I’m confused about an AC or DC issue with adding a utility light to a Honda snowblower.
I have a 9 year old Honda HS622.
This: http://www.dkdods.com/powerequipment/snowblowers/HS622.jpg
I have an earlier model without the headlight.
During the process of ordering parts for the auger clutch I found a light kit specifically for the this model: http://www.wisesales.com/honda_snow_accy.html This looks like a pretty simple install but a fairly common price for it on the net is around $50 (too much). I think a big chunk of that is for the name and a small chunk is for a basic utility light and some mounting brackets.
The machine does have a wire lead on the right side in front of the flywheel that looks like it is where this light kit plugs in.
I found a real basic 12V light at HarborFreight that looks like the light in the kit’s schematic. I can mount it easily enough myself. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93904
MY QUESTION: I took a multi-meter to the wire off of the engine and checked for voltage. I incorrectly assumed that it would be DC. On a DC setting the needle just twitched. When I switched to AC I got a reading of about 15V AC. After reading on the net how the system works with a “Stator” it makes sense that this is AC instead of DC. The light from HF doesn’t specifically state “12V” but I would assume that’s what the normal source would be for it since it is a vehicle application device. Does it matter that the power from the snowblower would be AC? The light kit makes it look like you would just hook this up with the one wire from the light to the one wire off the engine, with the frame being the ground.
I don’t know enough about electrical stuff like this to be able to see if this would work and I am afraid to just try it out because I don’t want to fry something on the snowblower.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
I have a 9 year old Honda HS622.
This: http://www.dkdods.com/powerequipment/snowblowers/HS622.jpg
I have an earlier model without the headlight.
During the process of ordering parts for the auger clutch I found a light kit specifically for the this model: http://www.wisesales.com/honda_snow_accy.html This looks like a pretty simple install but a fairly common price for it on the net is around $50 (too much). I think a big chunk of that is for the name and a small chunk is for a basic utility light and some mounting brackets.
The machine does have a wire lead on the right side in front of the flywheel that looks like it is where this light kit plugs in.
I found a real basic 12V light at HarborFreight that looks like the light in the kit’s schematic. I can mount it easily enough myself. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93904
MY QUESTION: I took a multi-meter to the wire off of the engine and checked for voltage. I incorrectly assumed that it would be DC. On a DC setting the needle just twitched. When I switched to AC I got a reading of about 15V AC. After reading on the net how the system works with a “Stator” it makes sense that this is AC instead of DC. The light from HF doesn’t specifically state “12V” but I would assume that’s what the normal source would be for it since it is a vehicle application device. Does it matter that the power from the snowblower would be AC? The light kit makes it look like you would just hook this up with the one wire from the light to the one wire off the engine, with the frame being the ground.
I don’t know enough about electrical stuff like this to be able to see if this would work and I am afraid to just try it out because I don’t want to fry something on the snowblower.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
