# LED light bar kit?



## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

I've read that people who have the LED light bar kit that Cub Cadet makes, really like it. 
http://www.mtdparts.com/equipment/mtdparts/led-light-bar-kit-753-08484

I'd like one on my 524, but I can't tell if this kit will work in conjunction with the heated grips I've installed? Does the harness for it come with a splitter to tap into the generator output, or will I have to cut and splice myself? I was trying to find the installation instructions for this online, but haven't found it yet.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Posting the engine numbers might be helpful in tracking down what it has and how much juice it can supply.


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## canadagoose (Dec 5, 2014)

caddydaddy said:


> I've read that people who have the LED light bar kit that Cub Cadet makes, really like it.
> http://www.mtdparts.com/equipment/mtdparts/led-light-bar-kit-753-08484
> 
> I'd like one on my 524, but I can't tell if this kit will work in conjunction with the heated grips I've installed? Does the harness for it come with a splitter to tap into the generator output, or will I have to cut and splice myself? I was trying to find the installation instructions for this online, but haven't found it yet.


Hi CaddyDaddy
I tried to get some pics of my light bar to post but they didn't turn out so well. We haven't had any snow so I haven't had it out. I'll try to post what I have . The light bar has a connector that plugs in to another connector. Not sure if your machine would have the connector or if you would have to cut and splice it in. I'll try to get the pics that I do have up today.
It's such a terrific idea. And it sure throws a lot of light. I may have mentioned this in another post but I have to say it again. Another great innovation brought to us by Cub Cadet !!


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Posting the engine numbers might be helpful in tracking down what it has and how much juice it can supply.


 I'm not so worried about the power output, since I wouldn't think these LEDs would draw that much.
It's the 208cc Powermore engine. I'm not sure what the output is though.


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

canadagoose said:


> Hi CaddyDaddy
> I tried to get some pics of my light bar to post but they didn't turn out so well. We haven't had any snow so I haven't had it out. I'll try to post what I have . The light bar has a connector that plugs in to another connector. Not sure if your machine would have the connector or if you would have to cut and splice it in. I'll try to get the pics that I do have up today.
> It's such a terrific idea. And it sure throws a lot of light. I may have mentioned this in another post but I have to say it again. Another great innovation brought to us by Cub Cadet !!


 Pictures would be great!

My 524 has a connector for the light up on the handlebars and now a splitter to go to the heated grips I put on. So, I'm not sure if these LEDs come with another splitter to put them inline, or not.

How does it attach to the impeller housing? Bolt on, or double sided tape?


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## canadagoose (Dec 5, 2014)

caddydaddy said:


> Pictures would be great!
> 
> My 524 has a connector for the light up on the handlebars and now a splitter to go to the heated grips I put on. So, I'm not sure if these LEDs come with another splitter to put them inline, or not.
> 
> How does it attach to the impeller housing? Bolt on, or double sided tape?


I think it attaches with bot double sided tape and bolts. I believe there are a couple of bolts for sure. When I get home I'll have a closer look . I am guessing the lightbar would perhaps come with a connector but I couldn't say for sure

753-08484 Cub Cadet LED Light Bar Kit - ProPartsDirect

This next listing from EBay has some good pics including where the Lightbar connects
Cub Cadet LED Light Bar Kit 753 08484 Snow Blower Snow Thrower | eBay


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## canadagoose (Dec 5, 2014)

And this listing from Cub Cadet includes the part # 753-08484

http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/P...p_category=&parent_category_rn=&storeId=10051


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## ProParts (Jan 27, 2016)

Hey - thanks for sharing our listing at ProParts Direct! I updated the product description to indicate the light kit (Cub LED) comes with everything you need to mount and wire. 

If you have questions, give us a shout!


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## canadagoose (Dec 5, 2014)

Here are some pics of my light bar. I apologize they are not great. We're supposed to have snow tomorrow so when I have it outside I'll get some better pictures


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

Looks great!


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

That means us poor Canadians would have to fork out $123 + import charges + shipping + exchange fees +++. Is there a canadian distributor?

I would just find a way to make this work and have a spare.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-x-18W-LED-...4b9f804&pid=100033&rk=2&rkt=4&sd=281861967873


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## canadagoose (Dec 5, 2014)

Why don't you check with your local Cub Cadet dealer ?


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## ProParts (Jan 27, 2016)

Anyone buy the kit based on feedback here? Any thoughts so far?


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

Anyone have a free shipping code for propartsdirect.net???

The price is great, just that I have gone down the rabbit hole on spending for the new 524SWE as well as my other restoration. I would love to order up two of them and have both machines setup with proper lighting. I will say with the 524SWE lighting being in the middle, the chute does block a lot of light.

If I end of ordering one or two of these I will be sure to write-up a full install on the 524SWE. I figure if it is that needed, and it can help a few others out, pictures and an install might just help others make a decision.


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

DennisP said:


> I figure if it is that needed, and it can help a few others out, pictures and an install might just help others make a decision.


I'm on the fence on getting one, because I don't have an answer on if it will work if you also have heated grips installed. I may just shoot an email to Cub Cadet directly and see what they say.

Update:

I just got off the phone with Cub Cadet and they said there wouldn't be a connection port open to plug the lights in. (Duh), but if I did plug it in, it would backfeed too much power and burn up the wiring harness. 
Not sure if that's true or not, or if they just don't recommend splicing into the harness!


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

caddydaddy said:


> I'm on the fence on getting one, because I don't have an answer on if it will work if you also have heated grips installed. I may just shoot an email to Cub Cadet directly and see what they say.
> 
> Update:
> 
> ...


See, it is ignorant stuff like that I can't stand... I can see them not wanting people to splice into the factory harness, but to spread false info like that is just wrong. (not talking about you caddydaddy, I am referring to Cub Cadet telling you what they did)

Based on that stuff, if I can find some way to negate the shipping cost, I would still order one and figure it out. If It is at all possible, I would find the way to get it on with heated grips/stock light on the 524SWE, and if it truly is not possible I would at least then add it to my new buildup.

Either way, I figure it has to have a regulator in the harness/inside the unit, and if that is the case it can use either the AC or the DC stock power feeds. That is the only way to justify the high cost of that particular light.


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

DennisP said:


> See, it is ignorant stuff like that I can't stand... I can see them not wanting people to splice into the factory harness, but to spread false info like that is just wrong. (not talking about you caddydaddy, I am referring to Cub Cadet telling you what they did)


Yeah, I understand who you meant. I smelled BS when she told me that too. She put me on hold for a few minutes after I asked the question, so I'm assuming she talked with a tech person. 
The part of too much power burning up the harness she probably made up after I asked if it could just be spliced in!
If it's hooking up the the same connector on the harness as would have been used for the heated grips, what difference would it make? :smiley-confused009:


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

I gave in and ordered one. I will post up all the info I can regarding the product, how it integrates and how well it performs.


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

Well, I received the light kit today.

Upon opening it up, it includes 2 harnesses (one for HD and one for standard auger housings) with the only difference being a 2" difference with the HD one being longer.

It also includes a really nice template that you lay over your housing and align with the tool bolt holes. From there you know where to mark and drill for the light head.

All nice and dandy, except for the fact that the nice, fancy, slick looking cobra-head wire cover is only used on the HD installs!

I am actually kinda upset that they include two harnesses and only made one wire cover for HD housings. I mean why not make two kits, one for HD and one for standard, only include the harness and wire cover with the HD setup, and only include the wire harness needed for a standard setup. It would make both kits cheaper.

Better yet, make a proper molded wire cover for standard setups.

But, I digress. Everything in the kit is quality made. The light head is waterproof with waterproof rated wiring. The harnesses are well assembled.

As for how it all connects, it basically plugs into the output harness from the engine, then it has a connector to plug the rest of the wiring back into. It also has it's own ground wire, so you undo the ground wire bolt, piggy-back this one next to the original one (it has a longer stemmed eyelet to allow both to fit together, nice touch) and tighten down the bolt. Last thing to do is to plug the light into the harness you just installed.

For my test I did not formally mount the light. I got the new harness installed, plugged in the light, then proceeded to start the engine. I start mine with the throttle setting at idle, choke almost off (I store in a heated garage). I start it and it idles just fine. My stock headlamp is on low (as per idle), and I notice the LED light bar is on full brightness.

I let things warm up a little, turn the choke off fully and throttle up to max. My headlight is bright, the LED light bar is the same brightness as before. I waited a few minutes and I could tell my heated grips were getting nice and warm.

So, I can positively confirm that you CAN use the LED light kit along with a stock incandescent headlight AND with heated grips. Everything works as it should.

Now, I will be somewhat critical and say that the headlight might aim perfect for HD models, but when you flip it upside down to mount it on a standard auger housing it is aimed somewhat upwards, not directly 90 degrees to the pavement as you would expect it to be, so I will need to shim it somewhat when I mount it.

Also, I may add, that you will be obscuring your factory decals that are at the top of the auger housing. Not a big deal, but I figured I would mention it.


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

As a side note, I will mention that all three wires go into the LED headlamp, AC/DC/Ground.

I might open up the headlamp later on and share some pics. But, if there is a warranty I might not, considering how expensive the setup is. It is a real quality unit, bright white LEDs and solid construction.


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## caddydaddy (Dec 10, 2014)

DennisP said:


> So, I can positively confirm that you CAN use the LED light kit along with a stock incandescent headlight AND with heated grips. Everything works as it should.


Nice! So, it doesn't burn up and catch fire like the person at Cub Cadet said it would if I added a LED along with heated grips? :smiley-confused009:


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## DennisP (Jan 10, 2016)

caddydaddy said:


> Nice! So, it doesn't burn up and catch fire like the person at Cub Cadet said it would if I added a LED along with heated grips? :smiley-confused009:


HAH! NO!

Considering how the harness they include is built, they fully expect you to use it with a standard headlamp and heated grips.

I remember reading about a newer LED headlamp that came on newer units. I am going to see if I can find it and order up one of those assemblies. It will at least all match if I do that... :smiley-whacky017:


I am on the fence if I want to add this to my 524SWE or add it to my Craftsman rebuild... I really don't want to buy another one of these (especially seeing how the standard install doesn't use a wire cover), so unless I find a snazzy one for the Craftsman I may just wait to put this on that one.

One big bonus is that I have an extra harness to play with if I want to put a custom lighting solution on the 524SWE.


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## Stefan (Nov 27, 2015)

*More details on the MTD Lightbar.*



DennisP said:


> Well, I received the light kit today.
> 
> Upon opening it up, it includes 2 harnesses (one for HD and one for standard auger housings) with the only difference being a 2" difference with the HD one being longer.
> 
> ...


My neighbor got this lightbar kit. It had two harnesses like stated, 8" and an HD 11". He has a 524SWE with a black plastic chute, 208(?) CC engine, and he got no HD wire cover in his kit.

The yellow and red wires are on a plug in either harness. Either harness could be used. He used the HD harness to get extra length. He broke open the engine output plug and socket. The harness plugs into those two ends as a jumper or power tap setup. The other end goes to the lightbar and the third loose green wire is grounded.

Correction. The 8" harness has a black and a white wire in the plug. Both go to the led lit kit housing. The green is a loose lead. After being plugged in, this kit harness essentially jumps across the standard engine takeoff plug and socket set but it also has a black and white wire that tap the yellow and red wires. So again, both the DC and AC engine power leads go to the led head light kit. There is one connection on the way to the housing LED kit light and that is where you have to check the amperage in each wire feeding the LED light kit. The fuse in the grip heaters are all after this LED kit tap and set of plugs and connectors. In other words, the fuse can only measure the current through both grips, but not the LED light kit. There is no external fuse for the LED light kit wire feeds and that is not good, IMO.

Turning the grip heaters on only lowered the LUX output at about two feet by 100 LUX out of 1450 LUX.

There was no wiring diagram in the instructions. I will try to explore that as he permits. The DC alt. wire is the one with the fuse. I didn't ask to pull the fuse to see if the lightbar was powered by the DC fused line or the AC standard headlight wiring.

How bright is this thing? I measured it to be 10X the standard light LUX reading at 16 inches. Getting a good output reading and converting it to lumens is a bit tricky. Not all the lightbar LEDs are pointing the same direction or of the same type. So, the readings were a bit confusing at 16" and 36" I needed to calculate the lumen output. I will work on this guy some more to get better readings but this is what I know as of now.

The Harness is long enough to mount the light bar on a lumber store Simpson 16" joist tie plate drilled on the side and bent at the top to mount on the right side handle bar. So, this light bar can be mounted up higher and off to the right side for those worried about snow "fogging" the area just in front of the auger housing.

The fact that the LUX output dropped with and without the grip heater turned on means that the light bar is most likely powered by DC. Most assume you use a bridge rectifier and a capacitor in the AC headlight circuit to add a head light or light bar LED setup. I am not sure that my speculation about the DC source is correct.

The heater grips are 3.6 ohms each and draw about 1.3 amps DC.

The standard headlight bulb is turned ON no matter what the grip heater switch is set to. 

Maybe someone can post the result of pulling the 7.5 Amp fuse under the left grips to verify the lightbar STAYS ON when the fuse is pulled.

Correction and info: The real question now is this, "Does the kit run off both the DC and AC power feeds of just one of them?" Which one? IF it's AC, then there has to be a diode or bridge rectifier inside the LED housing. I saw no bulge in the harness for such a device. 

I plan to measure the amperage but, "Hey, it's his snowblower". I got what I could on the first quick round. 

Stefan

Edited Feb 26, 2017.


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## jrscpu2004 (Feb 19, 2017)

Would you have the dimensions of this LED Light Bar Kit?


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## marcbs (Feb 4, 2018)

I am trying to add this kit to my Craftsman 88874. Was told it would work as they are all the same and all made by MTD. However, the harness in the kit has 2- 2pin 2wire pigtails and mine is different. I have a 4 pin 2 wire pigtail from the top led light on the control panel (2 pins empty) going to a 4 pin 4 wire coming from the alternator. 2 pins are empty. Is there a direct plug and play option or do I need to start splicing. Canadagoose, your pics don't show this connection. Any chance you can post it? 
ProParts, you pic shows the 4 pin pigtail, but the 753-08484 kit is different. 
Thanks for the help.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

caddydaddy said:


> I've read that people who have the LED light bar kit that Cub Cadet makes, really like it.
> http://www.mtdparts.com/equipment/mtdparts/led-light-bar-kit-753-08484
> 
> I'd like one on my 524, but I can't tell if this kit will work in conjunction with the heated grips I've installed? Does the harness for it come with a splitter to tap into the generator output, or will I have to cut and splice myself? I was trying to find the installation instructions for this online, but haven't found it yet.


you can get a 20 watt led waterproof light on ebay for less than 10 dollars. i have one like this on my snow blower and it works fine


https://www.ebay.com/itm/20W-LED-Fl...=item3d837a0dac:g:H5wAAOSwHF5cXLp1:rk:11:pf:0

you can get a 10 watt led for less than 5 dollars
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Flood-...pEQOcAnnCyhxSJeQ0Q:rk:1:pf:0&var=562245328093


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## NH 30HD (Jan 2, 2020)

I got a 9inch led bar with wiring kit on ebay for $18 also got led motorcycle spots that I mounted to the bars they were $22 the ac/dc rectifier was 2 for $7 I tapped into the existing light to power the rectifier then wire the leds very simple. I blind cars driving bye. lights up 50x100ft area.


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## BlowerMods1 (Jan 11, 2020)

caddydaddy said:


> I've read that people who have the LED light bar kit that Cub Cadet makes, really like it.
> http://www.mtdparts.com/equipment/mtdparts/led-light-bar-kit-753-08484
> 
> I'd like one on my 524, but I can't tell if this kit will work in conjunction with the heated grips I've installed? Does the harness for it come with a splitter to tap into the generator output, or will I have to cut and splice myself? I was trying to find the installation instructions for this online, but haven't found it yet.


Based on this the light bar should be more than adequate. Roughly equivalent to 1500 Lumins as one lux is equal to one lumen per square metre: 1 lx = 1 lm/m2 = 1 cd·sr/m2. A flux of 1000 lumens, concentrated into an area of 1 square metre, lights up that square metre with an illuminance of 1000 lux. However, the same 1000 lumens, spread out over 10 square metres (300 ft.) produces a dimmer illuminance of only 100 lux.
.
My mounted 1000 Lumin lights an area of roughly 30 ft. by 30 ft. we'll but then drops off. Does the job as my driveway is 80 feet long. The light bar seems to be a good option if you can use it. 
.


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## Steve27 (Mar 13, 2021)

I am trying to install this light bar on a Simplicity P2132E. Obviously the wire harness with the kit will not work, trying to figure out the 3 wires coming from the light. The green would be a ground what are the white and black? Assuming there positive input which one would be DC and AC. Also if known what wires would I tap on my Simplicity to connect to these.


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