# HSS928ATD A Few Modifications



## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

*Chute, side skids, and LED lighting*

So we all know the bad rap that the HSS machines were getting for a few reasons. I'm confident that those issues are behind me and my hss928 is ready for decades of service.

#1 s̶h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶p̶i̶n̶s̶ Clevis Pins, I have new pins with the appropriate hardness. *All new HSS blowers have the proper pins*
(A limited amount of first run machines had improper pins installed at the factory.)

#2 drive speed, I have the external reservoir kit installed. *This appears to be an early build issue as well*

#3 clogging, I modified the existing chute collar to an optimized configuration. *PM me if interested in one*

Understandably people are going to voice there anger over these issues, I get it. Frankly, I enjoyed the process of working out some of the teething issues the new generation machines had. I love to analyze, extrapolate, and modify. It's not for everyone, and in a perfect world I would not had to do anything except use my brand new shiny snowblower. 

I went with a dual articulating chute setup, big fan. The collar is now shorter but still present to keep snow from getting stuck between the chute and chute motor cover. The pitch of the collar is now perfectly parallel to the back of the chute. And very importantly, the astetics of the original chute design remain the same.

Highlighted are the parts needed to convert to the dual articulating chute.





















Also went to poly skids and put trim edging on the bucket so I don't nick up the edges on everything. I had plans to add uhmw to the chute... I have the stuff but frankly I need to stop playing with my snowblower for a while and focus on my 3/4 finished house projects.











[url=https://flic.kr/p/XCpSvi]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XCpSDp]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XCpTaV]


Update:
Little modification worth noting. The fall line skids I have on the blower didnt come with hardware. I simply reused the hardware from my commercial side skids. But the little washer did not properly support the poly material.

I decided to whip up some slotted 1/8" steel plates to really support the skids. And spruce them up a bit.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1GV]

Another Update:
I finally got around to lining the OE rear skids with 1/8" UHMW. As SB83 suggested i'm going to shoot for 4 points of contact and see how smooth i can get my machine to glide over my akward driveway. 

I plan to keep my side skids at a 1/8" blade height for my driveway. Then adjust my rears for anything greater then 1/8" depending where snow removal brings me.

I also took the time to square up my bucket to the tractor section. Even from the factory my machine felt a little twisted. So i gave my machine a "bucket alignment." (I'm coining the phrase)

I raised my shave plate up against the end of its slots, removed my side skids, and loosened the 8 auger housing bolts. Then wiggled and shifted the housing until it was square to the ground. Snugged up the housing bolts evenly then set the shave plate height. 

Results... Feels Good.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1An]

Snow update:
Snow! Finally! A decent snowfall and a freshly prepped HSS928ATD.

Short Story: 3-4" of snowy concrete. Did excellent, No clogging, No drive speed slowdowns.

Long Story: Holy cow this stuff was dense. The snow had the mass of a 12+" snowfall in a 4" package. 
-I couldn't clog this thing... I tried. 
-Transmission performance, steady speeds the entire time through.
-Threw snow 30' and the dual chute was great for placing the snow exactly where I wanted.

I love tracks. Big fan of the ability to shift the center of gravity of the bucket. By lifting up on the handlebars when setting the bucket height only the rear of the track touches ground greatly increasing the buckets downward pressure. Which was super effective on this concrete snow.

I also figured out what i need to do as my next upgrade. LIGHTING. The LED headlight is bright but located too low for my tastes. Also, it would be nice to have lights in the operators position. Gotta figure out what fixtures and where, thinking red or amber for the back of the machine and a second lamp for the front mounted to the control panel. Its nice having an onboard battery.


Update: Lighting Upgrade And 12 inches of SNOW

Winter Storm Neko came and went and dropped 12" on most of the north east. The Honda worked flawlessly. Multiple hours of cleaning my property and it was a pleasure. 

All my efforts have paid off. Great machine to operate.

So I finally wrapped up my lighting upgrade on the Honda. 

[email protected] was nice enough to provide some of the basic specs on the 3 charge coils on the engines alternator. I thought about using the lighting coil for the additional lights but decided it doesnt have enough capacity for the lights i wanted to add. My machine has electric start and an on board battery which is best avenue for powering the lights. But I didnt want an always hot switch that could be left on and potentially kill the expensive AGM battery.

I decided on two flood lights mounted to the console, and two red marker lights in the operators position mounted under the battery. 

When it came to powering the lights I decided to make a relay wiring harness that is switched on by a marine switch on the console but only powered with the key on. The problem was the ignition switch circuitry does not contain a suitable key on power source or ground to trigger the relay. My solution was to use the rectified (DC) chute control power lead to trigger the relay.

I like the idea of having the lights only powered with the engine running because it idiot proofs leaving the light switch on and draining the battery. But there was an issue with using the chute control dc power. Its 24 volts at 3600rpm. 24 volts would eventually fry the relay coil which is designed for 12 volts. My solution was to add a 1 amp 24v to 12v regulator to the circuit powering the relay coil. 

All in all, the system works great and produces a ton of light. It was a fun project while also being a nice learning experience. I also built a nice pvc bridge rectifier box complete with fuse and capacitors in a nicely wrapped package. But thats for another machine.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1t8]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1cX]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XzFP1E]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD16p]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Wz3QNb]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XLHSLQ]


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## Kjf71 (Dec 11, 2016)

Did you do the work yourself or did Honda do it ? The chute and the reservoir ? Looks very nice by the way .&#55357;&#56397; 

If Honda did work do you push for it or did they call you about it ?


Also are the shear pins a upgrade compared to the stock ones ?


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## Tomatillo (Nov 11, 2016)

_Shazam!_ It looks GREAT. Can't wait `till you try it. Please post and let us know how it goes.


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## SB83 (Dec 15, 2015)

Nice! Did you reweld or epoxy the collar? Would be great to know exectly how you did it when you have a chance.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

I modified and installed the chute. It's welded into place. I might as well modify my stock chute too. I can take a couple pictures this time.

I also sourced different Clevis pins. I used stainless steel pins. Assuming the stock pins were too soft, I replaced with harder stainless. Only time will tell for sure.

My dealer installed the external reservoir. I was surprised how effectively it was all handled.

I was adamant that the transmission drive speed resembled an aeration problem. I mentioned a lawn tractor transaxle I repaired with low fluid and the same symptoms and suggested that they check the fluid level. A couple days later I got a phone call from a Honda representative that was investigating the transmission details. A friendly lady that seemed to be taking my problem seriously. I retraced my usage of the machine as best as possible, as she took notes. Honda seemed to be diligently getting a handle on the scope of the problem. Called my dealer and they informed me that a reservoir kit is coming for it. 

Now if only I had some SNOW.


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## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

drmerdp said:


> #3 clogging, I modified the existing chute collar to an optimized configuration.


Now that I see your detailed pics (thanks BTW) it occurs to me that maybe the two weld points at the top of the unaltered chute are possibly set up by hand w/o a template in the factory? I say this because yours looks more narrowed at these points than mine does on my HSS724. I am at the local Honda dealer tomorrow and will check their other models as well. But your side by side comparison really makes the point.

If this is the case, it could account for the reason why some of us are experiencing issues and others not. Narrowing the chute at this point even a little could certainly account for the clogs.

Thanks again for the detailed pics--they are a nice guideline for those of us doing the mod.


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## The Q (Dec 19, 2016)

That looks great. I like the rubber edge protectors. Be sure in the off season to remove them and clean the edges so salt doesn`t have a chance to sit there during the summer.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Because I just needed to know for sure...

I called my dealer to get clarification on the elbow used on the expansion tank assembly. The elbow does not use a dip tube, it's a regular elbow and the transmission is pemanantly filled to the top. 

I forgot what thread but that question popped up.

Also, I asked if the Clevis pins that we're know for breaking ever received an update. I was told that the pins originally installed at the factory were the problem. 

All replacement pins are up to snuff.


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## georgewny (Dec 31, 2016)

*Congrats! and more power to you*



drmerdp said:


> So we all know the bad rap that the HSS machines were getting for a few reasons. I'm confident that those issues are behind me and my hss928 is ready for decades of service.
> 
> #1 shear pins, I have new pins with the appropriate hardness.
> #2 *drive speed, I have the external reservoir kit installed*.
> ...


Congrats drmerdp!
You're a beta tester and you did great.
My bitch was that it seemed that Honda was not admitting to these issues, when so so so many people were not real happy with there several thousand dollar investment.
My feeling is when you pay the very highest price point of a product set, in this case blowers. They should out perform everything below them, (or why purchase them?), and that simply was not the case for this series.

Your fortitude, knowledge, labor, time and money was used to correct issues that you should have never experienced. They should have been found n corrected internal to Honda. That speaks of a flaw in the quality control/testing, again very un-Honda like.

Glad you got your machine to hum and perform like the top-of-the-line model it is.

I don't mind working on older machines (do it all the time with cars) that I get for free or a few dollars. I just would be beside myself if I had spent thousands (Gads, even now, weeks later that still blows my mind) and have to modify the machine to make it function as good compared to machines 1/3 to 1/2 the cost. So un-Honda like!

Over the long haul, as we all know Honda is known for dependability, and I am sure that you will get decades of excellent service from her.

Wish we had you working at my company!
How are you at debugging software?


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

georgewny said:


> Wish we had you working at my company!
> How are you at debugging software?


lol, that's very kind. Unfortunately I don't know the first thing about debugging software.

Update:
Little modification worth noting. The fall line skids I have on the blower didnt come with hardware. I simply reused the hardware from my commercial side skids. But the little washer did not properly support the poly material.

I decided to whip up some slotted 1/8" steel plates to really support the skids. And spruce them up a bit.



Another Update:
I finally got around to lining the OE rear skids with 1/8" UHMW. As SB83 suggested i'm going to shoot for 4 points of contact and see how smooth i can get my machine to glide over my akward driveway. 

I plan to keep my side skids at a 1/8" blade height for my driveway. Then adjust my rears for anything greater then 1/8" depending where snow removal brings me.

I also took the time to square up my bucket to the tractor section. Even from the factory my machine felt a little twisted. So i gave my machine a "bucket alignment." (I'm coining the phrase)

I raised my shave plate up against the end of its slots, removed my side skids, and loosened the 8 auger housing bolts. Then wiggled and shifted the housing until it was square to the ground. Snugged up the housing bolts evenly then set the shave plate height. 

Results... Feels Good.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1An]

Snow update:
Snow! Finally! A decent snowfall and a freshly prepped HSS928ATD.

Short Story: 3-4" of snowy concrete. Did excellent, No clogging, No drive speed slowdowns.

Long Story: Holy cow this stuff was dense. The snow had the mass of a 12+" snowfall in a 4" package. 
-I couldn't clog this thing... I tried. 
-Transmission performance, steady speeds the entire time through.
-Threw snow 30' and the dual chute was great for placing the snow exactly where I wanted.

I love tracks. Big fan of the ability to shift the center of gravity of the bucket. By lifting up on the handlebars when setting the bucket height only the rear of the track touches ground greatly increasing the buckets downward pressure. Which was super effective on this concrete snow.

I also figured out what i need to do as my next upgrade. LIGHTING. The LED headlight is bright but located too low for my tastes. Also, it would be nice to have lights in the operators position. Gotta figure out what fixtures and where, thinking red or amber for the back of the machine and a second lamp for the front mounted to the control panel. Its nice having an onboard battery.


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## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

As I consider doing this mod, I'm wondering...does Honda sell touch up paint or does anyone know the Pantone colours for the Honda Red????


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Honda sells touch up.


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

CalgaryPT said:


> As I consider doing this mod, I'm wondering...does Honda sell touch up paint or does anyone know the Pantone colours for the Honda Red????


08707-R8 RED SPRAY R8 CAN (Honda Code 2976124) Also called 08707-R8 Bright Red. Price:$10.58 (boats.net) is the closest for my 1991 HS828. Haven't tried it on the 13.

PMS 193C (10 pts PANTONE Warm Red [60.6], 6 pts PANTONE Rub. Red [36.4], 8 pts PANTONE Black [3.0] is the closest for my 2015/16... Taking a Pantone formula to my local PPG Jobber met with laughs  Bringing the chip book in helped though...they said _bring the blower in for a spectrometer reading._ I say, that doesn't always work so perfectly...


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## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

jrom said:


> 08707-R8 RED SPRAY R8 CAN (Honda Code 2976124) Also called 08707-R8 Bright Red. Price:$10.58 (boats.net) is the closest for my 1991 HS828. Haven't tried it on the 13.
> 
> PMS 193C (10 pts PANTONE Warm Red [60.6], 6 pts PANTONE Rub. Red [36.4], 8 pts PANTONE Black [3.0] is the closest for my 2015/16... Taking a Pantone formula to my local PPG Jobber met with laughs  Bringing the chip book in helped though...they said _bring the blower in for a spectrometer reading._ I say, that doesn't always work so perfectly...


HA ha thanks. I know nada about paint but can do the mod easily. Bring in the blower???? Does the guy know that involves ramps and trucks for most of us.

Thanks for the part #


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## florindi (Nov 21, 2015)

For the HSS series the correct touch up paint is 08707-R280, courtesy of Robert.


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

florindi said:


> For the HSS series the correct touch up paint is 08707-R280, courtesy of Robert.


Thanks for that florindi! Power Red. 08707-R280 Power Red.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Update: Lighting Upgrade And 12 inches of SNOW

Winter Storm Neko came and went and dropped 12" on most of the north east. The Honda worked flawlessly. Multiple hours of cleaning my property and it was a pleasure. 

All my efforts have paid off. Great machine to operate.

So I finally wrapped up my lighting upgrade on the Honda. 

[email protected] was nice enough to provide some of the basic specs on the 3 charge coils on the engines alternator. I thought about using the lighting coil for the additional lights but decided it doesnt have enough capacity for the lights i wanted to add. My machine has electric start and an on board battery which is best avenue for powering the lights. But I didnt want an always hot switch that could be left on and potentially kill the expensive AGM battery.

I decided on two flood lights mounted to the console, and two red marker lights in the operators position mounted under the battery. 

When it came to powering the lights I decided to make a relay wiring harness that is switched on by a marine switch on the console but only powered with the key on. The problem was the ignition switch circuitry does not contain a suitable key on power source or ground to trigger the relay. My solution was to use the rectified (DC) chute control power lead to trigger the relay.

I like the idea of having the lights only powered with the engine running because it idiot proofs leaving the light switch on and draining the battery. But there was an issue with using the chute control dc power. Its 24 volts at 3600rpm. 24 volts would eventually fry the relay coil which is designed for 12 volts. My solution was to add a 1 amp 24v to 12v regulator to the circuit powering the relay coil. 

All in all, the system works great and produces a ton of light. It was a fun project while also being a nice learning experience. I also built a nice pvc bridge rectifier box complete with fuse and capacitors in a nicely wrapped package. But thats for another machine.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1cX]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XzFP1E]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD16p]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Wz3QNb]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XLHSLQ]


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Snow! Finally! A decent snowfall and a freshly prepped HSS928ATD.

Short Story: 3-4" of snowy concrete. Did excellent, No clogging, No drive speed slowdowns.

Long Story: Holy cow this stuff was dense. The snow had the mass of a 12+" snowfall in a 4" package. 
-I couldn't clog this thing... I tried. 
-Transmission performance, steady speeds the entire time through.
-Threw snow 30' and the dual chute was great for placing the snow exactly where I wanted.

I love tracks. Big fan of the ability to shift the center of gravity of the bucket. By lifting up on the handlebars when setting the bucket height only the rear of the track touches ground greatly increasing the buckets downward pressure. Which was super effective on this concrete snow.

I also figured out what i need to do as my next upgrade. LIGHTING. The LED headlight is bright but located too low for my tastes. Also, it would be nice to have lights in the operators position. Gotta figure out what fixtures and where, thinking red or amber for the back of the machine and a second lamp for the front mounted to the control panel. Its nice having an onboard battery.


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## Tomatillo (Nov 11, 2016)

DRM - this is great news! Congrats.


Two questions:


1) With the side poly shoes, what is the purpose or advantage of keeping the rear shoes on? Is there any?


2) The rectangular washers you made for the side shoes are EXACTLY what those shoes should come standard with.


Can you crank down on those without them bending? If so, how do I place my order with you for a pair or two?






drmerdp said:


> Snow! Finally! A decent snowfall and a freshly prepped HSS928ATD.
> 
> Short Story: 3-4" of snowy concrete. Did excellent, No clogging, No drive speed slowdowns.
> 
> ...


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## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

Tomatillo said:


> DRM - this is great news! Congrats.
> 
> 
> 1) With the side poly shoes, what is the purpose or advantage of keeping the rear shoes on? Is there any?


I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I recently learned something about this. With the rear skids off there is a danger when operating on a sidewalk or adjacent to a ledge. The side skid can slip off the curb, bottoming the scraper bar. It also destabilizes the machine and catches you off guard. I'm sure it is no problem on driveways, parking lots, etc. But I put my rear skids back on as backup after getting surprized a few times. Hasn't happened since.

Just my 2 cents.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Tomatillo said:


> DRM - this is great news! Congrats.
> 
> Two questions:
> 
> ...


I'm keeping the rears for 2 reasons.

First, my driveway has heaved quite unevenly and having additional points of contact seemed to have helped the machines ability to track straight a great deal. This was my first go with using both side and rear skids and it worked well.

Second, I can keep my side skids permanantly set at an 1/8" scraper height and adjust my rears to anything greater then 1/8" and easily go back to 1/8" on the fly.

The slotted plates I made for the side skids are 1/8" steel . Thick stuff, they have not deformed at all. 



> how do I place my order with you for a pair or two?


I'll have my people talk to your people.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Anyone happen to know what size lighting coil the HSS snowblowers have? I'm starting to plan for a lighting upgrade.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Update: Lighting Upgrade And 12 inches of SNOW

Winter Storm Neko came and went and dropped 12" on most of the north east. The Honda worked flawlessly. Multiple hours of cleaning my property and it was a pleasure. 

All my efforts have paid off. Great machine to operate.

So I finally wrapped up my lighting upgrade on the Honda. 

[email protected] was nice enough to provide some of the basic specs on the 3 charge coils on the engines alternator. I thought about using the lighting coil for the additional lights but decided it doesnt have enough capacity for the lights i wanted to add. My machine has electric start and an on board battery which is best avenue for powering the lights. But I didnt want an always hot switch that could be left on and potentially kill the expensive AGM battery.

I decided on two flood lights mounted to the console, and two red marker lights in the operators position mounted under the battery. 

When it came to powering the lights I decided to make a relay wiring harness that is switched on by a marine switch on the console but only powered with the key on. The problem was the ignition switch circuitry does not contain a suitable key on power source or ground to trigger the relay. My solution was to use the rectified (DC) chute control power lead to trigger the relay.

I like the idea of having the lights only powered with the engine running because it idiot proofs leaving the light switch on and draining the battery. But there was an issue with using the chute control dc power. Its 24 volts at 3600rpm. 24 volts would eventually fry the relay coil which is designed for 12 volts. My solution was to add a 1 amp 24v to 12v regulator to the circuit powering the relay coil. 

All in all, the system works great and produces a ton of light. It was a fun project while also being a nice learning experience. I also built a nice pvc bridge rectifier box complete with fuse and capacitors in a nicely wrapped package. But thats for another machine.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD1cX]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XzFP1E]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQD16p]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Wz3QNb]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XLHSLQ]


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## Tomatillo (Nov 11, 2016)

drmerdp said:


> Update: Lighting Upgrade And 12 inches of SNOW


 
_*drmerdp, you're a genius!*_ Take a bow for the great mods all the way around, and professionally executed -- all of it.


The lighting is super and is probably the envy of anyone with the same machine. My new red is green with jealousy. :icon_smile_tongue:


I'll bet it was fun to finally have enough snow to get out there and test it all. After all the work you put into it, I sure am glad a helpful-harry neighbor didn't come and plow it before you got a chance to get out there! I think we'd have been reading about you in the news! _"Neighbor found with plow in rectum."_ 


Sadly, we still haven't had anything measurable here in Northern Virginia.


Our driveways are very similar, with what appears to be a turnaround there at the right.


Nice job!


t


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## chaulky45 (Jan 23, 2014)

drmerdp said:


> Update: Lighting Upgrade And 12 inches of SNOW
> 
> Winter Storm Neko came and went and dropped 12" on most of the north east. The Honda worked flawlessly. Multiple hours of cleaning my property and it was a pleasure.
> 
> ...


Nice job on the blower,,, of all the 724's and 928's,,, and my 2015 hss 928 I have now I never had to use any replays for lights at all with or without battery and electric start,,,, just wired in all the lights to main wires from old light,,, no one who I sold all the blowers to in last 3 years had any problems, they all still work fine,,, mines lite up like a jet some people say when they pass by my street but I have it like that because our street is very busy,, nice to have people see me if I come out to the edge of our 15-20 foot banks in the dark,,,one guy on my street got hit a few weeks ago hard to see any one when driving coming out of their driveways sometimes,, had his leg broke and fractured arm,,, no lights at all on his older yamaha blower,,,but nice to see whats in front of you to blow to with brighter lights


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

> I'll bet it was fun to finally have enough snow to get out there and test it all. After all the work you put into it, I sure am glad a helpful-harry neighbor didn't come and plow it before you got a chance to get out there! I think we'd have been reading about you in the news! "Neighbor found with plow in rectum."


Hahaha, me too. Its like messing with a mans Thermostat. You just dont do it. lol



> of all the 724's and 928's,,, and my 2015 hss 928 I have now I never had to use any replays for lights at all with or without battery and electric start,,,, just wired in all the lights to main wires from old light


The only Spec I can come up with was 11.5V / 0.36A @ 1950 rpm according to [email protected] 
I measured 19v at 3600rpm, Id extrapolate 0.57A. (dont quote me on it) The lamp Draws .5A at 12V little less at 19V. 
By the numbers, I worried about burning up the alternator.


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