# FINALLY added lights to my Troy Bilt!! PICS!!!



## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hey boys... i wanted to get some feedback on this custom bracket i made to hold a pair of LED bike lights on my Troy Bilt. Since my blower doesnt have an alternator or battery, i decided that bicycle led lights would be the easiest and most cost effective option. I went with a 3" up pipe to get the lights to shoot out just above the auger housing. This can be swapped out for any length pipe you would prefer, 3" for me was the perfect height and doesnt make the bracket look to out of place. And if you noticed i chose the highest spot on the blower and the most central to mount everything. I also removed the blower controls sticker panel on the console to give everything a nice even black finish.

I did order a new replacement sticker (FREE from Troy Bilt) incase if in the future i wanted to remove the light bracket and cover up the 4 holes i had to drill in the console or if i wanted to sell it and bring it back to stock. 

Back to the bracket.... its only made from 1/2" galvenized pipe fittings i pieced together from Home Depot... roughly $20 worth. I also used stainless hardware to secure the mount to the console and gave everything 3 coats of Rustoleum flat black spray paint. The lights themselves are from Harbor Freight and only cost me $8 each. They only have 3 leds per light. I bought them mainly for trial and fittment purposes, but i will use them on my Trek for when i ride at night in the spring/summer, so not a total waste 

The final set of lights that i just ordered will have 8 leds per light. Which should be more than enough light for a few hours of blowin snow at night and keep my pathway lit nicely. If you noticed i removed the console control sticker panel that comes stock on the blower. This will allow me

*PICS: *





































*a view from underneath the console:* *note the spots i had to dremel out/smooth inorder to fit the washer and bolt through*










Let me know what you think!!


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## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

Here is a picture of the mount without one light. This is just to show you guys the area i created to mount the light to. Its not the best looking bracket, but it will get the job done.


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## chevyman_de (Oct 2, 2011)

Looks really good to me. You should just check how much the bracket vibrates when the engine is running. Being made from galvanized 1/2" pipe it should be fairly heavy. I would hate to see it cracking the dash panel at the bolts. Btw don't tighten the bolts too much. Plastic doesn't like being under constant pressure. Hand-tight is enough, but you should use nylock nuts. Don't use thread locking compound near plastic, some plastics will crack when in contact with them. I don't know about that plastic, but better be safe then sorry.


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## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

chevyman_de said:


> Looks really good to me. You should just check how much the bracket vibrates when the engine is running. Being made from galvanized 1/2" pipe it should be fairly heavy. I would hate to see it cracking the dash panel at the bolts. Btw don't tighten the bolts too much. Plastic doesn't like being under constant pressure. Hand-tight is enough, but you should use nylock nuts. Don't use thread locking compound near plastic, some plastics will crack when in contact with them. I don't know about that plastic, but better be safe then sorry.


im already using lockwashers... and yes its only hand tight!


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## chevyman_de (Oct 2, 2011)

Lockwashers do not really lock under a hand tight nut.


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## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

chevyman_de said:


> Lockwashers do not really lock under a hand tight nut.


umm any reason your riding me for every word i type on here?? 

i used a ratchet to tighten them with my hands... so yes hand tight. Your thinking finger tight, not hand tight.


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## fronos4 (Jan 29, 2011)

At first glance I thought it was a manufactured light add-on, great job! I would've never thought to customize a bracket out of piping. Now with 16 led's on your final setup it'll outshine any OEM light. Any chance you can send a night pic with the lights 6 vs 16 (when you get them)?


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Looks good Ant2410. I'm anxious to hear how well those lights you've ordered light things up.


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## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

thanks for the feedback guys! I was suprised myself as to how well it came out after i hit it with some paint. 

I will take a few night shots of the 6 led vs 16 led lights once the new ones arrive.


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## chevyman_de (Oct 2, 2011)

Ant2410 said:


> umm any reason your riding me for every word i type on here??


 No, and I’m really sorry if it sounded that way to you!

But working in a shop for radio controlled cars I’ve seen countless bolted connections in plastic fail. I simply wanted to keep you from running into trouble that could be easily prevented. There's surely no fun in hunting down lost nuts in snow and darkness.

My experiences are:
- Apply only as much torque as required to keep the parts in place. More Torque tends to create stress cracks.
- That amount of torque is usually not enough to make lock washers work properly. Especially when vibration is involved.
- Standard nuts coming lose will grow feet, always. It's Murphy’s law.
- Many plastics don’t like coming in contact with thread locking compounds

I just wanted to express that nylock nuts (tightened somewhere between hand-tight and finger-tight ) will work best for your application.


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Look's great.


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## Oldphil (Dec 7, 2010)

I second losing your nuts in the snow<)


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## Ant2410 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oldphil said:


> I second losing your nuts in the snow<)


haha thanks!


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