# Halogen to OEM LED..it's easy!



## mannyj

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would post this up here. I have been looking to upgrade the stock halogen light on my 10530SBE for some time now. After reading the LED upgrade thread I was almost ready to pull the trigger and go the route that others did with the rectifier, caps, etc.

Then I looked at some of the newer models at my local Husqvarna dealer (not the big box store) and noticed that the wiring and the housing unit for the new LED's appeared to be the same as mine. 

With that in mind I ordered a replacement LED light from RepairClinic.com (part number 3133400 https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Headlight/581684202/3133400) for $26.00 and popped the old one out and the new LED unit in. I used the same wiring harness and everything. I fired the unit up and IT WORKED! No additional hardware needed and no noticeable "flickering" in the light.

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=94178&thumb=1

I'm guessing that these newer LED units have some sort of built in bridge rectifier already on the PCB. I will try and get some night shots later this week.

Now the question is....do I try to mount a second one? I'm not sure if the unit's electrical system is capable of supporting two. The new LED's don't come with any specs so I have no idea how much current they are drawing.

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=94186&thumb=1

Thoughts?


Thanks everyone for your help!


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## Cardo111

Well done, guess it's not always necessary to reinvent the wheel.


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## EdwardC

Kind of a ballpark swag, based on the size of the LED packages, I would estimate each LED to be about 1W, so adding some loss in the rectification and regulation, I would say the entire unit draws 10-12W.

I tried looking for the original lamp's power consumption, but no luck:
Headlight: Husqvarna 532 17 86-66 Oem Headlight, Halogen 532178666 | Electrical, Battery, Wire & Bulbs | Husqvarna | www.www.baileysonline.com.com
Bulb: Husqvarna 532 40 16-20 Oem Bulb.Headlight.Halogen. 532401620 | Electrical, Battery, Wire & Bulbs | Husqvarna | www.www.baileysonline.com.com

If you have a multimeter, you should be able to measure the current draw of each and compare. But, to be honest, I would probably go for it. I think 20-30W is reasonable for the original Halogen.

Another way to look at it could be to look at your alternator's output and calculate whether it's within limits. A quick search for your model yielded this page. Looks like there are different alternators available (one is a DC output!). Husqvarna Snowblower Parts

Something else to consider, would adding the second headlamp create additional (possibly annoying) shadows with the chute right in front of it?

Good luck!


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## Kiss4aFrog

Have you tracked down the specs on the charging system to see how many amps or watts it can support ??


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## mannyj

Thanks guys for the replies and suggestions. It's been frustrating to try and track down any details specific to my particular machine. As EdwardC pointed out there seems to be variations within the model line on the engine and components. 

I read somewhere initially (I think it may have been the Tecumseh site who manufactured the engine for this machine) that this was a 3 amp system but I am not certain of that.The OEM halogen bulb is a ph1156 which seems to be rated at 12.8 Volt /2.1 Amp /26.88 Watts.

I do have a basic multimeter and thought about testing the output of the electrical system with the machine on but I must admit that I am bit of a noob with the multimeter and I am unsure as to what to set the dial to on the meter itself. 

My biggest concern would be in over taxing the electrical system and burning it out. Then my once fun idea of just adding some better lighting now turns into a ohh sh**t moment of now I have to take things apart to fix it.

With regards to the shadowing effect...I did think about that. I haven't had a chance to run this thing at night yet to see what the light pattern might be with just the single light in place. I do have a bit of the Tim Tool Man Taylor in me so if 1 is good then 2 is "more gooder" 😁.

Again I always appreciate the help and guidance of the community.


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## EdwardC

That's useful to see that the original bulb is 2.1A/26.88W.

Your probably best off to do the current measurement of the LED unit and compare. Do you have a picture of your multimeter?

In general, what you want to do is disconnect one of the two wires to the LED unit. Then, you'll take the two leads of the multimeter and connect one to each of the two wires that you just connected. Essentially, you want the current to flow through the multimeter.

The first think you'll also need to move one of your test leads from the + jack to the current measurement jack. Then turn the multimeter dial to the current setting, there will be two current measurement settings, AC and DC. You may need to try both and see which one is higher (one will measure close to zero). If there are different current measurement levels, use the highest one.

More info:
How to Use a Multimeter

I hope that helps!


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## SAVAGE420

Looks good to me. I think it's the same led I have in mine.


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## Svenster

I have a 1130SB-Lsb with halogen light, that looks the same size/shape as the OEM led light swap you did. My halogen light burned out this morning, so I want to do this as well. The link you posed to the OEM led does not show the wire harness/plug. Can you take a pic and upload so I can see if this matches my plug/wire or maybe jerry-rig a connection ? Thanks in advance.


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## Kiss4aFrog

If you put on more light than the system will support you are actually adding resistance to the circuit and what happens is the lights get dimmer but since less current is flowing you don't actually do any damage to the system. The problem would be if you had something that didn't have enough resistance then you could fry something as you'd have high current flow that could overheat the coil(s).


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## mannyj

Hi Guys,

Happy New Year to Everyone. Sorry for the delay (Holidays and All). Here is a picture of the meter I currently have. It is a basic one from Harbor Freight. My biggest concern is damaging the alternator by drawing too much continous current through it.










Svenster, Here is a picture of the wires. I just used the wiring harness from the Halogen housing. They a standard spade connectors so they slide right on.










I did actually order a second wiring harness just in case but they are still on back-order from Repair Clinic.


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## mannyj

Hi everyone,

First chance to test out the new light upgrade at night with our recent snow fall. First impressions are that there is a HUGE improvement over the stock halogen light. Would definitely recommend this simple mod to anyone looking for better visibility from your snowblowers at night.

I think when time permits I will try to add a second LED to the other side of the dashboard to even out the light pattern a bit more. Currently with the shoot rotated fully to the right I noticed it does blocks some of the light. It did this before but now with the brighter light it is more noticeable.


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## Svenster

+1 on mannyj's install. I followed his directions, ordered the LED from RepairClinic, and did the install this evening. My 1130lsb had a 889 halogen socket that screwed into the light assembly, so I had to cut the connector off and install two waterproof spade connectors to connect the wiring to the LED spade connectors. The light is way better than the halogen bulb and no flickering at all, and didn't need to use bridge rectifiers or diodes. Super simple install. I can't thank mannyj enough. He was nice enough to help me out with some questions I had via PM. Super nice of him to help this old fella out on this install.


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## mannyj

Happy I could help!


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## guyl

Well, the "D" in LED stands for Diode...a LED *is* a rectifier. That means that it's actually only producing light on one half cycle. If you decide to put two of these LED fixtures on your machine, wire them in parallel and reverse the polarity of the wiring on one of the units. This will cause each unit to actually produce light alternately and the peak current draw on the alternator will be the same, but will now happen on every half cycle instead of once per cycle, which will be the most efficient use of the power.

A forward biased LED drops from 1.8 to over 3 volts (depending on color) so they mush have arranged them in a series-parallel circuit to accomodate 12 volts.

Note that I'm assuming that the 12 volts you have is AC. I have a blower with electric chute controls and the motors on that are DC so some machines might also have rectifiers right at the alternator. In a case like that, you would wire both LED light units in parallel and polarized the same way.


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## mannyj

Well everyone last night I said goodbye to my trusty old 10530SBE. She went on to a new owner last night for many more years of snow chuckin'.

A few weeks ago I came upon one of the deals I could not refuse and purchased a Honda 5518 tractor with a 42" PTO driven snowblower attachment. This thing is a beast! 

With that being said I still have one of these LED light enclosures along with the original Halogen unit as well and figured I would offer them here for sale to another forum member. 

If interested shoot me an offer via PM with your email address. I'd like to try and recover some of what I spent since the LED is brand new so please be reasonable if you are going to offer something.

This was a great and easy upgrade and made a HUGE improvement in my visibility at night so it will be well worth it.

As always happy throwing!


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## mannyj

Hi everyone,

I've had a couple of inquiries into the LED and "yes" it is still available.

The upgrade is really easy and doesn't require any tools.

Leave me your email address in a PM if you would like to purchase the headlight. It is brand new.

Regards,

Manny


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## heymelo27

mannyj said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I've had a couple of inquiries into the LED and "yes" it is still available.
> 
> The upgrade is really easy and doesn't require any tools.
> 
> Leave me your email address in a PM if you would like to purchase the headlight. It is brand new.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Manny



still available?


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## penna stogey

heymelo27 said:


> still available?


Welcome Heymelo27, first post needs a hearty welcome...Hearty Welcome!


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## heymelo27

penna stogey said:


> Welcome Heymelo27, first post needs a hearty welcome...Hearty Welcome!


ha, thank you. im surprised i had not registered for this forum sooner.


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## penna stogey

heymelo27 said:


> ha, thank you. im surprised i had not registered for this forum sooner.


Me too, lots of knowledgeable members here!!!Good folks.


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