Upgrading your zero turn mower with a light kit will easily extend the number of hours in the day that you’re able to work on your yard. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, without lights on your mower, you’re going to be left in the dark. Choosing to upgrade your zero turn with either a dedicated light kit or a custom install is an easy and straightforward process that most mower owners can easily accomplish over a weekend. So, let’s take a look at how to add lights to brighten up your zero turn mower.
A Few Tips When Choosing Your Zero Turn Mower Lights
When choosing a lighting option for your zero turn, the best place to start is to figure out how much space your mower has to fit lights. The area between the front wheels is a good place to start as it’s protected between the wheels and won’t be clipped by any bushes or trees when you’re mowing. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to keep the lights within the footprint of the mower.
Another place to mount the lights is on the mower’s roll bar. That’s if your mower has one, of course. Once you have worked out how much space you have to fit your lights, you can go ahead and take a look to see what size lights you can fit in it. Next, let’s go over a few light options for your zero turn.
Zero Turn Spot Lights
As the name describes, these lights serve to light up a spot. Because each light typically covers a small area, you will need to install more than one light. The upside is they take up very little space on your mower and are affordable.
Zero Turn Bar Lights
Bar lights are considerably bigger lights and illuminate a much larger area. However, they need a larger amount of space to be mounted and can cost significantly more money.
What Else You’ll Need to Carry Out This Project
Once you have selected your light, whether it be spotlights, bar lights, or even a combination of both, you will need to gather all the bits and pieces to carry out the installation. Let’s take a look at the parts and tools you’ll need to install lights on your zero turn mower.
Parts Required for Zero Turn Mower Lights
- Lights with Mounting Brackets & Cables Included
- ON/OFF Water Proof Switch with Spade Connection
- Electrical Wire
- Wire Crimp Connectors
- Terminal Connectors
- Straight Connector
- Spade Connectors
- Ring Connector
- In-Line Fuse Holder & Fuse
- Electrical Tape
- Zip Ties
- Cable Shrink Wrap
Tools Required for Zero Turn Mower Lights
- Marker Pen
- Measuring Tape
- Wire Cutters
- Crimping Tool
- Power Drill
- Metal Drill Bit Set
- Socket Wrench Set
- Wire Strippers
- Heat Gun
How to Wire Lights on Your Zero Turn Mower (Step By Step)
Now, if you happen to have purchased a light kit directly from the same manufacturer as your mower, then you probably just need to follow their instructions. These kits can just be plug & play and don’t require any custom installation as the connections are already in place. So for you guys who have decided to go the custom route, here’s my step-by-step guide on how to wire lights on a zero turn mower.
Steps Required for Zero Turn Mower Lights
- Decide on Light Position
- Mark Light Position
- Drill Mounting Holes
- Mount the Light Brackets
- Route Cable
- Locate the Switch Position
- Wire Lights to Switch & Power Source
- Install the Switch
- Install the Fuse
- Test & Review Installation
Decide on Light Position
Start by checking that the position of the lights is not in conflict with anything on the mower. This should include anything obstructing the light beam, the mounting hole position, or creating a hindrance to the operation of the zero turn mower.
Mark Light Position
First, mark the position of the light’s mounting bracket, so you know where to drill the holes. This will be easier to do if you remove the bracket from the light if they are not already detached. Next, position the bracket on the mower and mark the placement of the bracket holes. Finally, if you use multiple brackets and lights, use your measuring tape to transfer the position of the other lights or brackets along the mower.
Drill Mounting Holes
Next, use your power drill and drill bit to drill all the holes required. You may also want to consider if you need any extra holes to run the cables. For example, if you are mounting lights to a roll bar, then these are usually hollow and are a good place to run the wires. Also, if you are mounting lights between the front wheels, you can pass the cables through the same metal plate you mount the brackets to.
Mount the Light Brackets
Included with your light is the bracket that will secure the light to the mower. First, check if the bracket needs to be mounted in any particular way. The bracket may indicate an up and down direction, so have a quick look first. Then mount the brackets with the bolts and tighten them in place with the socket wrench.
Route Cable
Next, you will need to route the cable through the mower’s structure toward the location where the switch will be mounted. I suggest placing the switch somewhere near the ignition. Once the cable is in place, secure it using your zip ties. I recommend leaving some slack towards the light fitting so the light can be adjusted when the installation is complete. If you need to adjust the light on their brackets, they may need an extra few inches of cable.
Locate the Switch Position
Now you need to find a location to mount the switch. You may be lucky and already have a space to mount the switch by the ignition. A lot of the time, you find a blanking plate ready to take an extra switch, and you’ll just need to pop out the plastic cover. If not, then you’ll have to make a new hole in this area. If you need to make a hole, mark the location you want to put the switch in and check on the underside of this position to make sure nothing is in the way. Once you are happy with the position, you can go ahead and drill the hole to the required size.
Wire Lights to Switch & Power Source
There are a few different ways to wire your lights to the mower. You can wire the lights directly to the battery with both +/- or use the life of the battery and the ground of the mower’s body. I prefer to use the mower’s body as the ground connection, which I will go over here. But, you can connect all of the grounds to the negative of the battery, and you’ll achieve the same connection.
Prepare the Cable
You’ll need to strip the wires of all the light cables by the switch. Start by stripping 2 inches of the outer cable sleeve, then a ¼ inch of the wire sleeve.
Live Connections
All of the live wires need to be connected together. If you are using a single light, then you won’t need to complete this step. If you are using multiple lights, then make sure you use a connector that can take multiple wires in and a single wire out. Start by bunching the wires, then slide on the cable shrink sleeve.
Next, take your crimp connector and crimp all the live cables in place. Then, take a length of your additional electrical cable and crimp it into the other end of the connector. Finally, cover the connection with the cable heat shrink sleeve and use your heat gun to shrink the sleeve. You should now have all of the live light cables connected, protected, and reduced into a single cable.
Ground Connections
All of the ground connections need to be bunched together and connected into a single cable, just like the live wire. To do this, you can repeat the same process as before when making your live connection.
Switch Connection
The switch will need two connections, one from the light and one from the switch to the inline fuse. Let’s take a look at the two connections.
Lights to Switch
Take the single live cable from before and repeat the stripping process. Then slide on a piece of cable heat shrink sleeve long enough to cover the connection. Next, use the spade connector and crimping tool and crimp in place. Follow by using your heat gun to shrink the sleeve, so it covers your new connection. Finally, connect the spade connector to the switch.
Switch to Fuse
Use a new length of cable that is long enough to reach between the battery area and the switch. On one end, repeat the process to connect a spade connector and connect it to the switch the same as before.
Fuse to Battery
Using the cable from the switch, you will now need to connect the fuse holder. Again, this is repeating the previous process of connecting the wires—this time, you need to use a straight connector that allows you to connect two cables. Take the end from the switch and one wire from the inline fuse and crimp together, making sure to include the heat shrink sleeve.
Terminal Connector
Finally, connect your terminal connector to the final fuse holder wire using the previous methods. Once done, you can connect the terminal connector to the battery. First, make sure that there isn’t a fuse in the inline fuse holder.
Final Ground Connection
The last step in the electrical connection is to connect a ring connector to the single ground wire. Make this connection by following the previous method. Next, find a suitable location on the mower’s body to make your ground connection. This can be the same location where the battery is grounded to the body.
Finally, run the ring connector to the body’s ground and make the connection. This will require you to remove the existing ground screw and add the ring connector from the lights. This is just a case of placing the ground screw through both the battery ring connector and the switch ring connector and reinstalling the ground screw.
Install the Switch
Now that all of the electrical work is completed, you can secure the switch. Depending on the switch you are using, you will need to secure it according to its fixing method.
Install the Fuse
The last step is to install the fuse into the fuse holder. When selecting a fuse, you’ll want to read through the information that came with your lights so that you select the correct Amp fuse. Once you know which fuse to use, you can go ahead and install it.
Test & Review Installation
Finally, you can test the lights by operating the switch. The method I describe here is a direct connection to the battery, so this means if you leave the lights ON and the mower off, the light will stay on. If you want to control the light with the ignition, you’ll need to see if there is any space on the mower’s fuse board controlled by the ignition. Some more advanced zero turn mowers will have this, but not all of them.
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