I did the hack - and it works great! I used the parts in the links, mounted them in a gray 4" Carlon plastic electrical box. Used those 4 spade connectors on the bridge rectifier and then soldered the wiring to the capacitors then used a LOT of hot melt glue to insulate the wires (it is non-conductive) and secure the parts in place in the box. On my Ariens 926LE I mounted the box on the bottom of the "dash" out of the way. For power, I just snipped the existing power supply wires to the lights and extended them into the box. For the light, I used an 8", 12 bulb LED light from Harbor Freight (Under $40 with the coupon) and mounted it near the top of the front of the auger housing. I had already mounted an hour meter; that remains hooked up to the original AC output wiring. No switch needed, the light turns on with the engine and there is no flickering when it is running at normal speed. Seems like about 25 times more light than the weak one that came with the blower, with the same wattage. Darn thing lights up my whole block. Thanks for your video!!!!!!!!!!!
I decided to do this on the two snowblowers I have that have stators. I opted to leave out the capacitors and the toggle switch and decided to include an inline fuse. Your video made the process so simple. And I love the Auxbeam lights you recommended. Thanks Don!
I followed your video and my LED light works great! I found one with the same 18 watt consumption as the original bulb to protect the stator from being over worked and disconnected original bulb. The lumens are 1100 now as opposed to 263 with original bulb. Thanks! Great video as always!
Thanks for the video. I set mine up exactly as shown and the lights are very bright and no flicker. I cut and used the enclosed wire harness and fuse. Great instructions. Easy to follow. Thank-you Don.
With your help I installed a 20” oxbeam led light on my ariens snow blower last year and it’s working great, I mounted it on the top of the intake to get better illumination, I have a tarp cab that was in the way, thanks doneyboy you saved the day again that was the prescription I needed.
For units without charging systems or electric start one could retro fit their unit with just a 12 volt battery of appropriate size for their equipment or even one from a motorcycle and just attach a battery tender to the battery so when not being used it could be plugged in to keep the battery at full charge. LED's draw very little power so a battery of proper size for your equipment would last many times longer than a rechargeable cordless tool battery and you would just install them as per the manufacturers instructions making your positive and negative connections to the battery. Not trying to beat you down DONYBOY73 but just saying there's more than one way to Skin that Cat. You have great informational and detailed videos thanks for your time.
Excellent tutorial. The only thing I would do differently would be to put the switch between the AC wire from the engine and the rectifier. That way rectifier and capacitors aren't energized with no load when the light is off. Great video.
Perfect that’s exactly what I ended up doing. And u can only use a basic 2 prong switch not a lighted switch bc it won’t make the stock light as bright as it normally would !
I know this video are quite old but Donny did a great job explaining and I really appreciate you get out the community. @Donny, I have a Toro 1038 Tecumseh and a Toro 1128 Briggs and Stratton. If I follow your method using two pods of 18W, would both engine produce enough voltage to power 36W total?? Can anyone help me answer this question please? Thanks in advance.
I like the auxbeam lights I put them on my zero turn and on the back of my pickup for plowing snow. Nice video hooking the lights to a snowblower is tricky wiring compared to a DC 12 battery application. Nice Job!
The wires coming from the blower are carrying AC voltage.The rectifier changes it to DC like your car. The capacitors filter the current ie: take out the pulsating that would be apparent with out them shrink wrap all of that well.wish my older ARIENS 521 had the magneto on the engine for lights.jim
Hello I am adding two of the small aux beams like yours on my snowblower. Do I need to use 2 rectifiers or can I go with one and then tie the two lights in after the capacitors?
Just a heads up when installing a on/off switch. I bought a lighted toggle switch and wired everything thing up properly. Once I started the blower the stock headlight was very dim and it didn’t allow it’s full lumes. So I had to disconnect the ground wire to my switch eliminating the internal bulb and the problem was solved. Now the switch is just a 2 prong switch. So when adding a switch just get a BASIC On/Off switch. It’s doesn’t work with lighted toggle switch!
Power Chute Hack. I utilized an old 12 volt DC reversible drill and a double pole double throw switch with spring loaded neutral centre. Cut off the chute crank handle and chucked it into the drill and securely mounted the Drill to one of the control arms. Mounted my Garden Tractor battery on the Snowblower above the engine in small battery box and now at the touch of a switch I can turn my chute up to 190°. Battery stays charged all season. I have a canopy (highly recommended) and also run a mag base rotating blue light and rear LED red light on top. Because I could. I could easily run additional 12VDC lighting.
I might need to buy some tools & do this myself. I currently use my old clip on LED light from firefighting, BUT it accidentally fell off once; I don't want to be stuck in the dark like that again.
Also end of video at 9:59 it looks as though after you tidied up the wires you added a Fat yellow wire and a fat Red Wire which were not seen at previous mentioned times of 4:34 and 9:12 of this video. I am not being a pest I just noticed it and am not very savvy when it comes to wiring. Also Don you mentioned a toggle switch......Any Volt or amps on a toggle switch or ???? When I look up toggle switches they seem to be all different volts and amps 12v/20A.....12v/30A.....then wattage???? Appreciate your help.
My original light is burn out on my snowblower, can I connect this set up directly on the wire that goes to my old existing light and from there do to my new LED lights ? UPDATE : I followed your instructions and it’s working ! Thanks a lot Al
I love those lights. No snowblower for me in the south, but I have two of the next bigger size mounted on the front of my boat, and two the size you have shown on the back of the boat. Running boat trails with the reflective posts marking the trails is now easier, and backing the boat up after dark is much easier to see as the two on the back of the boat now act as magnum back up lights. Like them so well and the cost is minimal, I'm considering adding two more on the rear bumper of my truck for additional back up lighting with or without the boat trailer behind. Also for seeing the bank while night time fishing, I have one of the smaller leds on a clamp on mount, that I can dim down with a pulse modulation switch , which is fairly inexpensive also.
Hello Donny I have an old Craftsman Tecumseh 10.5 hp SB with an incandescent light. I didn’t bother with the rectifier. I just put the same lights you have with a switch and it works just fine with little or no pulsing. way brighter than the original. don
Don It will eventually burn the stator out. It gets really hot everytime you turn on the lights. You should invest in the couple bucks for the rectifier, so the stator never burns out.
Hi, the LED light acts as a diode, it simply uses half of the sine wave provided by the stator. This is the cause of the flicker. The only way you can damage the stator is by having your LED light exceed the specified power.
Don The original light ran off alternating current AC straight from the stator, these LED lighrs are using direct current DC, without the rectifier to properly convert from alternating AC to direct DC it will cause the stator to go bad. Thats the difference between the old light and the new LED lights, thats why they use a rectifier.
If you have a DC Alternator can you hook the leds directly to the dc side. I have a 3/5 amp AC/DC alternator. I want to add an led light to an 80's Ariens blower, no other electronics. Can I hook right into that 3 amp DC side without a rectifier/etc?
It looks like Aux Beam has a good opportunity to make and sell a premade adapter for an application like this one. Thanks, Dony! Nice comment from Russell Booth, too. It looks like he knows his stuff.
Good video Donny, it doesn't matter which AC connector you elect as your positive or negative because that current "alternates" between + and -. So each terminal is alternatively positive and negative.
dony your 1 of the few who really posted a great video all the rest of the idiots talk about their beautiful snow blower you would think they were talking about their wives love your video's very thorough !
Hey, was wondering; why does it seem like you guys use the white lights and not the yellow (fog) ones. For now that is what I run in the factory 1156 bulb. It seems to cut through the falling snow with not nearly as much glare. I would run selective yellow headlights on my car like the French used to until they changed the law...
I have a 2019 husqvarna 42” riding mower, it came with normal 1156 bulbs. I piggy backed the oem light wiring to power the twin 6-led bars, did I need to add the rectifier and capacitors? What will happen?
LED lights are terrific!!! They sure made a difference with lighting your work area!!! Nice tips too on how to connect so as not to harm the LED's or the blower stator.
Don at 9:12 of the video you show the power cord coming from engine(I have HMSK80 myself w/same white plastic end(323)) what is the wire that connects to that Do you have a part number? So say wire out of engine is male connector.. what is the female wire that matches/connects to it???
Hey Dony, whats the part number for the engine stator on your Ariens that allows for the hand grip warmers? I have a 13.0hp Tecumseh OHV on my Toro Powershift I may want to add aftermarket heated grips too. Thanks.
You’ve been a big help making my old junker run better. Looking at your capacitors, looks like electrolytic. Have you had trouble with them in the cold? I might try some thin film or ceramic caps instead? Also looks like your just running both caps in parallel, across the output of the rectifier, but a little hard to tell for sure? Thanks! Btw, I just swapped the 12hp off my old yard king with a junk final drive onto a slightly newer snow king that had an anemic 10hp but a much better final drive design. It’s now a beast that needs a better light.
Hey, need some advice I have an old snapper 824 series 1 snowblower. I got an LED light which I mounted to the snowblower and ran the wires to a fuse and bridge rectifier. The LED light comes on for about 15-20 seconds then shuts off. Did some checking with the voltmeter and from the motor 22 volt Ac at 349 hertz? And on the dc side, it's 22 volts. Do you know if the bridge rectifier is overloaded? The fuse didn't blow and the light still works when hooked up to a 20v drill battery. Help please.
You Da Man. This light works great. I installed without the capacitors. I couldn't wait until they were shipped. I will install when they arrive. Thanks you. Keep up the good videos.
tjc1ny I believe the capacitors take the pulse output of the rectifier and helps provide a more constant input to the led. These means no more flickering leds.
Thinking about upgrading to an LED on my 10.5hp snowblower for either the end of this season (upstate NY)/the start of next season - very informative so thank you. Just out of curiousity do you think an HID headlight with a ballast/relay "could" be installed if someone were to come up with a mount or holder that fits the bulb (maybe in the OEM housing if gutted - or a waterproof enclosure). I've installed HID's on a few of my cars over the years and its pretty easy, this seems very similar without the ballasts - Is there any reason in particular LED is preferred over HID on a snowblower?
Don this will work for me, how many lights can I install? Also can you get 12 volt charge to charge a battery? I want to install on garden tractor need 12 volt starter. Thanks Ben
Can someone else confirm this as well? I would think that if the lights were pig tailed together and the 2 capacitors were ahead of the pig tail it should be fine. I don't see how 2x18 w lights is different than the one 72W light.
I appreciate the information on light installation!!! This would have been really helpful. I found a few lights with magnets located on their base, and set them on my (Ariens) snow blower's metal dash. I didn't have the patience for this modification, at the time. Thanks again.
I love your videos....thank you for sharing your knowledge on TH-cam! Why do you need two capacitors in the circuit? Does it have to do with the amount of LED's you installed?
Does the rectifier heat up at all ?? im debating to make a nice 3D printed enclosure for the rectifier and the capacitors so its a nicely sealed up unit for my honda. The larger honda boys have an onboard 12v battery so its a much easier upgrade :) My little unit only has a direct power line.
Hi Don, you are providing great videos. Thanks. Ok this question may have been asked but am curious to know if u can get hand warmers installed on my 2007 Toro Max 826 LE? Also wanted to know how the steering assist on some newer snow blowers differs to the non steering assist ones, mechanically? In other words how does steering assist work? Is there any steering mods one can do to say the Toro 826 LE? Probably no or too expensive, I just was wondering. Loris
I used a KBPC 2504 thinking any rectifier would work, but am only getting about 8v dc output... but do have between 12-13v ac input. is this rectifier different than the one you are using (which I just ordered by the way).
Oh Danny boy, you have a surplus of information though I am not looking to put a light like this on my unit, and I don’t already have a light on my snowblower. I just wanted to throw a comment out there for a super video though it doesn’t hit right where I need to be, you are right on time. Additionally, the pipes the pipes are calling Many thanks laddy Also shame on me I did not watch this video from beginning to end so it may have solved my problem though I suspect that it wouldn’t have, by my leave Patrick Begora. (Pardon the Disney reference)
Hey Don, what if I have the 3/5 amp AC/DC Tecumseh alternator laying around. I can hook the led right into the DC part of the alternator without needing a rectifier or capacitors right?
Unfortunately your not getting back to me, so I have spoken to several other people about this topic. So far everyone I spoke to except one, said yes, if you have 3 amps unused DC on a Tecumseh or whatever for that matter, you can hook an LED straight in to the DC, no rectifier, capacitors, etc. Since I'm using an 18 watt DC 4 inch auxbeam, that gives me 2 amps DC to spare. Only 1 person said he burned out is alternator, but he probably went over 3 amps or did something else wrong. I'm going to be hooking this up in the coming days, I will get back with a conclusion, but as of now, if you have the 3/5 amp DC alternator and your not using the DC, you can hook straight in. Plus all the snowblowers that use that 18 watt alternator can have the 3/5 amp added, it uses the same 3 magnet flywheel the little one does. Their out their for sale used. I'm adding it to an 8hp Tecumseh on a 1987 Ariens.
You always grab my interests with your great how too's! I heard a rumor that ariens will offer a led update led light that will replace most existing older lights this year sometime,(2021). Have you heard anything like this? Thanks and keep up the great vids!
I tried installing a light with the rectifier and 2 capacitors but my engine wouldnt start , you could see light want to go on during cranking . After disconnecting, the engine now barely idles. Dont know what happened
Isn't 72W pushing the output capacity of the snowblower? For example, my Murray only had one light as an option, and it was (I think) a 30 watt incandescent bulb. I took that as a guide and built a light bar that stayed under that. At 72 watts I'd be concerned about burning something out.
How do you know the light is not drawing 72 watts? I can't seem to find the specs anywhere. It would be good to know the volts, watts and amps the Auxbeam bar draws.
I know it's not really an "engine" topic, but I'd love to see a video on making as homemade snowblower canopy. Home Depot wants $150 for the Ariens one and the reviews all say it's flimsy and cheap!
This is an awesome video. I've got an older MTD Yard Machine 8/24 with electric start that has one (1) wire coming out with a bullet connector. I don't know how much voltage or wattage that one wire provides, so if anyone can help me out on that I would definitely like to build a light setup. I was hoping to put two (2) small lights on the blower... one on the left-hand side of the bucket to focus on the rear immediately in front of the bucket/auger, the other mounted up high on the "dashboard" off to the right and focused out to a greater distance. So if I used two 18W lights, would that work or is there more powerful lights that could be rigged with Donny's wiring idea?
Great video Don. I see a lot of comments about overloading the alternator. These snow thrower alternators are just like the lawn tractor ones and when someone runs the battery down trying to start their lawn tractor the alternator is working as hard as it can to bring the battery back up. Even if the tractor has a voltage regulator that regulator only limits voltage, not current. I have only seen these alternators damaged when somebody jump starts the tractor with the jumper cables on backwards and pops the little diode in the wiring harness. Bill
I installed a new 7hp Tecumseh Snow King engine on my late 80’s JD 524 snowblower almost 10 years ago. It has 110 volt electric start. Can I power a light from the engine? If not I was wondering if I could change pulleys on the engine PTO and install a GM one wire alternator to power lights?
Yes, Led lights use very little power. I bought a motorcycle battery to power mine. They run for hours and I just put a trickle charger on it and leave it that way when not in use. Adding the alternator to an engine would be very difficult and expensive. On throwers with lights there is a built-in magnet on the flywheel and a coil that the current in induced into. My battery was about $18.00. Just fashion a holder from sheet metal or something.
Check your blower. If you have a stator on the motor then you have what you need. On the old Tecumseh snow king engines it would be a white plug on the right hand side of the engine obviously not plugged into anything. It's possible your motor was setup for lights even though the blower itself never had them. That was the case with my snow blower. If you don't have the stator then you could install one, but that isn't easy for the regular joe. Parts can be had for roughly $50 if you pickup a bunch of used stuff and put it together. The worst part of changing a non stator motor to one with a stator is getting the dang flywheel off, many times you end up breaking them. I'm in the camp of if your blower doesn't have a stator then a smaller battery plus holder is the best bet.
I think I'll just mount a battery holder on mine and power the LED lights with a power tool battery. Now to find a 20v light bar...(Mine already has a 3w light on it near the top of the handlebars, which lights the machine itself just fine, but not much in front of it, lol). Never saw a rectifier like that. I've seen tube type, selenium type and the 1N4007 diode type, but that's a new one on me. Not sure what the capacitors would be for as I think a dropping resistor would sufficiently lower the voltage enough for the lights to keep from blowing them. I take it that the generator on that unit puts out AC voltage then? Weird. But I guess since there's no battery on the unit to recharge for starting...
This is a bit more complicated than need be. All one actually needs is the rectifier and the 12 volt LED light fixture. Wire it up the exact same way but exclude the capacitors. I did this mod 3 years ago on my 2009 craftsman blower that did not have a light from the factory but the engine had the stater factory installed from Briggs. I used a bridge rectifier out of an old computer power supply and all works flawlessly.
I seemed to have solved the issue. Removing the capacitors and keeping the rectifier only solved the issue. I'm not an electrical expert and cant explain why. Also, do not go "cheap" on the choice of LED lamps. Use a quality off-road grade LED light set. Can't tell you how many 12V LED bulbs I burned out during this process.
AWESOME instructions! I successfully followed the directions and installed a set of LED flood lamps on Troy-Bilt 28 dual-stage snowblower (that has heated grips). The only additional modifications that I made were to use heat-shrink tubing to help isolate/insulate the wire/connections points for the rectifier and splices to the power out from the engine.
Does anyone know what kind of volatge and current one can get from the flywheel stator of a tecumseh 8-10hp? Those lamps can quickly be 20-30 w, I dont know if the engine can provide this.
I did the hack - and it works great! I used the parts in the links, mounted them in a gray 4" Carlon plastic electrical box. Used those 4 spade connectors on the bridge rectifier and then soldered the wiring to the capacitors then used a LOT of hot melt glue to insulate the wires (it is non-conductive) and secure the parts in place in the box. On my Ariens 926LE I mounted the box on the bottom of the "dash" out of the way.
For power, I just snipped the existing power supply wires to the lights and extended them into the box.
For the light, I used an 8", 12 bulb LED light from Harbor Freight (Under $40 with the coupon) and mounted it near the top of the front of the auger housing. I had already mounted an hour meter; that remains hooked up to the original AC output wiring.
No switch needed, the light turns on with the engine and there is no flickering when it is running at normal speed.
Seems like about 25 times more light than the weak one that came with the blower, with the same wattage.
Darn thing lights up my whole block.
Thanks for your video!!!!!!!!!!!
I decided to do this on the two snowblowers I have that have stators. I opted to leave out the capacitors and the toggle switch and decided to include an inline fuse. Your video made the process so simple.
And I love the Auxbeam lights you recommended.
Thanks Don!
Have you had any problems without the capacitors?
I followed your video and my LED light works great! I found one with the same 18 watt consumption as the original bulb to protect the stator from being over worked and disconnected original bulb. The lumens are 1100 now as opposed to 263 with original bulb. Thanks! Great video as always!
Thanks for the video. I set mine up exactly as shown and the lights are very bright and no flicker. I cut and used the enclosed wire harness and fuse. Great instructions. Easy to follow. Thank-you Don.
With your help I installed a 20” oxbeam led light on my ariens snow blower last year and it’s working great, I mounted it on the top of the intake to get better illumination, I have a tarp cab that was in the way, thanks doneyboy you saved the day again that was the prescription I needed.
Your last explanation was so much clearer than previous attempts. Thanks for this tutorial, demonstration and parts links!!!
For units without charging systems or electric start one could retro fit their unit with just a 12 volt battery of appropriate size for their equipment or even one from a motorcycle and just attach a battery tender to the battery so when not being used it could be plugged in to keep the battery at full charge. LED's draw very little power so a battery of proper size for your equipment would last many times longer than a rechargeable cordless tool battery and you would just install them as per the manufacturers instructions making your positive and negative connections to the battery.
Not trying to beat you down DONYBOY73 but just saying there's more than one way to Skin that Cat. You have great informational and detailed videos thanks for your time.
Craig Timmons did that on my tractor for a winch and Strobe light, works very well
Excellent tutorial. The only thing I would do differently would be to put the switch between the AC wire from the engine and the rectifier. That way rectifier and capacitors aren't energized with no load when the light is off. Great video.
Perfect that’s exactly what I ended up doing. And u can only use a basic 2 prong switch not a lighted switch bc it won’t make the stock light as bright as it normally would !
I know this video are quite old but Donny did a great job explaining and I really appreciate you get out the community.
@Donny, I have a Toro 1038 Tecumseh and a Toro 1128 Briggs and Stratton. If I follow your method using two pods of 18W, would both engine produce enough voltage to power 36W total?? Can anyone help me answer this question please? Thanks in advance.
I like the auxbeam lights I put them on my zero turn and on the back of my pickup for plowing snow. Nice video hooking the lights to a snowblower is tricky wiring compared to a DC 12 battery application. Nice Job!
thanks
Excellent how-to video with adding lights to a snowblower! Those LEDs definitely look robust and well made. Thanks so much Don!
Great video, but one question, where does one get the male connector with cord for the stator female connector wire coming from the engine?
The wires coming from the blower are carrying AC voltage.The rectifier changes it to DC like your car. The capacitors filter the current ie: take out the pulsating that would be apparent with out them shrink wrap all of that well.wish my older ARIENS 521 had the magneto on the engine for lights.jim
Hello I am adding two of the small aux beams like yours on my snowblower. Do I need to use 2 rectifiers or can I go with one and then tie the two lights in after the capacitors?
I’m not sure on to connect the capacitor ? is there one on each wire going to the light ? Or they are connected together ?
Could you run both of those smaller lights with the lower amperage stator wire?
So I can put a higher wattage light bar than the 18w that I've seen on other videos?
Do they make 12 volts LED lights ready to be install without rectifier and capacitor ?
Hi Don try to install on my craftsman snowblower but i can't find positive wire ,can you help to located please
hoang tran did you get this working ?
@@joshsinykin5230 no
How many watts was the light you installed and does it matter ? Thanks in advance.
Once again, a fantastic instructional vid from Don. You make this so easy!
Thanks for this light idea. :)
Love your videos. Lots of great ideas and
Your skills are very high in mechanical / Electrical
Just a heads up when installing a on/off switch. I bought a lighted toggle switch and wired everything thing up properly. Once I started the blower the stock headlight was very dim and it didn’t allow it’s full lumes. So I had to disconnect the ground wire to my switch eliminating the internal bulb and the problem was solved. Now the switch is just a 2 prong switch. So when adding a switch just get a BASIC On/Off switch. It’s doesn’t work with lighted toggle switch!
Power Chute Hack. I utilized an old 12 volt DC reversible drill and a double pole double throw switch with spring loaded neutral centre. Cut off the chute crank handle and chucked it into the drill and securely mounted the Drill to one of the control arms. Mounted my Garden Tractor battery on the Snowblower above the engine in small battery box and now at the touch of a switch I can turn my chute up to 190°. Battery stays charged all season. I have a canopy (highly recommended) and also run a mag base rotating blue light and rear LED red light on top. Because I could. I could easily run additional 12VDC lighting.
I might need to buy some tools & do this myself. I currently use my old clip on LED light from firefighting, BUT it accidentally fell off once; I don't want to be stuck in the dark like that again.
Amazing video. Is there a max watt light I can use? I have a predator 212 and have heard 36 watt in some forums.
Also end of video at 9:59 it looks as though after you tidied up the wires you added a Fat yellow wire and a fat Red Wire which were not seen at previous mentioned times of 4:34 and 9:12 of this video. I am not being a pest I just noticed it and am not very savvy when it comes to wiring. Also Don you mentioned a toggle switch......Any Volt or amps on a toggle switch or ???? When I look up toggle switches they seem to be all different volts and amps 12v/20A.....12v/30A.....then wattage???? Appreciate your help.
It’s working fine on my snowblower thank you for your video 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Nice video. But I have two older Arien’s snowtrowers for the 70’s with no lites on them. How would I do this ???
My original light is burn out on my snowblower, can I connect this set up directly on the wire that goes to my old existing light and from there do to my new LED lights ? UPDATE : I followed your instructions and it’s working ! Thanks a lot Al
I love those lights. No snowblower for me in the south, but I have two of the next bigger size mounted on the front of my boat, and two the size you have shown on the back of the boat. Running boat trails with the reflective posts marking the trails is now easier, and backing the boat up after dark is much easier to see as the two on the back of the boat now act as magnum back up lights. Like them so well and the cost is minimal, I'm considering adding two more on the rear bumper of my truck for additional back up lighting with or without the boat trailer behind.
Also for seeing the bank while night time fishing, I have one of the smaller leds on a clamp on mount, that I can dim down with a pulse modulation switch , which is fairly inexpensive also.
OK that is working very good but, what is the voltage required for those lights? I assume it might be 12 volts DC yes, no?
They useally spec at 12-24v but they can work from low as 10v or something like that
Hi Don, can we do this install on a paddleblower?
Hello Donny
I have an old Craftsman Tecumseh 10.5 hp SB with an incandescent light. I didn’t bother with the rectifier. I just put the same lights you have with a switch and it works just fine with little or no pulsing. way brighter than the original.
don
Don It will eventually burn the stator out. It gets really hot everytime you turn on the lights. You should invest in the couple bucks for the rectifier, so the stator never burns out.
Thanks Fearless. i guess I can do that . I just don't know why that would be any different from using the original light.
Hi, the LED light acts as a diode, it simply uses half of the sine wave provided by the stator. This is the cause of the flicker. The only way you can damage the stator is by having your LED light exceed the specified power.
Don The original light ran off alternating current AC straight from the stator, these LED lighrs are using direct current DC, without the rectifier to properly convert from alternating AC to direct DC it will cause the stator to go bad. Thats the difference between the old light and the new LED lights, thats why they use a rectifier.
If you have a DC Alternator can you hook the leds directly to the dc side. I have a 3/5 amp AC/DC alternator. I want to add an led light to an 80's Ariens blower, no other electronics. Can I hook right into that 3 amp DC side without a rectifier/etc?
my blower has a 18 watt alternator what size lights can i use ? i think i have 2 18 watt cube led laying around would that be to much for the system ?
It looks like Aux Beam has a good opportunity to make and sell a premade adapter for an application like this one. Thanks, Dony! Nice comment from Russell Booth, too. It looks like he knows his stuff.
Good video Donny, it doesn't matter which AC connector you elect as your positive or negative because that current "alternates" between + and -. So each terminal is alternatively positive and negative.
thank you!
dony your 1 of the few who really posted a great video all the rest of the idiots talk about their beautiful snow blower you would think they were talking about their wives love your video's very thorough !
I have a Ariens pro 28 926065 and I want to add 2 18watt led no lights. Have rectifier is that all I need?.
Great video, going to install one soon. Just wondering what gauge wire you would use
I think i used 14g
Hey, was wondering; why does it seem like you guys use the white lights and not the yellow (fog) ones. For now that is what I run in the factory 1156 bulb. It seems to cut through the falling snow with not nearly as much glare. I would run selective yellow headlights on my car like the French used to until they changed the law...
What is the voltage coming out of the snow blower? Are you increasing the voltage for the LED?
Thanks, Dony! I'm considering adding on one to my Toro 724. 👍👍👏
Can I leave power to the lights which came with the snowblower and add the bar light to the front of the blower using your method?
Bloody brilliant stuff there Donny i can already see this Leaf Blower too so you never miss a thing cheers from Australia to Canada ;)
I have a 2019 husqvarna 42” riding mower, it came with normal 1156 bulbs. I piggy backed the oem light wiring to power the twin 6-led bars, did I need to add the rectifier and capacitors? What will happen?
LED lights are terrific!!! They sure made a difference with lighting your work area!!! Nice tips too on how to connect so as not to harm the LED's or the blower stator.
Great video! Could you use 40amp bridge rectifier in place of the 50amp? I have a 40amp 1000v bridge rectifier on hand. Thanks for your time and help.
Donyboy73 can you do a video on how to install hand warmers!
Don at 9:12 of the video you show the power cord coming from engine(I have HMSK80 myself w/same white plastic end(323)) what is the wire that connects to that Do you have a part number? So say wire out of engine is male connector.. what is the female wire that matches/connects to it???
Correction plastic end 322
Does it matter on the Uf rating on the capacitor? I have some but they arent 2200
Hi. Will these components become hot ? Maybe put them inside a small waterproof box ? Thanks, Bard
Hey Dony, whats the part number for the engine stator on your Ariens that allows for the hand grip warmers?
I have a 13.0hp Tecumseh OHV on my Toro Powershift I may want to add aftermarket heated grips too. Thanks.
611104 3/5 amp alternator. Works with 3 magnet flywheel 611093.
Cool thanks.
No problem.
like the idea, but with all the vibration will they loosen and come apart . great job , good info. have a great weekend
You’ve been a big help making my old junker run better. Looking at your capacitors, looks like electrolytic. Have you had trouble with them in the cold? I might try some thin film or ceramic caps instead? Also looks like your just running both caps in parallel, across the output of the rectifier, but a little hard to tell for sure? Thanks! Btw, I just swapped the 12hp off my old yard king with a junk final drive onto a slightly newer snow king that had an anemic 10hp but a much better final drive design. It’s now a beast that needs a better light.
I see that auxbeam
offers bigger ledbars... is there a limit on how high i can go on the wattage with this setup?
Hey, need some advice I have an old snapper 824 series 1 snowblower. I got an LED light which I mounted to the snowblower and ran the wires to a fuse and bridge rectifier. The LED light comes on for about 15-20 seconds then shuts off. Did some checking with the voltmeter and from the motor 22 volt Ac at 349 hertz? And on the dc side, it's 22 volts. Do you know if the bridge rectifier is overloaded? The fuse didn't blow and the light still works when hooked up to a 20v drill battery.
Help please.
You Da Man.
This light works great. I installed without the capacitors. I couldn't wait until they were shipped.
I will install when they arrive. Thanks you. Keep up the good videos.
Re did with the capacitor. WOW. Not its bad ass. thanks again.
What do you need the capacitors for?
tjc1ny I believe the capacitors take the pulse output of the rectifier and helps provide a more constant input to the led. These means no more flickering leds.
Thinking about upgrading to an LED on my 10.5hp snowblower for either the end of this season (upstate NY)/the start of next season - very informative so thank you.
Just out of curiousity do you think an HID headlight with a ballast/relay "could" be installed if someone were to come up with a mount or holder that fits the bulb (maybe in the OEM housing if gutted - or a waterproof enclosure). I've installed HID's on a few of my cars over the years and its pretty easy, this seems very similar without the ballasts - Is there any reason in particular LED is preferred over HID on a snowblower?
Just bought a ST1032 and wonder how much power the alternator provides ? I bought a 27W LED , would that work ?
Don this will work for me, how many lights can I install? Also can you get 12 volt charge to charge a battery?
I want to install on garden tractor need 12 volt starter. Thanks Ben
Super easy to follow. Just one thing I have two 18w led lights and wonder do I need two capacitors for each light ?
yes
Can someone else confirm this as well? I would think that if the lights were pig tailed together and the 2 capacitors were ahead of the pig tail it should be fine. I don't see how 2x18 w lights is different than the one 72W light.
It isn’t, you can wire the lights in parallel and just use 2 capacitors. I don’t even use the capacitors and it work fine.
I appreciate the information on light installation!!! This would have been really helpful.
I found a few lights with magnets located on their base, and set them on my (Ariens) snow blower's metal dash. I didn't have the patience for this modification, at the time. Thanks again.
I love your videos....thank you for sharing your knowledge on TH-cam! Why do you need two capacitors in the circuit? Does it have to do with the amount of LED's you installed?
Does the rectifier heat up at all ?? im debating to make a nice 3D printed enclosure for the rectifier and the capacitors so its a nicely sealed up unit for my honda. The larger honda boys have an onboard 12v battery so its a much easier upgrade :) My little unit only has a direct power line.
Hi Don, you are providing great videos. Thanks. Ok this question may have been asked but am curious to know if u can get hand warmers installed on my 2007 Toro Max 826 LE? Also wanted to know how the steering assist on some newer snow blowers differs to the non steering assist ones, mechanically? In other words how does steering assist work? Is there any steering mods one can do to say the Toro 826 LE? Probably no or too expensive, I just was wondering.
Loris
I used a KBPC 2504 thinking any rectifier would work, but am only getting about 8v dc output... but do have between 12-13v ac input. is this rectifier different than the one you are using (which I just ordered by the way).
can`t beat led`s. super bright.nice video
Should the capacitors be left exposed or can they just be wrapped with electric tape?
you could tape them up
Liquid electrical tape. Love that stuff.
@@Banditt42 So it's ok to brush that all over the capacitors/ bridge rectifier and all connections?
I am a huge fan on LED lighting, nice job Don!
Oh Danny boy,
you have a surplus of information though I am not looking to put a light like this on my unit, and I don’t already have a light on my snowblower.
I just wanted to throw a comment out there for a super video though it doesn’t hit right where I need to be, you are right on time.
Additionally, the pipes the pipes are calling
Many thanks laddy
Also shame on me I did not watch this video from beginning to end so it may have solved my problem though I suspect that it wouldn’t have, by my leave Patrick Begora.
(Pardon the Disney reference)
I bought a led light that is ac/dc just spliced in same wattage, way more light.
Keep up the good work though.
Hey Don, what if I have the 3/5 amp AC/DC Tecumseh alternator laying around. I can hook the led right into the DC part of the alternator without needing a rectifier or capacitors right?
Unfortunately your not getting back to me, so I have spoken to several other people about this topic. So far everyone I spoke to except one, said yes, if you have 3 amps unused DC on a Tecumseh or whatever for that matter, you can hook an LED straight in to the DC, no rectifier, capacitors, etc. Since I'm using an 18 watt DC 4 inch auxbeam, that gives me 2 amps DC to spare. Only 1 person said he burned out is alternator, but he probably went over 3 amps or did something else wrong. I'm going to be hooking this up in the coming days, I will get back with a conclusion, but as of now, if you have the 3/5 amp DC alternator and your not using the DC, you can hook straight in. Plus all the snowblowers that use that 18 watt alternator can have the 3/5 amp added, it uses the same 3 magnet flywheel the little one does. Their out their for sale used. I'm adding it to an 8hp Tecumseh on a 1987 Ariens.
You always grab my interests with your great how too's! I heard a rumor that ariens will offer a led update led light that will replace most existing older lights this year sometime,(2021). Have you heard anything like this? Thanks and keep up the great vids!
haven't heard yet but i'll post if i hear about it
Wow that was a good video. I'm definitely going to do my I want to check those lights for my truck two
I tried installing a light with the rectifier and 2 capacitors but my engine wouldnt start , you could see light want to go on during cranking . After disconnecting, the engine now barely idles. Dont know what happened
Isn't 72W pushing the output capacity of the snowblower? For example, my Murray only had one light as an option, and it was (I think) a 30 watt incandescent bulb. I took that as a guide and built a light bar that stayed under that. At 72 watts I'd be concerned about burning something out.
sure it is, but it works great and it's not for the space shuttle
works great... for now.
It's 72 watts equivalent light, not actual draw. A 60 watt led in your house is using a fraction of that.
How do you know the light is not drawing 72 watts? I can't seem to find the specs anywhere. It would be good to know the volts, watts and amps the Auxbeam bar draws.
I know it's not really an "engine" topic, but I'd love to see a video on making as homemade snowblower canopy. Home Depot wants $150 for the Ariens one and the reviews all say it's flimsy and cheap!
This is an awesome video. I've got an older MTD Yard Machine 8/24 with electric start that has one (1) wire coming out with a bullet connector. I don't know how much voltage or wattage that one wire provides, so if anyone can help me out on that I would definitely like to build a light setup. I was hoping to put two (2) small lights on the blower... one on the left-hand side of the bucket to focus on the rear immediately in front of the bucket/auger, the other mounted up high on the "dashboard" off to the right and focused out to a greater distance. So if I used two 18W lights, would that work or is there more powerful lights that could be rigged with Donny's wiring idea?
Hi Donyboy73. Can this light kit be installed in the Ariens Hydro EFI engine model? Thank you.
i see you made this video 4 years ago , how is the light in your personal snowblower doing ?
Why are the capacitors necessary? Seems they make the set up look messy.
So the Generator is AC? If not, why would a bridge rectifier be needed?
Do the lenses yellow after 1-2 years of use or outdoor exposure?
Great video Don. I see a lot of comments about overloading the alternator. These snow thrower alternators are just like the lawn tractor ones and when someone runs the battery down trying to start their lawn tractor the alternator is working as hard as it can to bring the battery back up. Even if the tractor has a voltage regulator that regulator only limits voltage, not current. I have only seen these alternators damaged when somebody jump starts the tractor with the jumper cables on backwards and pops the little diode in the wiring harness.
Bill
I installed a new 7hp Tecumseh Snow King engine on my late 80’s JD 524 snowblower almost 10 years ago. It has 110 volt electric start. Can I power a light from the engine? If not I was wondering if I could change pulleys on the engine PTO and install a GM one wire alternator to power lights?
Can I use the rectafier kbpc2504 instead of
kbpc5010 thanks
May I ask what does a compositor do?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED!
can you retrofit a light if your snowblower never had a light to begin with? thanks for the video
you would need somekind of stator or hook them up to a battery, these lights use hardly any power so a good battery would last a long time
I used a recharable-battery LED Bar - no hookup required: I put it on with bungee cords through holes on a Ariens.
Yes, Led lights use very little power. I bought a motorcycle battery to power mine. They run for hours and I just put a trickle charger on it and leave it that way when not in use. Adding the alternator to an engine would be very difficult and expensive. On throwers with lights there is a built-in magnet on the flywheel and a coil that the current in induced into. My battery was about $18.00. Just fashion a holder from sheet metal or something.
Check your blower. If you have a stator on the motor then you have what you need. On the old Tecumseh snow king engines it would be a white plug on the right hand side of the engine obviously not plugged into anything. It's possible your motor was setup for lights even though the blower itself never had them. That was the case with my snow blower. If you don't have the stator then you could install one, but that isn't easy for the regular joe. Parts can be had for roughly $50 if you pickup a bunch of used stuff and put it together. The worst part of changing a non stator motor to one with a stator is getting the dang flywheel off, many times you end up breaking them. I'm in the camp of if your blower doesn't have a stator then a smaller battery plus holder is the best bet.
Look at lower portion of engine foward of the pull start. I had a craftsman without a light, but it had the option for a light on the engine.
I think I'll just mount a battery holder on mine and power the LED lights with a power tool battery. Now to find a 20v light bar...(Mine already has a 3w light on it near the top of the handlebars, which lights the machine itself just fine, but not much in front of it, lol). Never saw a rectifier like that. I've seen tube type, selenium type and the 1N4007 diode type, but that's a new one on me. Not sure what the capacitors would be for as I think a dropping resistor would sufficiently lower the voltage enough for the lights to keep from blowing them. I take it that the generator on that unit puts out AC voltage then? Weird. But I guess since there's no battery on the unit to recharge for starting...
This is a bit more complicated than need be. All one actually needs is the rectifier and the 12 volt LED light fixture. Wire it up the exact same way but exclude the capacitors.
I did this mod 3 years ago on my 2009 craftsman blower that did not have a light from the factory but the engine had the stater factory installed from Briggs. I used a bridge rectifier out of an old computer power supply and all works flawlessly.
Hey Dony, On the Toro blower with the 18W light Is that light always on or did you add a Toggle on off
switch?????
light was always on the toro snowblower,I did add a switch to the ariens though
I used this exact wiring setup on my older NOMA snow blower and keep burning out leds. I am getting 46 volts DC at the bulb. Why would this be?
I seemed to have solved the issue. Removing the capacitors and keeping the rectifier only solved the issue. I'm not an electrical expert and cant explain why. Also, do not go "cheap" on the choice of LED lamps. Use a quality off-road grade LED light set. Can't tell you how many 12V LED bulbs I burned out during this process.
Because your alternator outputs a voltage too high. You could use a voltage regulator before your LED.
AWESOME instructions! I successfully followed the directions and installed a set of LED flood lamps on Troy-Bilt 28 dual-stage snowblower (that has heated grips). The only additional modifications that I made were to use heat-shrink tubing to help isolate/insulate the wire/connections points for the rectifier and splices to the power out from the engine.
Is there a model of this unit with warm white LEDs?
Will the included wiring harness with the switch work on a snow thrower??
He mentioned that he did not think the switch on the included wire harness was waterproof and that is why he did not use it.
Again best channel for saving money and being able to do my own repairs.
have a great year!
Does anyone know what kind of volatge and current one can get from the flywheel stator of a tecumseh 8-10hp? Those lamps can quickly be 20-30 w, I dont know if the engine can provide this.