# Light on Honda Blower



## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

Hello,

I have a 2003 Honda HS928 snowblower and the work light has burnt out.
I have purchased an almost identical light from Princess auto.
The original is a 12volt 50watt sealed beam light.
The one I have purchased at Princess auto is similar at 12volts and 55watts.

Mounting it onto the machine was easy as I could use the same "U" bracket.

Only problem is, I cant seem to get the new light to work.

There is only one wire coming out from the back of the engine (near the pull start) that the light connects to. It grounds from the bracket (I am guessing).

I have connected the "power" from the new light to the wire coming out of the engine, and the ground wire for the light to the bracket that holds the light. Still does not work.

I have tested the light on a car battery and it was fine, so I know that the light works.

What am I doing wrong?

Any help appreciated!!


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

sounds like your light wasn't burnt out. problem inside engine with alternator

1st try your old light on the car battery.

hook a voltmeter to the wire out of the engine and a ground while the engine is running. see what it reads


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Light*

TD5771 beat me to the punch. Other than what he said, also check the connectors.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

I do believe the old light was not any good. When I removed it off the bracket I could here the small bulb rattling around inside.

I will try the volt meter suggestion, and see what that brings.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

OK guys, this is what I did.....

I am not a pro by any means using a volt meter.
The one I have has DC settings. Within the DC settings it has a few different calibrations marked 2, 20 200.

I set it on 2.
Touched the red to the positve on the light, and tried touching the black in a few different places on the machine while it was running.

Nothing. Meter is speratic. numbers jump around but basically come back down to zero within a few seconds. Maybe I am not doing this correctly, I am not sure.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Light*



giovanni said:


> Touched the red to the positve on the light, and tried touching the black in a few different places on the machine while it was running.
> 
> Nothing. Meter is speratic. numbers jump around but basically come back down to zero within a few seconds. Maybe I am not doing this correctly, I am not sure.


Sounds like things are cutting in or out if the meter is showing anything at any time. Look for a broken wire or bad connection first. Check out the wire from the connector to the stator (which does mean some disassembly). This is assuming your machine has points in it. If it doesn't then I don't know about the stator but I'd still look at the wiring.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

This is what I did today....

I cut and stripped the wire that comes out from the back of the engine with the hope I could make better contact with the meter. 
I still get no reading at all. The problem must be with whatever is supposed to be creating the 12 volts inside the engine.

What I dont understand is that the engine runs just fine. If there was a problem with voltage, wouldn't the spark plug be getting no power at all?

Or is the system that runs the light separate?


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

There are 2 separate coils inside the engine. One runs the spark plug and one runs the lights.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Light coils*



Shryp said:


> There are 2 separate coils inside the engine. One runs the spark plug and one runs the lights.


Yup - exactly as Shryp stated. Here are examples of each.
Here's a non-light setup which happens to be a Tecumseh 5 HP.








Here's a larger motor that's set up for a light








The 2d one with the provisions for a light has everything the first one does plus more. 








It has additional coils and wiring in there along with additional magnets on the flywheel (at least on a points engine).

Hope that helps.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

Can someone enlighten me on what is involved if I had to replace this charge coil?
Is this a major job?


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Replacing*

Replacing isn't or shouldn't be physically hard, that's the easy part. 2 bolts through the assembly into the block, disconnect the wire leading to the safety switch, change out the capacitor. Then you have to likely move the magneto coil from one to the other.

The biggest issue you'll have is timing it and then setting the points after replacing the stator. If you look at the 2 slotted holes in the assembly, you need to adjust the whole thing so it opens at a particular spot in the crankshaft rotation, that's your timing. Best suggestion is to take a look at the Tecumseh repair manual and see what you think. It either takes some special tools or pull the head and use a dial indicator etc.

Can you do it, sure if you want to and have the tools, pay someone to do it for you, etc. Big question is: "Is it worth it to you"? You're out a light (so tape on a flashlight if need be) and anything else like handwarmers etc that are run via the generator. The blower still should run and the electric starter should be unaffected.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

A 2003 Honda isn't going to have points. Also, I doubt the Tecumseh manual is going to be much help to him 

Sorry, I can't really be much more help since I have never torn apart a Honda/clone nor have I worked on engines with charging coils.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Light*

If this has a clone engine, then my info is incorrect - sorry about that. If it has a Tecumseh then it would be applicable.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

HCBPH said:


> If this has a clone engine, then my info is incorrect - sorry about that. If it has a Tecumseh then it would be applicable.


First post:


> I have a 2003 Honda HS928 snowblower and the work light has burnt out.


In all seriousness though, every time I hear of a snowblower problem I automatically think Tecumseh too.


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## Tall Dog (Jan 18, 2012)

giovanni said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a 2003 Honda HS928 snowblower and the work light has burnt out.
> I have purchased an almost identical light from Princess auto.
> ...


 
Giovanni,

I recently had a similiar problem with my Simplicity Blower. Not sure how your Honda is set up, but on my Simplicity, there was a seperate Voltage Regulator mounted underneath the motor for the Electric Start. It was very easy to change out.

If your 12v coil is under the Flywheel, I would recommend having a shop do it. Sometimes those old rusted Flywheels are a "Bear" to get off without damaging them.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

All I see is one black insulated wire that come out from the back of the engine near the fly wheel. Sealed by a small rubber boot to the engine.

There are no other parts visible.

I would need a person with experience with the Honda 9HP engines to chime in here.


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

There are two coils under the flywheel. One supplies power to the spark plug, the other to the headlight (12 volts, 15 watts). The wiring diagram shows the "lighting coil" with a White and Green wire. 

You can inspect the lighting coil by measuring the resistance between the white and green wires; it should be 1.04~1.56 ohms. Anything outside that spec, replace the lighting coil. 

From what I can see, to R&R the lighting coil, the fan cover has to come off, then flywheel. A puller tool is needed to get the flywheel off, and a strapwrench and torque wrench for installation. The torque spec for the nut is 94 lbs-ft.

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

Robert Coats...I thank you for you input!

The 2 wires that you mention, should they both be visible from outside the engine? I only see one.

Also, I did a search for a new charge coil. All the ones I see have one wire coming from them.

The strapwrench that you mention. Can you please explain what the purpose of that is?

A freind of mine has a puller, and I have a torque wrench.

Does the pull start come off in one peice??


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

giovanni said:


> Robert Coats...I thank you for you input!
> 
> The 2 wires that you mention, should they both be visible from outside the engine? I only see one.
> 
> ...


The pull start should come off in one piece and the strap wrench would be used to hold back on the flywheel for removing and replacing the large center nut.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Strap wrench*



giovanni said:


> The strapwrench that you mention. Can you please explain what the purpose of that is?


If you do any amount of flywheel removal/reassembly then a strap wrench is a good tool to have in your toolbox.

I have this set and it's worked out very well for me
Shop Kobalt 2-Piece Multi-Purpose Strap Wrench at Lowes.com=

Grips well when unbolting and tightening the flywheel nut and so far I have had zero issues with it. Especially if you happen to have the plastic vanes on the flywheel. It's narrow enough to fit on the metal of the flywheel just fine on the Tecumseh's I have used it on.


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

giovanni said:


> Robert Coats...I thank you for you input!
> 
> The 2 wires that you mention, should they both be visible from outside the engine? I only see one.
> 
> ...


I want to make sure of the engine & snowblower is configured as I think. Can you get the frame serial number off the unit?

Next, I spoke with our tech guys, and some older accessory light kits were indeed a single-wire. Most are 2-wire, and the 2nd wire can be hard to find/recognize.

So let's start with the serial number first, so I can confirm what should be on the unit.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

It is a 2003 year blower, from what Honda tells me.

It has SZAS 1111424 model number on the machine

also, there is another sticker on the engine itself

WHNXS 2702SA


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

giovanni:

First, do you have a voltmeter? Let's measure the voltage coming from that black wire. Connect the red lead of the volt meter to it, and the black lead of the voltmeter to a ground point on the headlight bracket. Make sure the voltmeter is set to measure DC Volts, and start the engine.

It should measure +12V DC when the engine is running. 

If not, try with the black lead connected closer to the coil's location on the engine block---it may be the headlight is not getting a good ground for some reason.

From your description, you may have one of the single-wire coils, although all my documents (parts catalogs, shop manuals, etc.) show two-wire versions. 

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

I have tried a volt meter on the black single wire that I see. I stripped it back.
I cannot get a measurement on the meter set at 20vDC. I have tried to ground the meter anywhere on the machine where I see bare metal.

I have been told by someone that I should be using the meter at AC. Is this correct? Simply because this machine does not have the electric start.

This coil runs only the light.


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

giovanni said:


> I have tried a volt meter on the black single wire that I see. I stripped it back.
> I cannot get a measurement on the meter set at 20vDC. I have tried to ground the meter anywhere on the machine where I see bare metal.
> 
> I have been told by someone that I should be using the meter at AC. Is this correct? Simply because this machine does not have the electric start.
> ...


Back to square one....talking with our tech guys, we realize now the coil should be providing AC voltage, so measure it with AC on the voltmeter. 

Next, we think an AC lightbulb is different from a DC lightbulb. I am thinking the light you bought at the auto parts store is for a DC circuit? Just a guess here...

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## tuffnell (Dec 1, 2011)

Probably an incandesent light bulb and it doesn't care whether it's AC or DC but the amount is important.
Do you measure any resistance between the wire and ground?


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

here is what I did....

I set the multimeter to 200 on the AC side. I get a reading af 12.2

Not sure if I did the resistance part right, but I do get a beep out of the multimeter when I tried that. I think that is good, correct?

The light bulb that I got from Princess Auto says 12v 55w on it. Cant tell if it is AC or DC. But it shines just fine when I connect it to my car battery.

But the original one from Honda was a sealed beam. All it says on it is 12v 50w.

Please tell me this is good news??


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

I forgot to ask......

Princess Auto has a very similar sealed beam light. The only difference I see is that it is a 35watt instead of a 50watt as per the original.

My be less bright, no big deal.

Do you think that is OK, or should I stick with the same wattage? I dont want to burn something else out in the process.

here is a pic


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

I guess the main thing I should ask is if these sealed beam lights are all AC??


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

giovanni said:


> I guess the main thing I should ask is if these sealed beam lights are all AC??


The data in our parts catalogs says the original Honda light bulb is called out as a "H7614" and if you google that, you'll see a number of bulbs that are the same, 12 volts/ 55 watts.

Are you getting 12V AC at the location where the new light connects? The bulb appears to have two terminals/screws, does the light housing have a 2 wires / connector? I would measure for 12V there. 

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

I measure 12.2v AC at the single wire that is coming out from the back of the engine. I am guessing it is from the coil charge inside.

The original Honda bulb does have 2 screw downs(+/-).
The positive is connected to the wire coming from the coil charge, the other attached to the frame of the light (metal).

The light I pictured looks exactly the same as the original Honda light.

Princess Auto has the same light, only the wattage is different (35w as apposed to 50w)
I am not sure if this will damage anything, or if this bulb is AC?
How can I tell?


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

giovanni said:


> How can I tell?



If the light has the same code (H7614) type number, then it should be a compatible match with the original Honda light. The Honda light is indeed 12 volt / 55 watts. 

If you can measure 12 v at the locations where the bulb's screw terminals would connect, then a H7614 bulb should light up. 

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2012)

just an update.....

I ordered the H7614 bulb from an outfit in North Carolina. Cost was about $35 for the bulb and shipping to Ontario, Canada.

Installed the bulb onto the original Honda light casing and then hooked it up onto the machine. Works just fine.

Glad to see that light come on!!

This was a learning experience for me. I tried 2 other bulbs. The first was a complete casing and bulb (sealed beam) unit that was from Princess Auto. Not knowing it was a 12volt DC bulb, it did not work.

Second was a sealed beam bulb, also from Princess Auto. Looked exactly like the original on the machine. It was a 12v and had the 2 screw terminals on the back side for connections. I am guessing that this one was DC voltage as well.

How can you tell the difference between the DC and the AC bulbs?? These 2 sealed beam light from GE look exactly alike. One works on the machine, the other one wont work on the machine but will work with a 12volt car battery.


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## chevyman_de (Oct 2, 2011)

giovanni said:


> How can you tell the difference between the DC and the AC bulbs??


For an incandescent bulb it doesn't matter whether it's AC or DC.


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## ComicDom1 (Oct 14, 2012)

I am wondering if a light can be added to a Honda HS622TC model that did not originally come with one. Also can it be changed to an electric start?

Jason


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Hi Jason,
You don't mention where you are from, but I believe the TC indicates a Canadian HS622.
Folks up in Canada are lucky that they can still get the HS622! I bought mine here back in 1999, and it wasn't long after that they quit bringing them to the US. 

Anyway, in answer to your question, yes, there is a light available for the HS622TC. A drift breaker is listed as an accessory too. They're available in the US too. Honda U.S. part number for the light is 06600-743-800. You can see what it looks like here.
Honda Canada


So far as electric start, that's something else. They have electric start versions in Europe, and from what I remember seeing, they carry their own battery so they start up like a motorcycle or car rather than having to plug them into your house with a cord like electric start machines around here. I think this is the electric start version from the UK.
Key features | HS622ET | Snowblowers | Lawn & Garden | Honda (UK)

They have other parts than we do too, like that black extension on the auger housing. Not available here. Whether you could get the parts needed to make that change to electric start is another matter. You might have more luck in Canada than we would here. My local Honda dealer says access to such things are really limited to the dealers. I've found dealers in the UK and Italy who were willing to send that black extension, but the cost of shipping made any notion I had of getting one completely out of reason.

Maybe an electric start kit could be added. Be interesting to find out.
Honda GX160-QXE2 Electric Start 5.5 HP Engine - Helmuth Repair, Inc.
honda gx160 electric start | eBay


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## ComicDom1 (Oct 14, 2012)

I am from Illinois. I am just west of Champaign and live out in a rural sub division in the country.

After talking to Honda directly this morning, It was interesting to find out that you can put a light on the HS622 without electric start. Mine does not carry a battery so I just might call them again to confirm it. I guess the light could be powered by an internal coil like I read in this thread.

I also asked about converting it over to electric start, and the answer I received was no. So I guess unless I change the motor to one that has it, I am probably out of luck.

I have seen the drift breaker bars on ebay as well. Is that something you think I would need? 

I am considering one of those plastic cabs that mounts on the handle bars. Not sure if I will buy a Honda Version or the one sold at Menards.

As far as mine being a TC model, I picked that up from the web. Apparently the TC models did not include the light or electric start. The TCS model did. From my research they made both a TCA verision and TCB verision. I was told today mine is an A version made in 2000. My local dealer told me that Honda closed this model out around 2001 or 2002 for a discounted $799. Imaging paying that for a new $1800 -$1900 snow blower.

Jason


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

I'm in Rock Island, and I don't think the drift bars are anything needed. Mine has actually pushed its way into and through drifts that broke around the engine Here's something else you'll like. My local Honda dealer owns and uses an HS622. He could have any one in Honda's line, but babys his HS622 and it still looks like new. Another note about Honda dealers for you to consider. Honda just entered into that agreement with John Deere. You might want to look around to see if there is a long time Honda dealer in your area. He's more likely to know the Honda line inside and out, where as a Deere dealer might not. Just my 2 cents worth.

The HS622 like ours has two coils on it. One is the ignition coil that fires the spark plug, and the second is a lighting coil to operate the light. If you look down along the right hand side of the engine, you should see a wire wrapped up and tied to the frame. That is what the light will plug into. 

Take a close look at the European versions of the HS622 with electric start. You'll notice that the shroud just ahead of the gas tank is quite a bit taller than the shroud on ours. That's where the battery sits on them, and they have a third coil that charges the battery while the engine is running. These things don't plug into the wall like most electric start snowblowers, including Honda's larger ones, they start like your car with the turn of an ignition key. Those electric start kits in the link, that charging coil is included, together with the cogged flywheel that is needed to engage the starter. Our flywheels don't have the toothed rim. 

You should find that it will usually start before you have the starter rope fully pulled out, so the electric start might be unnecessary.

The HS622 has an enclosed transmission and clutch, which makes it even more like a car or motorcycle. There aren't any belts or chains to adjust for movement or the auger. 

Snowblowers don't have air cleaners as condensation from melted snow could freeze on the air cleaner element, and choke off the air to the carb. 

Granted, as a long time owner of an HS622, I'm biased, but I don't think you'll be the least bit disappointed with yours.


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