LED conversion....on the cheap

Stee6043

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
6,706
West Michigan
Boat Info
1997 Sundancer 400
Engines
7.4L Gassers
I had a couple cabin bulbs burn out on me last year and decided I didn’t need much more of a reason to convert to LED this season. Last weekend I finished installing the bulbs and am very pleased.

I deviated from the general CSR “LED Conversion” guidelines in two ways. First, I bought cheap bulbs. I mean…mega cheap. But these things have plenty of favorable reviews on Amazon.com. I picked up bulbs that were delivered to my door for $15-$18 per 10 pack. Two packs of G4’s and one pack of the wedge type and I was done, with spares left over. All in for $50 +/-.

The other deviation (though I may not be the first?) was color temp. I went with a cool white rather than warm white. I really wanted to brighten up the cabin and get away from the extra yellow color of the stock bulb. Mission accomplished! I was concerned the color was too harsh about half way through the installation but once they were all in it was 100% better than the yellow. It actually feels a lot like when I have the sunshades removed from my hatches. It’s not “daylight” white but it’s a very nice upgrade. Definitely a long ways away from the blue hue when you get into the 4000 range.

Bulbs used in my main cabin lights (the reading light style):
http://www.amazon.com/KINGSO-220LM-...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

Bulbs used in the floor lights on the stairs and by the master birth:
http://www.amazon.com/Brightech-Pac...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I generally trust Amazon.com reviews for most all of my purchases. I would be surprised if these things disappoint…
 
i did everyone on my boat except the nav lights and one more off of eBay. Most came from Yitamotor and are on there 2nd season with no issues. They do not get hot and thus far have been foolproof.

Bennett
 
I did the same except I couldn't find E14 bulbs for the 2 AC bulbs in the cabin? Did you do these as well?
 
I did the same except I couldn't find E14 bulbs for the 2 AC bulbs in the cabin? Did you do these as well?


Nope. I didn't. I would imaging Home depot would have them though. they look pretty common.
 
I did the same except I couldn't find E14 bulbs for the 2 AC bulbs in the cabin? Did you do these as well?

I bought conversion bases for these bulbs that fit but the actual LED bulbs I bought were too long to fit in the fixture after the conversion rig was installed.

This works in the fixture to make it so a standard "candelabra" bulb will work. But you need a really short bulb to make it all work together.

http://www.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
 
Has anyone successfully replaced the 2 e14 bulbs in their cabin? I gave up on this last year but now it just bothers the hell out of me that the AC bulb pretty much does nothing since both original bulbs are blown. I even tried to find the non led equivalent with no luck. Tried the conversion base as well. Just wondering if anyone has successfully replaced them (led or not) and can provide info on the exact bulb used.
 
Has anyone successfully replaced the 2 e14 bulbs in their cabin? I gave up on this last year but now it just bothers the hell out of me that the AC bulb pretty much does nothing since both original bulbs are blown. I even tried to find the non led equivalent with no luck. Tried the conversion base as well. Just wondering if anyone has successfully replaced them (led or not) and can provide info on the exact bulb used.

copied from a post I made some time ago in the 340 thread.......

for anyone interested in an incandescent replacement bulb for the 110V 25W overhead lights in the cabin i finally found them on Amazon.....most 25W 110V bulbs with an E14 base are high heat resistant 220V (oven bulbs) so it took a little research to finally find a 110V version....

http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-25WPR-...ight+bulbs+e14
 
Thanks! will give that a shot.
 
Received and replacement the bulb ordered via Amazon this weekend. Just to close the loop I spoke with Marinebeam about the specs on the above bulb and they advised that I would need an adapter/driver to convert to an led bulb. For now I'm happy with the original incandescents as its only used while I have shore power or I'm on genny. Thank for the link!
Thanks! will give that a shot.
 
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copied from a post I made some time ago in the 340 thread.......

for anyone interested in an incandescent replacement bulb for the 110V 25W overhead lights in the cabin i finally found them on Amazon.....most 25W 110V bulbs with an E14 base are high heat resistant 220V (oven bulbs) so it took a little research to finally find a 110V version....

http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-25WPR-...ight+bulbs+e14


I know this is an old post but thank you thank you thank you. and did i mention thank you?
 
Does anyone know which LED bulb will fit into the OEM NAV light housings at the bow?

I purchased 2 of these 1156-CW3W-G: Cool White from SuperBrightLED.com and the glass dome was too big to fit under the red and green lenses and housing. The OEM incandescent bulbs have a little shorter and not as fat of a glass dome.

If I can't find the bulbs I may just change the entire OEM NAV light housings to the LED ones that are visible for 2NM since I will be into it for the same cost and still have new bulbs but old housings.
 

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Does anyone know which LED bulb will fit into the OEM NAV light housings at the bow?

I purchased 2 of these 1156-CW3W-G: Cool White from SuperBrightLED.com and the glass dome was too big to fit under the red and green lenses and housing. The OEM incandescent bulbs have a little shorter and not as fat of a glass dome.

If I can't find the bulbs I may just change the entire OEM NAV light housings to the LED ones that are visible for 2NM since I will be into it for the same cost and still have new bulbs but old housings.

I just ordered these. I'll let you know how it goes. I should also mention that you probably want to go with warm white to maintain the correct color through the lenses.
 
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Ok great thanks. The ones you have ordered looks like they may fit.

I purposely ordered ones with the glass dome to help keep them watertight because of the fact they were going on the bow.
 
Be careful with LED bulbs in navigation or running light fixtures.
I read somewhere that they aren’t as visible from long distances. Don’t know if it’s true or not, and can’t remember if Ibread it here or on another forum, but just putting it out there.
I’ve replaced all the bulbs in the cabin and cockpit on my old boat and my current boat with warm white LED and they are fantastic. I didn’t replace the running, anchor, Nav light bulbs on this boat because of what I read about the visibility. I figure that other than the anchor light none of the others will be on anyway unless the boat is running.
 
I just ordered these. I'll let you know how it goes. I should also mention that you probably want to go with warm white to maintain the correct color through the lenses.

If they don't work you might have to swap the wires feeding the fixture. I bought the same ones on my 340 and they didn't light up. I ended up going in and swapping the wires and they worked. I ended up putting back the original. I didn't want to hassle swapping the wires every time if a bulb blew out. The nav standard lights are cheaper and don't need to be LED since the engine is running whenever there on. Makes no sense to me to have LED there.. I have them everywhere else though as you can see I posted.
 
If they don't work you might have to swap the wires feeding the fixture. I bought the same ones on my 340 and they didn't light up. I ended up going in and swapping the wires and they worked. I ended up putting back the original. I didn't want to hassle swapping the wires every time if a bulb blew out. The nav standard lights are cheaper and don't need to be LED since the engine is running whenever there on. Makes no sense to me to have LED there.. I have them everywhere else though as you can see I posted.

Thanks! Yeah I read somewhere about the wires maybe not being of the correct polarity. Thing is, if you swap the wires, they will still work with incandescents should you decide to later go back to them.

My main thing with LEDs is the advertised longevity. My boat only has 270 running hours and I've already lost the starboard nav bulb. No sign of water infiltration in the housing.
 

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