Rear Light Electical Wiring Question

[farmallcub49]

I am in the process of re-wiring my 58 LoBoy. I am having troubles with the rear wiring harness. Currently I have two seperate wires going to the light switch. Each one mounts do a different tab. As it goes rearward those two wires tie into a junction block of some sort. From there one wire leads from this to nowhere. All of this is just hanging under the platform. I have a Grote taillight, which is just a red lense. Similar to a cadet taillight. One wire comes from the light. I am assuming that when the light is bolted to the light bracket it is grounded? I am wondering why there is two wires attached to the switch. Is this so it runs in both dim and bright? Any help will be appreciated.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

I'm not very familiar with wiring on later models, so if I'm wrong hopefully some of the others will correct me, but I think the second wire is for a rear work light that would have had it's own switch to turn it off when only the red light was wanted.

[Jim Becker]

I assume your serial number is over 10,000.

Never did anything with a tractor with just the taillight, but here is my best guess. One of the wires in the rear harness is probably a ground. If so, it should be pink. The little junction block should be attached to the taillight bracket. The wire from the block to nowhere might be the ground. If so, don't know where it connected, probably somewhere on the light housing. The taillight itself should have a pigtail that hooks to the junction block at the other wire. If no pigtail on the light, maybe your dangler is it and has come loose from the light.

The light probably only worked with one headlight position but could probably be hooked to both connections of the switch to work on both.

[farmallcub49]

Jim,

It is over 10,000.
I have a pink and a black that go to the light. I have a pink with a big loop that gounds to either bolt that holds down the dash. Then there is just a black that goes to the switch.

I should be able to jumper the switch tabs together!? Then what about the ground. do I even need the pink wire. Won't the light ground when I mount it to the bracket?

Thanks for the help so far. It always help to type out your problems and then rehash them in you head. The crud is starting to clear up and make sense. Clear as mud!

[Jim Becker]

The light should ground through the bracket. IH started adding ground wires to the lights in the early '50s to improve the connection. I would connect it. If no lug on the light itself, I would pinch it somewhere into the connectin of the light housing and the bracket, maybe under a nut that holds the light.

[farmallcub49]

Thanks Jim,

Now my wheels are really smoking! If I wasn't so tired, I would go out and do it right now. Had to get up and move snow too early this morning. Worse part was that is was with a; I hate to swear; JD. It is the churches machine and not mine.

[Buzzard Wing]

Trying to go by memory, but the manual is out in the garage (and I am all done with the paint fumes for now).
My tail light has two bulbs and a ground, so 3 wires. One bulb is a small (~1156 I think) with a spot on the lense painted red. That is the running light and the other is a white work light. The ground goes to the bracket, if I recall correctly. It is in the same 'frame' as the headlights but has a 3 wire connector instead of 2. I was able to find the harness at a dealer in Maine, but it was his last one.

Let me know if you need more info.

[Buzzard Wing]

Oh yeah, one more thing is that I believe the 'running light' is also connected to the one that goes on the fender. That one has a flasher too.
I really need to look at the whole thing again to tell you exactly how it is wired.

[Harold R]

Buzzard Wing,
We're struggling with the same thing on my Dad's tractor. His rear light has the single (1156?) bulb and the seal beam that has a red backing. Plus the fender mount flasher. P.O. stripped all of that wiring off!! If you get it figured out...post what you find!

[Buzzard Wing]

Send me a private message and I will send you some pictures of the whole rigging.
The hard part was finding the harness, but it is fairly simple once I got the owners manual that showed a decent wiring diagram.
I have gone and stipped and primed the dash, so I don't even remember what the foolish switch lable says.