ACR Search Light LED Retrofit?

Does anyone know if there is a plug AT the spotlight. I've thought about removing and re-painting ours but the idea it might be hardwired with 10 wires has kept me away.
 
Does anyone know if there is a plug AT the spotlight. I've thought about removing and re-painting ours but the idea it might be hardwired with 10 wires has kept me away.
The contacts are not wires. They are strips of copper that the mating contacts ride on. hardest part is getting to the little fasteners under the light housing.
 

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The contacts are not wires. They are strips of copper that the mating contacts ride on. hardest part is getting to the little fasteners under the light housing.
Great info! I had planned on removing the whole assy, base and all. That why I wondered if the wires are removable. It looks like you can remove the head as it just sits on the contacts which are part of the base. The base isn't that bad paint wise but the head definitely needs to be redone. Thanks!
 
A little trick in cleaning the slip rings, if needed. Use one of those big white gum erasers. Will clean em up real easy.

Been doing that for 50 years in the electronics industry.
 
Motor arrived and installed. Tested on the bench and working perfect. Now just need to swap assembly out of the boat and give it a test
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Looks like a super cool modification....How has it held up?
What is the light output with this new LED set up, vs the old halogen lights? how much of an increase in light did you experience, % (i.e 33% brighter)?
Do you have any finished pictures of the light mounted inside the ACR spotlight housing?

Cant believe nobody has made a retrofit kit yet, seems like a lot of people would do this upgrade....you guys are awesome!

Have a safe and happy Independence Day celebration!
 
Looks like a super cool modification....How has it held up?
What is the light output with this new LED set up, vs the old halogen lights? how much of an increase in light did you experience, % (i.e 33% brighter)?
Do you have any finished pictures of the light mounted inside the ACR spotlight housing?

Cant believe nobody has made a retrofit kit yet, seems like a lot of people would do this upgrade....you guys are awesome!

Have a safe and happy Independence Day celebration!
Sorry I don't use it that much to chime in on that. I tested and it works great. I avoid night boating if I can as my eyes in my 50's are not as good as they were in my 30's
 
I asked earlier in this thread if anyone has found an led lightbulb conversion but no reply. So I thought I would take a stab at doing one.
My thinking is before I make the modifications to the Bakelite parts like you all have to get the LED light bars in there, I would try car LED conversion bulbs. I just happen to have a pair of new unused H13 bulbs in a cabinet that I modified. I used my dremel tool with drum sander to make the diameter of the body smaller by about 1/16” ish and they slid into where the old bulb holders I removed were. Then I played with orientation and sliding the bulbs in and out to get the best pattern on the wall to start with. After it got dark I played with it a little more shunning the neighbors houses across the street about 300’ away. I want to get out somewhere a little darker and try shining something further away next but so far it’s pretty good for very little work modifying. A bit better than a car high beam I’d say. If I can get set up in dark area and take pictures I will post them.
I did take a couple pictures of the lightbulbs installed into the original reflectors I’ll post.
 

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I asked earlier in this thread if anyone has found an led lightbulb conversion but no reply. So I thought I would take a stab at doing one.
My thinking is before I make the modifications to the Bakelite parts like you all have to get the LED light bars in there, I would try car LED conversion bulbs. I just happen to have a pair of new unused H13 bulbs in a cabinet that I modified. I used my dremel tool with drum sander to make the diameter of the body smaller by about 1/16” ish and they slid into where the old bulb holders I removed were. Then I played with orientation and sliding the bulbs in and out to get the best pattern on the wall to start with. After it got dark I played with it a little more shunning the neighbors houses across the street about 300’ away. I want to get out somewhere a little darker and try shining something further away next but so far it’s pretty good for very little work modifying. A bit better than a car high beam I’d say. If I can get set up in dark area and take pictures I will post them.
I did take a couple pictures of the lightbulbs installed into the original reflectors I’ll post.
Thanks for the update! I'm curious to see how they do with rejecting heat. I know the bulb I put in the Norton had a small fan on the back, but that was an earlier generation.
 
Thanks for the update! I'm curious to see how they do with rejecting heat. I know the bulb I put in the Norton had a small fan on the back, but that was an earlier generation.
These don’t have fans, just heat sinks. If I leave them on continuously for about a minute the heat sinks start getting very warm. After about 2 minutes they are almost uncomfortable to hold. I’ll try to remember and get my infrared gun on them and get temperatures. But I’d say for using spotlight as it was meant for short bursts, should not be issue.
 
I went out and took pictures a little while ago shining down the street.
The first picture was furthest away shining object. Zoom in if you can, the motorhome in the distance is about 1000’ away.
The picture with the house beyond the white car is about 275’-300’ away. The picture with the garage is about 150’ away.
 

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Based on what I saw tonight, not sure this is as good as the light bar conversions you all are doing but it was very quick and easy. I will try swapping this into my spotlight on the boat and give it a try and go from there. If I’m not liking it I’ll do the lightbar.
 
By the way, the H13 bulb is meant to be a hi and low beam bulb. I had better results using the led set that was closer to the tip. Not sure if that is the hi or the low. And for the wiring, I took red butt connectors and they fit perfect over the pins inside the sockets on the bulbs, so I crimped the wires on one side and slid the other side onto the pins. Easy enough!
 
Based on what I saw tonight, not sure this is as good as the light bar conversions you all are doing...
I dunno; it looks pretty good to me! And, like you mentioned, the labor (and cost?) involved looks to be lower.
 

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