Lights on the Arch

S

Searaybio270

Active Member
Jul 8, 2010
1,058
Bush River on the Cheasapeake Bay
Boat Info
1996 EC, Garmin 3210, Dinghy - Seadoo Jet boat with twin 85 horse. Fun and Fast.
Engines
7.4 MC 360 HP each
Westerbeke 7KW
I have to lights on the arch that I use at night when backing into my slip. They are old and falling apart but work very well. Over the winter the one housing broke so I decided to replace them with LED's. I bought the entire unit not just the bulb.
Here is the issue - I have wired them up hit the switch but they won't go on. Why????:huh:

thanks,
Joe
 
LED's only work with the polarity one way, Try reversing the leads and they will probably work.
 
Ok, I just looked up electrical leads. Understand what they are and why to reverse them. I did try that but I will try it again. Thanks.
 
Searaybio270 said:
Ok, I just looked up electrical leads. Understand what they are and why to reverse them. I did try that but I will try it again. Thanks.
Click to expand...
As everyone said, my first thought would be reversed polarity as well. If not that, I'd check to see if you have power when you flip the switch. You said a housing broke, maybe some moisture got in there and shorted out and blew a fuse. You have a meter to check?
 
Sous said:
As everyone said, my first thought would be reversed polarity as well. If not that, I'd check to see if you have power when you flip the switch. You said a housing broke, maybe some moisture got in there and shorted out and blew a fuse. You have a meter to check?
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I'll check that as well. They worked fine before but I wanted to switch out to the LED's. Why? I don't know.
 
Searaybio270 said:
I'll check that as well. They worked fine before but I wanted to switch out to the LED's. Why? I don't know.
Click to expand...

Ah copy. That's interesting... you'd think they'd be just fine then. So I guess something else to try would be just rigging them up direct to one of the batteries if you could do so easily with some simple wire leads. If polarity is right, and you're getting 12 VDC at the light when you flip the switch... maybe you got some out-of-the-box bad LED fixtures???
 
Sous said:
Ah copy. That's interesting... you'd think they'd be just fine then. So I guess something else to try would be just rigging them up direct to one of the batteries if you could do so easily with some simple wire leads. If polarity is right, and you're getting 12 VDC at the light when you flip the switch... maybe you got some out-of-the-box bad LED fixtures???
Click to expand...

I'll try that tonight or tomorrow after work. Last night I tried the wires again both ways and nothing. I think I'll try the old lights to see if they work. If so, then it could be the LED's are bad. If they don't work then then it could be a fuse and I will be checking them as well. So much going on. I have another thread about To Canvas or Not to Canvas. Then there is putting the 270Sundancer in the water that was supposed to happen either last night or tonight but I am in a class that is conducted at the CT vs my ET so we get out of here later than I would like. Plus I am trying to get the Jetboat over to be checked before using and selling. Not enough hours and money in a day. Thanks for the input. Joe
 
Hey Joe... another thought. Did you by chance confirm that you didn't accidentally buy/receive a 24 VDC version of the fixtures? I know that there are a bunch of fixtures/LEDs that are set up for 24 VDC operation.
 
Sous said:
Hey Joe... another thought. Did you by chance confirm that you didn't accidentally buy/receive a 24 VDC version of the fixtures? I know that there are a bunch of fixtures/LEDs that are set up for 24 VDC operation.
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That's a great question. I bought them at West Marine but I'll check. This is why I went from Signal Communications Electronics command to Quartermaster Corp - Logistics and Computers. Today I am back at the Signal CE teaching SharePoint. No wires. No diodes. No transistors. lol
 
Searaybio270 said:
That's a great question. I bought them at West Marine but I'll check. This is why I went from Signal Communications Electronics command to Quartermaster Corp - Logistics and Computers. Today I am back at the Signal CE teaching SharePoint. No wires. No diodes. No transistors. lol
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Ha, that's funny. If you got them at WM, then its unlikely they are 24VDC versions (possible, but not super likely)... good to check anyway though.
 
Sous said:
Ha, that's funny. If you got them at WM, then its unlikely they are 24VDC versions (possible, but not super likely)... good to check anyway though.
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If I have this correct you are not far from St. Michael's. Correct. That is one of my favorite spots.
 
Searaybio270 said:
If I have this correct you are not far from St. Michael's. Correct. That is one of my favorite spots.
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Correct. Pretty much a straight line east on a map, but in reality I do have to go north around Tilghman Point and then back south in the Miles to get there. About a 60 minute trip depending on conditions. Its one of our favoriate spots as well... go there at least 3 or 4 times a year.
 
Sous said:
Correct. Pretty much a straight line east on a map, but in reality I do have to go north around Tilghman Point and then back south in the Miles to get there. About a 60 minute trip depending on conditions. Its one of our favoriate spots as well... go there at least 3 or 4 times a year.
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I plan to go there Labor Day Weekend. Headed to NC mid Aug for a week to see the grand kids and their parents. LOL
So last night I checked the lights they work. The light at the helm for the lights on the Arch is working well at least I can see the switch light up. I couldn't find an in-line fuse. Plan to look again today after I splash the 270SD.
 
Update. Lights still won't work on the boat. Besides that here is what I do know.

I tried them again yesterday still nothing. So I decided to bring them home and put them to the battery I have in the garage. So I put black to negative and red to positive and it lit up. No reverse polarity issue there.
Still not sure why they won't work on the boat. Ok just for grins and giggles - yes I did turn on the switch at the helm.
 
Did you check for voltage at the light? Maybe as simple as a fuse.
 
Alwhite00 - As far as I can tell there are not fuses between the helm station and the light. Since I know the lights do work and they are not reverse polarity I will test the circuit this coming weekend.

alwhite00 said:
Did you check for voltage at the light? Maybe as simple as a fuse.
Click to expand...
 
Searaybio270 said:
Alwhite00 - As far as I can tell there are not fuses between the helm station and the light. Since I know the lights do work and they are not reverse polarity I will test the circuit this coming weekend.
Click to expand...

Thought I recalled you saying that you put the old lights in and they worked? If so seems like you'd have power there. Do you have access to a meter? Seems like there is something funky going on... or something totally simple and being overlooked by all of us!
 
You are correct the old lights did and do work. I know that the new lights work after hooking them to the battery directly. As for the multimeter. I do have one. I am a school trained in signal equipment from Ft. Monmouth, NJ back in 1972 as a Microwave System Operator Repair. Don't ask. How I ever passed to graduate I will never know. But yesterday - Google and several YouTube videos paid of. So, tonight I will go to the boat after I mow the lawn and try them again. I know I am getting close. Close = lights or no lights. One is going to happen. LOL
 
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