LED lights will not finish lighting up????

Mountain Heritage · #1 01-30-2016, 04:48 PM

Bought some Kawell LED work lights from Amazon for the 982 cab and they are frustrating me!! I mounted them on the cab roof and grounded them to cab, making sure the paint was removed and black wire was tight and wrapped around the bolt through cab. Red wire was then hooked up to switched wore from battery direct, did not go through the key switch. Read led lights still work on same circuit that the front ones I am trying to get lit up. I switch on the switch and the read red LED's come on but front white ones will very quickly start to light then they go almost out. Just the little dot in the centre will glow slightly. But the switch is still on and in-line fuse is not burnt out? The red tail light that I installed, also LED never go out this whole time. What am I missing? Is there a resistor or something that needs to be added to the set up? I am at a loss right now. The lights look great and are fairly well built by the looks of it?? Happy about that now if I can just get them to light up fully!!

CubDieselFan · #2 01-30-2016, 04:53 PM

Are they both doing the same thing? What happens if you take the wires straight to the battery?

R Bedell · #3 01-30-2016, 05:13 PM

Take a Long Jumper wire (say 6-8 ft). Turn on the lights are you described above.

(A) Connect end of the long jumper wire to the negative battery terminal. Touch the other end of the long jumper wire to the Black wire coming from the new LED's. Does this make the LED work correctly...???

(B) Do this same procedure from the Positive Battery Terminal to the red wire on the LED. Does this make the LED work correctly...???

If either (A) or (B) solves your problem, then that's the area focus on to finding the problem.

EDIT: This is assuming the new LED's are 12VDC rated.

Mountain Heritage · #4 01-30-2016, 06:04 PM

Both lights are doing the same thing unfortunately.

So let's say using the jumper wire does solve the problem - then what? Am I running too many lights off the same circuit? There is only the two whit lights in the front and the two smaller red ones on the back. Came the wires be reversed? Red being ground instead? Or would they even light up then? Yes they are rated for 12volts. They were bought off amazon, Kawell lights, meant for atv's or Jeeps??

R Bedell · #5 01-30-2016, 06:15 PM

Quote:

So let's say using the jumper wire does solve the problem - then what?

This suggests that there is a wiring or connection problem between the source (battery) and the fixture (the LED).

Quote:

There is only the two white lights in the front and the two smaller red ones on the back.

Start the tractor. At idle, do you have an minimum of 12.0 VDC at the Battery terminal checking with a VOM or DVM..?? At WOT,do you have an minimum of 12.0 VDC at the Battery terminal checking with a VOM or DVM..??

Turn on the lights in both tests to see if it draws the battery down to below 12.0 VDC.

R Bedell · #6 01-30-2016, 06:18 PM

As another test, take your VOM or DVM, check the voltage at the LED's pigtails (red & black wires). Is there 12VDC there..??

twoton · #7 01-30-2016, 06:20 PM

Check polarity. I got some leds for my dump truck. Figured red (+), brown (-) right? Nope. Lights wouldn't work. Turned out polarity was reverse. Brown was (+) and red was (-), polarity was reversed. Bizarre. Yes, some leds need an external resistor. Some come with one built in.

Mountain Heritage · #8 01-30-2016, 06:45 PM

If reverse polarity will they light at all?? Ok Roland, now you are going to make me get my manual out and figure out how to use that metre! I started tractor in case battery was getting low in juice. Didn't, do much really. They lit a little brighter but not enough hardly to say they improved?? So my straight connectors or something might not be making good contact then??