I'm adding 2- 55 watt lights to my zero turn mower, do I need to add a relay in the circuit? I'm not up on my 12 volt wire size requirements. What size will I need for this? I figured this would be a good place to ask....
Even if the wire size is adequate, the light switch
may be the weak point. The relay would be my choice.
I hope you have a good battery because the charging circuit won't keep up with it. What ZTR mower and engine do you have? You may be better off using LED lighting for a mower. It's not like you need to shoot a beam down the highway and they draw far less current.
Yes, you should use a relay. The light wiring for most mowers is designed for 2A or less. Each of your 55W lights will draw more than twice that. You'll want to run the power feed directly from the battery and use at least 14Ga. wire.
It's a John Deere 997 3 cyl diesel. John Deere makes a light kit for the mower, but they want close to $300.000 for it! I should be able to put together the lights for less than half of that. Does the Amp/Watt/Volt formula work the same on DC and AC?
I hate to but in, but feel obligated to say how dangerous mowing the grass in the dark can be.
Michael,
I mow over 500 acres in a 1200 acre Boy Scout Camp and we are required to have not only our lights on but also flashers and strobes. 90% of my mowing is day light.
If one were to have lights, why would mowing in the dark be any more dangerous than mowing in the daylight?
David, there are some incredibly bright LED lights available now that will take care of all your problems. Very low amp draw so no special switch or higher Amp charging required. Do a search for Grote led lights.
I don't mow in the "dark", but sometimes I'm still mowing as the sun goes down and a little extra light would be helpful to finish the job. I'll have to check out the LED lights.
I have a Toro Z Master Commercial 60" I put the 2" chrome
Driving light kit that walmart sells $16 . They've been on it for 5 years now with no issues. No relay installed even the cheap plastic rocker switch still works fine.
But keep in kind I don't mow in the dark for hours either.
If it's something your going to use for over an hour or two at a time, I would recommend a relay.
NOTE: The light kit that the dealer sales for my mower they were 55W as well,the kit had 2 plastic lights, wire, and cheap switch.... Price $145..!