lights on Cat

flying belgian · Oct 26, 2016

No it's not what you think. On my Cat tractor there are six "work or field" lights in addition to road lights. After using the work lights for about an hour they blow the fuse. Now I could find which is the offending
light by unhooking them one at a time until it no longer blows the fuse however I rarely drive this tractor at night as my bil. does most of my tillage by day. How can I determine which is the offending light besides
process off elimination?

oldtanker · Oct 26, 2016

First thing I'd do is see what the total draw is from the lights. They may be pushing the Max for the fuse.

Other than that your method is about the best hope IMO. Only other thing would be to clean all the grounds for the lights.

Rick

Cowmechanic · Oct 26, 2016

Sound's like the circuit is drawing too many amps for the fuse to handle.Run a separate parallel circuit to half the lights and/or utilize relays.

Cowmechanic · Oct 26, 2016

If it's a factory designed circuit you probably have a short to ground issue somewhere in the wiring harness.Like insulation partially rubbing through and don't forget to check the lights themselves for a short.

Determined · Oct 26, 2016

If you figure one is shorting out somewhere then a wiggle test with the lights on may yield some results.

Unclear from your post if they are all factory lights or extra lights added on to the circuit.

I have a tractor with extra work lights on back for baling in the dark, It goes about 45 minutes before it trips the resettable breaker, just a little too much draw for the circuit.

Easy check for this on yours would be to turn all the lights on then add some additional draw to the system (an extra work lamp with pigtails on it) and see if it blows the fuse right away, if so it might be time to run a second circuit or a relay to deal with the extra draw.

M w J · Oct 26, 2016

Depending what kind of lights the are Some fill up with dirt behind the bulb. and will cause them to draw more amps when connections get covered.

glennster · Oct 26, 2016

heres a crazy thought, if you have a laser temp gauge, run the lights for a while and check the plugs on the back and see if one is heating up way more than the other ones. could be a corroded socket.

bigbob1939 · Oct 26, 2016

Unhooking one light at a time will reduce the current draw and you will not be able
to pin point the light that is the culprit. Most likely it is a wire shorting out
problem. As said you can check each light with a temp gun to see witch one is
hotter. May be time to put a relay in the system. Bob

MARK ROBKE · Oct 26, 2016

Your problem could be at the fuse terminals/connections.If they are a wee bit loose,rusty,corroded-they can heat up after a while and blow the fuse.Is the fuse blown like a dead short,or sort of melted? Feel it after leaving the lights on for a while.I agree with the others who say to wire in a relay and take the load off of that fuse.Mark

lights on Cat

flying belgian

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oldtanker

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Cowmechanic

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Cowmechanic

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Determined

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M w J

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glennster

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bigbob1939

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MARK ROBKE

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