Dash Backlighting Transformer

tdschafer

tdschafer

Well-Known Member
Aug 24, 2009
6,154
Long island , NY
Boat Info
1997 330 sundancer
Engines
twin 454's, Carb, V-Drives
Does anyone know where to get a replacement for the transformer that appears to step down the voltage for the Panel backlighting? Mine recently melted down and blew my Nav Lights breaker. My mechanic cut it out and now the balance of the lights work without the burning wire smell and breaker blowing.:smt038
I haven't been down yet to inspect it. My mechanic said it is not on the Sea Ray parts diagram and he has put in a call to Marine Max to see if they can locate the part. It does not appear too promising.
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.
 
tdschafer said:
Does anyone know where to get a replacement for the transformer that appears to step down the voltage for the Panel backlighting? Mine recently melted down and blew my Nav Lights breaker. My mechanic cut it out and now the balance of the lights work without the burning wire smell and breaker blowing.:smt038
I haven't been down yet to inspect it. My mechanic said it is not on the Sea Ray parts diagram and he has put in a call to Marine Max to see if they can locate the part. It does not appear too promising.
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.
Click to expand...


electronics is not my strong suit, but i would think the panel lights just use 12V DC power like all of the other electronics on a boat and don't require a step down transformer....if by 'transformer' you mean the dimmer switch i would think that any generic 12V rheostat could be made to work fairly easily....Radio Shack may have one that would work...

EDIT: after rereading your post i think your are talking about the backlighting of the panel and not the adjustable brightness of the gauge bulbs...this may well take a transormer of some sort, so sorry but i can't help...

like the late Gilda Radner used to say.....'Never Mind'....
 
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It steps up the voltage to 100VAC.
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses. I got a little side tracked and forgot my own thread. My bad.
Yes, I think the product shown here is what I will need. In all honesty my mechanic disconnected the transformer. I never even got a chance to look back there. I may just buy the new light strip and replace the whole thing. Does anyone know how difficult that is? Do you think I will be better off just replacing the transformer with the product Spiro found? I do plan on getting new panels made at some point and would need to backlight them. Do you think I could re-use the strips from FP if I buy them now?
Again, Thanks everyone for the info. I appreciate it!

Note: After rereading the replies here I realized that the FP light strips don't come with the transformer. That leaves me with the one option for now. I will call FP and see if they sell the transformer to go with the lights. If not a cheap alternative could definitey be the transformer from e-bay. One concern though is the disclaimer in thier ad:
NOTE: It is normal for some inverters to make a slight high pitched hum.

That could be a deal breaker!! Hey though, for 15 bucks it's sure worth a try!
 
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If you are going to have new panels fabricated, I would suggest LED backlighting for the switch script. I always had a hard time seeing mine with the strip lighting, but, with LED lighting it is not a problem. Scott charges about 1/10 of a boat dollar to do the LED lighting. Keep in mind that he uses red LED's, so, if you want green you will have to specify that color. Below is a photo on mine (albeit a crummy photo) to give you an idea of the look.

Also, I had Scott cut the SR logo into one of the panels, but, I did not have him backlight it. However, after I received the panel, I decided that I wanted it backlit, so, I made backlighting for it. In that case, I used green LED's to match up with the gage lighting.

FinSwPanel005.jpg


188.jpg
 
Excellent idea guys. So for now I will add a transformer and then when I get new panels (Best laid plans of mice and men) I will have Scott do the LED's.
Thanks
 
Most Sea Ray dealers save those transformers......if you have a good contact at your local dealer, just ask them if they have a used one they can slide you. A 12 pack would get you one at our place.

I replaced my light strips with LED lighting when the panel were replaced. This is a change I would do sooner rather than later. The end product is far superior. you don't have to mess with the adhesive foil light strips and the LED voltage is 12VDC compared to the transformer/foil strip voltage which is 100V+. Mess around wit the wrong thing behind the panel and those light strips will knock you on your a$$. Bite the bullet and do the panels now.
 
fwebster said:
Most Sea Ray dealers save those transformers......if you have a good contact at your local dealer, just ask them if they have a used one they can slide you. A 12 pack would get you one at our place.

I replaced my light strips with LED lighting when the panel were replaced. This is a change I would do sooner rather than later. The end product is far superior. you don't have to mess with the adhesive foil light strips and the LED voltage is 12VDC compared to the transformer/foil strip voltage which is 100V+. Mess around wit the wrong thing behind the panel and those light strips will knock you on your a$$. Bite the bullet and do the panels now.
Click to expand...

Frank,
Thanks for the insight. I would love to get new panels now but, I spread myself thin buying a new business this year and the $$ are tighter than they've been in 2 decades. Couple that with the lightening side flash I took this summer and then getting hosed by my insurance company and I have other priorities to address at this time with my limited funds. I will get the new panels in good time and I will be sure to keep the navigation lights off when working behind the dash!!
 
We have a 99 Sundancer 370DA. Are all the panels suppose to light like yours do now? When we turn up the dimmer the only thing that get brighter is the gauges.
 
connie garcy said:
We have a 99 Sundancer 370DA. Are all the panels suppose to light like yours do now? When we turn up the dimmer the only thing that get brighter is the gauges.
Click to expand...
I don't know for sure but, I would think that the panels are a fixed brightness due to the transformer. I imagine if the voltage drops too low the transformer would not work. The guages are 12vdc lighting and are probably the only things affected by the dimmer but, again, I am not 100 % sure of this.
 
connie garcy said:
We have a 99 Sundancer 370DA. Are all the panels suppose to light like yours do now? When we turn up the dimmer the only thing that get brighter is the gauges.
Click to expand...

The rough drawing below is how my lights are wired. It is not exact because it does not show the inverter in the strip light circuit to raise and invert the voltage to 100 VAC. Also, I misspelled gage. (Hey, I never got paid for my spelling ability)

The dimmer control is an electronic circuit that puts a bias on the 12V input to reduce it. Reducing the voltage reduces the current draw. The other way to do it would be to use an old fashion wire wound resistor to reduce the current flow. That was very inefficient and created a lot of heat.

In any event, you can see that the switch backlighting and gage lighting intensity are both determined by the output of the dimmer controller. When you turn the dimmer knob, the voltage at the "output" point on the dimmer controller varies.

Gauge2001-1.jpg
 
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