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Troubleshooting a Broken Headlight on John Deere 1330SE Snow Blower

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I used to think that headlights on a snowblower was a waste of money. That is until I had to clear snow every 2 hours during the night to keep up with a blizzard. Without these headlights, I would have been fish out of water. This article will show you how to replace your faulty light bulbs

In a hurry? Order 2 OEM light bulbs (click here) and 2 OEM sockets (click here) from Amazon. Yes, both items are on the pricey side and you may be able to save few bucks IF you can find them at your local auto parts store. I personally have wasted hours and gas to save 10 bucks and I plan on never doing that again.
If you arrived on this page via search engine, click here to visit my John Deere 1330se Snowthrower Resource page

Purpose

How to troubleshoot, repair or replace a broken headlight on a snow blower.

Applicability

This John Deere Halogen Headlight Bulb (12 volt, 20 watt) adn Bulb Socket fit John Deere 1028E, 1330se, 1332pe, 1338pe, Simplicity L1730e, Murray 1330se and other similarly equipped models (more detail info here).

Required Tools

  • Flat and Phillips screwdrivers;
  • You only need a multi-meter if your new replacement bulb did not fix the problem. If you don’t own one, read my quick review of several decent ones here

Replacement Parts

There only two, user replaceable parts on a John Deere 1330SE (part numbers and links in the table below):

Item # Part # Descriptions
0010-00 1739686YP Light bar assembly
0010-10 n/a Lense, RH, not serviceable, included as part of item # 010 assembly
0010-20 n/a Lense, LH, not serviceable, included as part of item # 010 assembly
0010-30 1739689YP Briggs and Stratton Halongen Lamp, OEM, Click here to buy
0010-40 1736180YP Briggs and Stratton Lamp Socket, OEM, 1 socket (1), Click here to buy
0010-50 n/a Gasket, Single, Twin Light (Included in Part# 1736190YP)
0010-60 n/a Bezel, light panel, not serviceable, included as part of item # 010 assembly

(1) Older (original) parts manual stated that these sockets were only available as part of a large light assembly. However, you can now purchase these sockets individually.

Troubleshooting steps

STEP # 1 – WIRING HARNESS

Thankfully, wiring connections are fairly straightforward. Since John Deere never published a technician’s manual, I manually traced the wire connections from my functional JD 1330se.

Compare your wiring harness against my diagrams to make sure that all connections are correct and secure.

STEP # 2 – CHECK THE GROUND WIRE

Due to heavy vibration, it is not uncommon to see loose nuts and washers. Usually, if your voltage exceeds 12v, it probably means something is going on with your ground terminal.

If you find the ground terminal all crusty and rusted out, you will need to completely remove it and clean thoroughly wire brush/vinegar/baking soda, then apply some NOALOX before re-attaching it to the engine.

STEP # 3 – CHECK THE PLUGS:

There are 4 terminal connections to 2 lights. Check to make sure that they are not corroded and are firmly seated.

STEP # 4 – CHECK THE BULBS:

Obviously, if you see some melting going around at the base of the bulb (socket), it is a clear indication that your bulb/wiring connection is bad. I would replace BOTH light bulbs at the same time.

If everything looks okay, just remember that you can’t really tell a bad halogen bulb just by looking at it so you need to use a multi-meter to test it. A good bulb should have a resistance of (almost) zero ohm.

STEP # 5 – CHECK THE BASE SOCKET:

Check the socket for any signs of corrosion and/or melting. You also want to make sure that all metal tabs are in their correct positions so that when you insert a light bulb, they will make full contact with the bulb.

Hopefully, your lighting problem was solved following these steps. Since these halogen bulbs are not that bright, fairly expensive and prone to failure, I am going to take up on one of my readers comments and do a quick project to see if I can convert my Halogen bulbs to non-OEM LED bulbs (Click here for the Converting to Non-OEM Headlights on John Deere 1330SE Snow Blower post).

FINAL WORDS

Trying to fix the bulb issue on a snow blower is like trying to find that elusive one broken bulb on in Christmas string lights. It takes time and patience.

If you found this article to be helpful, can you do me a favor and sign up for my free newsletter? The form is located on the upper right side of the screen.

Thanks and good luck with your snow thrower!

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Brandon

Sunday 17th of April 2022

Hello, I have a 1330SE that I purchased brand new in the spring of 2012. Somehow one of my heated grip wires was cut. I called the JD dealer I purchased it from and they basically told me they don't carry parts for these any longer. Not sure how accurate that is? Do you know where to get a replacement heated hand grip?

I also need a bulb and that is how I stumbled on your site. Where have you had the best luck finding bulbs?

Kowalski

Sunday 16th of January 2022

Thanks for a great post! I'm on my eleventh Minnesota winter with my 1330SE. Amazing machine when everything is working! I quickly learned to use regular old 1156 automotive bulbs. They are made to fit the same socket, they are CHEAP, seem just as bright, and seem to be much more durable than the fancy, expensive halogen ones. And they're available everywhere. I discovered that the plastic plate that secures my lamps to the body was cracked and vibrating on one side, drastically shortening bulb life on that side from banging into the steel panel with every beat of the piston -- Fixing the plastic plate and tightening everything up fixed that! Now bulb life is very reasonable again. Headlights are GREAT! Once you have them, you don't know how you lived without them. HOT TIP: Bright white reflects back in your face and glares when it's snowing or blowing. I found some BRIGHT YELLOW 1156 bulbs on eBay ($6/pair) that cut through the glare just like fog lights. SO MUCH BETTER I don't know why the manufacturer never thought of this!

The Ultimate Resource Guide for John Deere 1330SE Snowblower — AllThumbsDIY.com

Monday 8th of February 2021

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Bill Heysek

Saturday 23rd of December 2017

Kevin, Thanks so much for the great web site and the forethought you have given to it! My JD dealer was of very little help so being able to find a wiring diagram for the 1330SE seemed an impossibility until I happened on your site. I have always hated the wire rat's nest under the cover panel and the less than efficient cable harness routing and attachment to the frame/handles; wiring is obviously not the assemblers forte. I am in the process of converting to the LED bulbs (BA15s 1156 G18 parking light model from RCTTCO on ebay since they are no longer available at auto parts stores). That should remedy the faulty halogen bulb issue.. Take care and thanks again.

kevin

Monday 25th of December 2017

@ Bill-

Thank you so much for leaving me your thoughtful comment. I am going to follow suit and try your parts!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Kevin

randy rasmussen

Saturday 25th of November 2017

Tried to replace burnt out 12V 20 watt halogen lightbulb with a 1156 LED backup (clear) bulb. Did not work at all.

It appears red (hot) wire socket electrode contacts the steel casing of the side of this bulb and the green (ground)socket wire electrode contacts the base of the bulb. Is this backwards or am I mistaken in thinking this socket should be wired the other way around. Would this cause the LED bulb not to work?