Kubota Tractor Mod: ROPS LED Lights

Here’s how I added LED lights to my Kubota tractor’s ROPS and turned night into day with 360 degree visibility.

Here are the parts and pieces I ordered from Amazon:

• YITAMOTOR LED Light Bar, 14inch 72W
• Nilight 60001F-B Bar 2PCS 18w 4″ LED Flood Lights
• Heavy Duty 14AWG 300W 2-Circuit Led Light Bar Wiring Harness
• MUYI 10 Kit 2 Pin Way Waterproof Electrical Connector
• 14 Gauge 50’FT Wire Copper Clad Single Conductor 6 Primary Colors
• 3/8″ Split Nylon Wire Loom Flexible Conduit – 25 Feet
• UV Resistant Tie Wraps, 14″ Long, 100-Pack
• U-Bolt Square Pair Zinc Plated 3/8-16″ X 3-1/8″ X 4 X 1-3/4″
• Square Zinc U-Bolt,2″ x 5″ with a 5/16″ thread diameter
• Stanley N351-500 4.9″ x 3″ Steel Corner Brace

First, you need a power source for the lights.  Fortunately, there is often one readily available from the work light connection available on many tractors.  In the case of the Kubota L Series tractors, this connection is found under the left rear tire fender, near the connection for the tail lights.

It is only energized when the start switch is on or the tractor is running.  It is fused at 10 amps so the combined amperage of your lights should be less than this.  If you need more than this, I’ll show you in the next video in this series how to add an additional fuse box for power accessories, which is what I had to do when I added my side lights.

Below is a basic wiring diagram for a front light bar and two rear lights powered from the tractor’s work light connection.  The two rear lights are wired in parallel.

Below is a wiring diagram for front, side and rear lights, powered by the six-fuse auxiliary fuse block I installed so that I could feed other accessories and provide more amps for my work lights.  The two side lights are wired in parallel with the front light bar so they are turned on with the same switch.

In the basic work light setup, the work light connection went to my switch box, which is mounted behind my speed range lever.  This box is just a small plastic project box I had laying around for years.  It is held on using the rear bolt of the speed range lever plate.

The wiring enters the bottom of the box through an existing slot in the speed range lever plate.  You could mount your switches directly on to the speed range lever plate, but I wanted better protection for the switches and wiring.

The wiring leaves the switch box and is protected by 3/8” split nylon wire loom tubing, strapped to the ROPS with UV-resistant tie wraps. 

The wire loom runs to the backside of the ROPS hinge bolt.  This ensures there is enough slack to allow the ROPS to fold down without stretching the wires. Connections to the lights are made with 2-Pin Waterproof Electrical Connectors I bought on Amazon. 

Now to wire all this up, I bought a wiring harness kit from Amazon.  However, I didn’t use as is.  Instead I cut it up and used the switches and wires per the diagrams I showed earlier.  I used the relay that came with the harness in the auxiliary fuse block I added when I added the side lights.

For the front light, I chose a 14” light bar.  It has a combination of spot light and flood light LEDs and it draws 72 watts or 6 amps at 12 volts.  It produces 4,790 lumens, which is very bright.  Finally, it has an IP67 waterproof rating. However, I strongly suggest running a bead of pure silicone caulk around the edges of the lens and also where the wire goes into the light.

The side and rear lights are 4” LED light bars with 6 flood light LEDs and they draw 18W each or 1.5 amps at 12 volts.  Each one produces 1260 lumens and they are also IP67 rated.  Again, I put a bead of silicone caulk around the lens and where the wire goes into the light.

The front and rear lights are mounted to the top of the ROPS with two U-bolts and two 1” by 1/8” thick steel bar pieces cut to 8.5” long.  The U-bolts are spaced according the mounting requirements of the front light bar. The length of the steel pieces can vary according your needs and choice of lights.  You can get this bar stock at hardware stores in various lengths.  I drilled holes for the u-bolts and holes on the ends for the lights to attach to and I used a rotary grinder to round off the edges. Finally, I painted the steel bars black.

Each side light is mounted to the ROPS with two U-bolts – and a 4.9” by 3” corner brace.  To protect the ROPS, I added heat shrink tubing to the back of the u-bolts and cut a piece of rubber sheeting to go between the corner brace and the ROPS.

To see a night time demonstration of the lights, watch the video.

Note: Links to Amazon products are Amazon Associate links that won’t cost you any extra, but will help support my efforts with a small commission on qualified products. Thanks for your support!