# Loader Lights!



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

A FEL is one of the handiest attachments you can have on a tractor, that is until the sun goes down!  If your CUT only has lights in the grill, the bucket does an excellent job of blocking that light out.  I have installed a couple of extra lights to help see around the bucket and allow me to work into the night. The first place I thought of mounting them was onto the ROPS, but after sizing it up, decided to look else where. ( Got other plans for up there.  ) I finally decided on the FEL towers because of the convex mirrors I have on the tractor. Because at some point and time I may drop the FEL from the tractor, I had to wire up the lights with plugs. I used two galvanized brackets to mount the lights onto the FEL, and added a toggle switch to each light. The switches have stab-lok connections, so this is where I will disconnect the wiring harness from the lights. I plan on installing a fused, water tight power socket in the dash of the tractor. This is where I will get power from, for the lights. I'll make a Y harness with a cigarette lighter plug on one end, and two stab-lok connectors on the others. This way, there is nothing left on the tractor, when I disconnect. There is a down side to this mounting location, lights are 6" out past the FEL arms but still inside the bucket width. If for some reason I want to take the lights and brackets off, only undo two bolts and unplug. Here are some pictures of what I have done so far, and I'll add more as I progress. Bye


----------



## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Sure hope the Bulldog doesn't get jealous w/all the attendion Bobcat getting. 

Correct me if Iam wrong,but wasn't Bobcat for you bride:fineprint to begin with.


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Thomas said:


> Sure hope the Bulldog doesn't get jealous w/all the attendion Bobcat getting.
> 
> Correct me if Iam wrong,but wasn't Bobcat for you bride:fineprint to begin with.


:lmao: So true Thomas.  It is with her encouragement, that the Bobcat is getting the makeover!  Isn't she WONDERFUL! Bye


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Christmas holidays has given me some time to finished wiring up the loader lights. I made up a Y shaped harness using a female connector on two ends and a male socket plug on the other. Power for the loader lights, comes from plugging into the 12v power socket that I installed in the lower panel. ( Another Post ) This harness allows me to unplug from the two loader light switches and power socket, when detaching the FEL. Bye


----------



## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Dang good idea.

Would that be twist lock plug setup?


----------



## HickoryNut (Mar 8, 2011)

Does he have no limits!! Another great idea Bulldog!


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Thomas said:


> Dang good idea.
> 
> Would that be twist lock plug setup?


You are correct Thomas, twist lock. Bye


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

HickoryNut said:


> Does he have no limits!! Another great idea Bulldog!


Thank you HickoryNut for the compliment, glad you like it. Bye


----------



## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Nice job B....:thumbsup:......


----------



## MG1867 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for the inspiration. I'm new to the forum and have a NH 1920 That I have added lights and a 12v outlet. I will post some pictures this weekend.

Mike


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

MG1867 said:


> Thanks for the inspiration. I'm new to the forum and have a NH 1920 That I have added lights and a 12v outlet. I will post some pictures this weekend.
> 
> Mike


Welcome to the Tractor Forum family, Mike. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your tractor and up-grades. Bye


----------



## MG1867 (Dec 30, 2011)

Ok here are some picture's of my improvements. I added strobes to the front, 2 in the existing head lights and 2 amber markers below which are controlled by a rocker switch on the dash. Also added work lights, 2 55w on the front and 1 55w on the rear which are controlled by toggle switches mounted in a enclosure on the left fender ( I'm left handed ) Also in the enclosure there is a 12v outlet for a magnetic beacon strobe or any other 12v device. Hopefully I haven't reached the limit of the alternator so I will watch this and may get a larger output if it becomes a problem. Some new tires on the front round out the work so far. I'm waiting for some SNOW to try this tractor out and the improvements. Thanks again for all the good ideas on the forum.

Mike


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Well congratulations on the very neat install job!  I like the lights on the front grill, too. Now I have to ask, where did you get that box for your switches and power outlet? I'd like to see more pictures of your tractor Mike, if you wouldn't mind.  Thanks for posting. Bye


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

BTW, I don't know the output of your alt. but the three 55w work lights adds 13.75 amps to the draw. Hope this helps. Bye


----------



## MG1867 (Dec 30, 2011)

I ordered the enclosure from Grainger but you could find something like that at Radio Shack also. Thanks for the info on amp draw I don't plan to have all lights on at the same time so I should be ok. Try the following link to you tube to see the front light's in action. I hope to get video of the tractor in action if we ever get snow. [ame=http://youtu.be/oG42vR__K9M]New Holland 1920 up-grades - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Awesome tractor you have there, Mike. Just watched your video, great job. Must be nice having a backhoe on there, I have one on my wish list.  Will you leave it on while snow clearing this winter? Keep up the good work and be sure to post any other projects you do. Thanks Bye


----------



## MG1867 (Dec 30, 2011)

I do plan to leave the backhoe on. It add's a lot of weight but I will need to keep in mind it's back there, I certainly don't want to back into anything. I also have a hard top and vinyl enclosure ordered. I may try to do a video as I install it if that would help anyone else.

Mike


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

MG1867 said:


> I also have a hard top and vinyl enclosure ordered. I may try to do a video as I install it if that would help anyone else.
> 
> Mike


That would be great, Mike. A lot of people would really find that helpful. Looking forward to your posts. Bye


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Belarus, what a great looking setup! How did you mount the mirrors? I plan to use your setup as the basis for my Farmall 55A when I get it next week or so.


----------



## Vo2et (Nov 19, 2011)

Very nice job on the mods, and a great video. Congrats on the tractor.


----------



## farmertim (Dec 1, 2010)

Can't have too much light, especially when you climb down off your tractor and step on a Tiger snake.
The video of me running like a crazy man would have been funny if I had one


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

46mech said:


> Belarus, what a great looking setup! How did you mount the mirrors? I plan to use your setup as the basis for my Farmall 55A when I get it next week or so.


http://www.tractorforum.com/f209/eyes-back-your-head-19571/ This is the post where I mounted the mirrors, hope this helps. Bye


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Ahh, yes! Guess that's what I was thinking. Thanks.


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

46mech said:


> Ahh, yes! Guess that's what I was thinking. Thanks.


You realize now we will want to see pictures when you're done!


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Well, Belarus, I got the 55A on Friday morning, but I've only had enough time to drive it from the delivery truck to the barn. Have to move a round bale to the horses today or tomorrow so I'll get some pics when I do. I'm trying to decide if I want to just hard mount the mirrors like you did or come up with some sort of swing-away set up. But like I said, I haven't even had much time to study the tractor and come up with ideas. 

Gone are my 706 and 31.... at a point in time where I needed to consolidate equipment.


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

*New 55A*

Well, here's a pic of the new tractor with the new snowblower. I'm also putting some pics of the mirror mount I came up with.


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

You did an excellent job of mounting those mirrors! By the looks of it, mounting them there, you get to keep them if you remove the FEL. Those convex mirrors sure do give a wide view of what's around you! BTW, I really like your tractor. Looks to be just the right size for just about any job. Thanks for posting your pictures and be sure to add more as you customize and add accessories. Bye


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

BelarusBulldog said:


> You did an excellent job of mounting those mirrors! By the looks of it, mounting them there, you get to keep them if you remove the FEL. Those convex mirrors sure do give a wide view of what's around you! BTW, I really like your tractor. Looks to be just the right size for just about any job. Thanks for posting your pictures and be sure to add more as you customize and add accessories. Bye


Thanks. I actually adapted my plan for mounts based on your comment about losing them when you remove the FEL. I figure when I put lights on, they'll probably mount on the loader arms; if I'm not using the loader - not having those lights won't matter, but I wanted to keep the mirrors all the time. I liked your idea of using the convex mirrors for just the reason you mentioned. 

As of right now, I'm still designing the mirror mount for the left side. The right side was easy because I just took a scrap pc. of angle iron... welded a plate to it, bent the angle iron in the angle I wanted and then welded all the seams. Bolts attach the mount to the inside of the 1/4" plate that the toolbox mounts to. My welding abilities are amateur, at best, but I'm getting better; I haven't had anything that I've welded fall apart on me yet.


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

*Left hand mirror mount done*

O.K., so I finally got the mount done for the left mirror. This one was a little more challenging because I didn't have a plate permanently mounted to the loader mount like I did on the right side; so, I had to come up with a mount that clamped on to the loader mount. The mirror on the left side ended up slightly lower than the mirror on the right, but they're pretty close. And actually, the left mirror is more where I want the mirrors to be so the blindspot only going to be the front wheels.


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Well done sir!  Very nice installation with your mirrors. Very crafty on your part making up those brackets! Only problem is, now you got me thinking what if I remove my FEL for some reason?  I may have to reconsider my mounting location! Thanks for posting your pictures, looks like it all worked out good for you. Keep up the good work. Bye


----------



## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

I mounted my lights and mirrors off my canopy.


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

tractor beam said:


> I mounted my lights and mirrors off my canopy.


I am hoping to, one day, make a canopy/cab using what is left of an old fiberglass truckbed shell and had thought about doing this also. However, with the ROPS in the up position it will be a tight squeeze for me to get into the horses' shed to clean out manure so my canopy/cab idea will have to involve something that will be fairly easy to remove when need be.

I promised the wife I wouldn't go hog wild with mods, early on, but currently I am working on the mount for additional driving lights when the loader is up in a position that blocks the headlights. My plan is to mount the lights low (slightly above the level of the front axle) and bolted to the front frame area. With the height of this tractor, I don't see ground clearance as being an issue and should give good light beam projection when that bucket is up in front of the headlights. 

...will be sure to post pics as this project progresses.


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Finally got my auxiliary lights installed. I wanted to stay with the theme of the square light design so I got these from Northern Tool; I think these are $14.99 for the pair and they're 55 watts each. They are wired right off the battery but I have a 20A inline fuse about 4 inches from the pos. battery terminal. According to NT, each light only draws 4. somethin or other (I can't remember, .6 or .8) amps so I've got these on a 30A switch. And really, I didn't intentionally go for the 30A; it just so happened that this switch is sealed and came with a rubber boot over the toggle.

I tried them in the dark barn last night and I think I'm satisfied with the light output. I'm going to try some pictures at night to compare them to the OEM lights.


----------



## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

What a BRIGHT idea!  Looks good mounted down there. Just wondering if they would get hit being down so low? Maybe your next project will be a push/bumper protection bar for the grill and lights!


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Yes, I had pondered about whether they were going to be subject to damage. The pics don't show it, but the lights are "mostly contained" in a mount made of 2x2 angle iron. I guess I'm also thinking that if I'm into anything that's gonna damage this mount set-up ... I might be in deeper doo-doo that I want to be and lights might be the least of my problems.


----------



## randym99 (Jan 26, 2010)

Dang-it.I thought i was the first to put convex mirrors on.Now I see my "stick -ons" are well out done by all these fine looking set-ups.I also like those down low lights.I might have to steal that idea for the montana.


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

Last week the dealership had the tractor in the shop for a few hours while they put the wheels weights on (they originally told me they would send a couple of guys out to put them on). Anyway, when the guy brought my tractor back he told me he thought my mirror mounts were factory options. .... nice little boost to the 'ol ego.


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

:lmao: You gotta love that!! Good for you.....(course you would have fooled us all with that fancy workmanship)
Good on you
Cheers
Bill


----------



## 46mech (Jun 26, 2008)

pogobill said:


> :lmao: .....(course you would have fooled us all with that fancy workmanship)
> Good on you
> Cheers
> Bill


Must have been all that gloss black paint that made them look so good cuz if he had looked real close at the welds, he would have thought different.


----------

