H headlight grounding

Zachary Hoyt · Jan 18, 2012

I am putting aftermarket 12v lights on my H which is an ugly tractor that I use for work, so appearance is not important. The lights are not grounded because the lightbar and the steering post are both quite rusty. I am wondering if I should take all of the parts apart and clean them or if it would be easier and more effective to strip the end of a wire and put it in where each light bolts on to the clamp and run the wire to ground somewhere on the main castings of the tractor. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Zach

old · Jan 18, 2012

I would do the wire thing but I would run it right to the battery that way you do not have any ground problems because you would be going to the best ground there ever could be and no rust etc to get in the way. Plus for looks you could run it with the hot lead going to the lights and down that way

S2710 · Jan 18, 2012

Either way will work, but unless you run the ground wire inside like your light wires are you stand a good chance of ripping them off if you get into some brush or trees. I myself would just clean up the post and light bar and go that way.

Bob

Zachary Hoyt · Jan 18, 2012

Sounds good, there is plenty of room inside the lightbar to stuff more wire in there.
Zach

old · Jan 18, 2012

Ya and I have found on old tractors the biggest problem with the lights is always the stupid way they ground them. If they had done it as it should have been done all lights would use a 2 wire system instead of a ground by way of the cover etc

pete 23 · Jan 18, 2012

I often solder a ground wire right onto the light bulb socket and then run that to a good separate ground onto the platform or frame. Makes for a reliable system with very little voltage drop, thus, brighter lights.

sflem849 · Jan 18, 2012

On my MD aftermarket lights (really old ones) I ran a separate wire.

souNdguy · Jan 18, 2012

even on tractors with good metal to metal connections, I almost always run cheater ground wired to lamp bases using large ring terminals. makes for good bright lamps...

soundguy

George Rausch · Jan 18, 2012

I took a small hose clamp and clamped a green ground wire to each lamp base, then ran that out to a wire-brushed bare part of the lamp bar. Shines very bright.

Pete76NY · Jan 18, 2012

I'd wire it like the SH s were: tap a lil hole in the back of the light bucket, use a self tapper and a washer run a ground wire from each bucket through the light mount tubes down to one of the bolts on your steering support pipe that ya clean up to bare metal under the nut.

H headlight grounding

Zachary Hoyt

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old

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S2710

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Zachary Hoyt

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old

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pete 23

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sflem849

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souNdguy

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George Rausch

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Pete76NY

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