Early BX 22/2200/1800 LED Headlamp

[DustyRusty]

MY BX22 has an incandescent glass 2 filament headlamp bulb, as pictured below. After a lot of searching, I have found this inexpensive LED replacement. It can take as much as 2 months to arrive from China, and I will let you know how bright they are.
If you search eBay for " H4 Hb2 9003 Bulb 100W 20Led " you will find the bulbs (comes as a 2 pack) that I purchased at varying prices. I picked the least expensive, since all the pictures were of the same bulb.

 

[Dave_eng]

Does the existing bulb have the indexing tabs sticking out of the base as do the LED ones?

Are the existing bulbs 45 watts on each filament?

Your new LED bulbs are 100 watts. If the existing are 45 watts, how are you going to supply them with power since the existing electrical circuit load will be more than doubled?

Dave

 

[DustyRusty]

Lots of good questions, and I only have thoughts about the actual answers.. I will start with what I actually know.
1) My present bulbs don't have the locating tabs on them, however, neither is there any interference with the housing with the new bulbs having the tabs, since the flange of the bulb is external to the housing. Even if there was an interference problem, I could easily snip the tabs off and file the edges smooth.
2) The bulbs are 20 SMD LED's each, and I don't believe that 40 small SMD LED's (2 bulbs) will draw anywhere near 100 watts of power. Even if they do draw 100 watts of power, that is only 10 watts more than the present incandescent bulbs (45x2=90). For the sake of argument, I am assuming that the 2 bulbs combined the seller is representing that they will draw 100 watts combined.
3) Presently the 2 GE1931 bulbs have 2 filaments each that draw 45 watts as marked on the side of the bulb. Both filaments are active when the headlamps are illuminated. What I don't know is if each filament is 45 watts, or if both combined are 45 watts. I do know that in a U.S. automotive lighting, that on a dual filament bulb, on high beam, only one filament is energized at a time. Also, US bulbs will rate each filament separately. The current bulb only shows one rating of 45 watts. This is a European headlamp bulb, and I have no idea how the Europeans wired their headlights, single filament illuminated at a time or dual filaments illuminated for high beam. My initial thought is that both filaments combined are 45 watts, times two is 90 watts, however, until I take a meter to them, I just don't know. If my assumption about the original bulbs is incorrect, and each filament is 45 watts, and you multiply 4 filaments (2 bulbs) times 45 watts that is 180 watts, or 20 watts less than the new bulbs. What I do know is that a worse case scenario, the new bulbs are 100 watts apiece, that equals 200 watts for both bulbs. When you consider that 200 watts is only 16.667 amps at 12 volts, and that is less than half of my alternators output, I don't believe that there will be any problem of current draw.

 

[Dave_eng]

What is puzzling to me, based upon the WSM's wiring diagram I have, is that the head lights only have one power wire going to each bulb and also a ground. The incandescent bulb you showed the picture of uses two power wires, one for low beam and one for high beam plus a ground.

Verifying this basic aspect before waiting for the bulbs to arrive would be prudent.

My WSM may not represent your tractor's actual design.

Do you have the ability to switch between high and low beams now?

Dave

 

[DustyRusty]

There is no high and low beam switch, and to be honest, I don't remember if the headlamp connector has 2 or 3 wires to it. I will have to check on this and report back. Even if it is only 2 wires, the LED's will be much brighter than what I presently have for illumination.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Have you physically pulled out a bulb and looked at it?
For some odd reason, that's the only model that used that type of bulb, and kubota does not sell just the bulb, they only sell the whole housing?

 

[DustyRusty]

Yes, I have removed and replaced the bulb on a number of occasions. Whenever I needed a replacement bulb I bought it on eBay, since I couldn't find it locally. I asked at the local dealership once, and they didn't have it in stock, and deliver was going to a couple of weeks, so I started my search. When you search eBay for the part number GE1931, you get some hits, and if you look at the application guide, it comes back as fitting a Peugeot, BMW, and a few other cars of the 1980's and early 1990's. I just looked up the part number on Messicks website, and it is K2563-54340. I called, and they said it wasn't a stock item, he then checked his computer for availability from Kubota, and it is still available. The cost is $28.96 plus shipping.

 

[DustyRusty]

Just came back from checking the tractor, and there are only 2 wires to the headlamp bulb socket. After analyzing the wiring, I could install two hot wires using a relay that would be triggered by the present hot wire to the headlight. Once I get the LED bulbs, I will decide how to proceed from there.

 

[Brinet]

I resolved the dim bulb issue a different way.

There are LED floodlights on eBay that are an almost perfect fit to the factory. I removed the factory housings and added 20w 12v LED warm white floodlights in the same location. Almost blinding difference!!

I purchased a 5 pack for future needs.


FYI, the factory bulbs are 25 watt.

 

[Alloy]

I resolved the dim bulb issue a different way.

There are LED floodlights on eBay that are an almost perfect fit to the factory. I removed the factory housings and added 20w 12v LED warm white floodlights in the same location. Almost blinding difference!!

I purchased a 5 pack for future needs.


FYI, the factory bulbs are 25 watt.

Any photos of this? And a link for the ones you bought would be most welcomed and helpful!

 

[Brinet]

I think these are the floodlights I purchased.

Led lights

I don't have an install picture, but these are almost a perfect fit when mounted behind the steel cutout for the original housings.

 

[Brinet]

I think these are the floodlights I purchased.

Led lights

I don't have an install picture, but these are almost a perfect fit when mounted behind the steel cutout for the original housings.

The 20 watt D.C. 12-24 volt are what you are looking for.

 

[Alloy]

Really interesting! And really a great idea! Thank you!

 

[Gibiskus]

High-quality lighting. What I like about them is their smooth operation. The https://www.thegrommet.com/products/vont-collapsible-led-lantern-set-of-2 luminaires continue to provide the brightest possible light in the face of line voltage fluctuations. Long-term use. According to numerous reviews, LED table lamps have an average life of about 5-7 years. In general, the operating period of the diode is designed for 50,000 hours of operation, which is 17 years. Depending on the manufacturer and the cost of the product, LEDs are made in different spectra, the color rendering index is relatively high (Ra> 80), and they provide the creation of colored lighting.

 

[DustyRusty]

I installed the LED's in my BX22 on one side, and one of the bulbs was defective, and there wasn't that great of a difference, so I never ordered a replacement for the other side. I have since sold that tractor, and I am relatively certain the the new owner will be wondering why only one side was converted to LED.