Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

O-K, the light kit that is sold as an 'Accessory' for the Honda Snowblowers comes with a standard 12 V sealed beam, like the old car headlights of yesteryear. But it IS Halogen as Honda says, a $10.00 dollar GE Par36 50 Watt bulb that puts out 300 Lumens.  It is in fact manufactured for this and many other applications by a company named (PM) Peterson Manufacturing, (www.pmlights.com)   They list the light in its rubber weather and vibration resistant mount as a Model 507, and if you go to www.foxtaillights.com they sell it for about 30 bucks, without the special HONDA snowblower bracket you need to mount it to the Honda snowblower, for the kit that Honda sells that includes this expect to pay $ 60.00 buckaroos.   Now IF, like me, You want to install a light more modern, capable and bright here's what you do.  You again go to FoxTailLights.com, and buy the PM model 907 light with 10 LED Diodes to light your way and an estimated 100,000 hour durability and an output of 1000 Lumens  . . . that light with the same rubber mount sells for $ 72.00 plus shipping and anything else they can add. 

The light kit, like the Commercial Skid Shoes is supplied with the electroplated zinc, Guaranteed to RUST in record time, bolts, nuts & washers.  If you don't like rust on your new snowblower go to www.allensfasteners.com and replace the HONDA QuickRust hardware with some Stainless Steel.

Incidentally the Peterson Manufacturing (PM) Technical rep said that the OEM accesory light they supply Honda, the 50watt 12V sealed bean requires 2.54 amps, the new LED unit needs just  .51 amps to operate, so the extra power to run the switch is not going to be a problem.  Just make sure the unit gets as good a ground contact as you can or it might  not work. 

PM makes a stick-on reflective in either amber or red they call them "Spitfires", IMHO they are the brightest reflectors I've ever seen should anyone need such a thing.

MN_Runner wrote:
This advice has no validity on the swap of the PM 507 and PM 907 lights.  Peterson Manufacuring designed their 907 LED unit to work in such applications as the Honda Snowblower and has provided whatever circuitry is needed within the LED lamp itself.  A simple call to Peterson Manufacturing who makes Both the OEM Accessory unit and the LED UpGrade unit will reassure anyone needing such reassurance.  The same LED lamp in this model 907 is used for and sold by PM for many other applications, like stop lights, turn indicators etc. and it has a wide range of voltages it will accept.   I would never have suggested the idea if I was not certain the light works perfectly.  The LED also has a 100,000 hour life expectancy according to PM.  Have a great day.

Show me the pictures of your setup.  LED lights can only handle so much current so you need some way to control current going thru the LED otherwise you will burn out the LED light.  A resistor is typically added to limit the current going thru the LED.   I am not sure how current  regulation is accomplished with the snowblower power source.  If you (New_Yorker) have the specs for the snowblower power supply, please share the information with us.

I decided the standard Honda light kit is fine for me, not worth the possible aggravation.

Stock light does the job for me.

njal wrote:
Ditto. I live in an oak forest and it gets real dark when the it's overcast or there's no moon. I honestly never thought about an upgrade until I read this thread. I guess it all comes down to personal choice but the stock light kit provides plenty of visibilty and works fine for my needs.

Just installed the LED Lght last night (PM 907)...Works great.  No issues, no flickering.  I bought it since my original light broke at the bracket from all the vibration.  So I figured I would try the new light..Nice and white

bob1459 wrote:
Can you post pics of what this looks like?

Sure..I will take a pic tonight...It looks exactly the same except for seeing the LEDs in the front.  The light uses the same housing and mounts. 

That would be great.  I'm also interested in seeing what kind of light pattern those LED lights cast.   Also, does it light up when the engine is at idle?  What throttle position does the LED come on or get full brightness?  I wonder if the light have some sort of voltage regulator circuitry.

aa335 wrote:

The light pattern is more focused out front.  Light worked just as before.  Full throttle its bright and low throttle is dimmer.  Stays lit at idel.  When I pulled the light out of the housing it was a small disc sealed.  It does not flicker.  PM said its a direct replacement of the 507 and it comes with a 5 year warranty.  On a side note, can I get this board to email me when someone posts to this thread?  Can't seem to find that option here.