in the cluster under the plexiglass lens. I drilled the hole using one of the unused bulb pockets as a guide. I also found that there was an empty terminal pocket in the cluster harness. I soldered the new bulb ground wire to the ground wire node in the gauge cluster and added a new terminal in each connector half. Those connectors turned out to be Sumitomo HD 090 series (8230-4272 for one side). The result here is that the cluster still only has the one connector to it. I routed the wires through the existing loom so it looks factory.
Then I ran the lead out of the mating connector and down to a microswitch I mounted to the steering column support flange just above the parking brake lever. I pulled switched power to the other side of the microswitch and the light lights whenever the key is on and the parking brake lever is in the down position. I'm sure this took more time to route all the wires that way. But the only way it could look more like it was factory installed is if I could have laser-etched the P symbol into the applique for the gauge cluster.
