Replace Cabin LEDs

jaywoodz

jaywoodz

Member
Nov 12, 2012
522
Richmond, Virginia
Boat Info
1999 Sea Ray 310 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 350 MAG MPI Horizon w/V-Drives
I'm looking to replace my cabin bulbs in my '99 310DA. It uses the classic 2 pin, G4 style. I'm aware there are countless threads on this forum that describe what they did. No pictures though, or whether they are exact replacements.

This is what I'm trying to replace: AC overhead, DC overhead, DC reading lights. DC soft-light, (steps, etc.)

I have no idea what wattage, or lumens I need to get when ordering these LEDs. I've read countless posts on here, but haven't found anywhere they're close to exact replacements. I don't want to spend a lot and realize they're all too bright, or not bright enough. I just want the same experience I've always had, but with LEDs. I got a 20 watt replacement last year, and I don't think it was bright enough, and ended up wasting $10.

sites I've looked at: http://store.marinebeam.com, http://superbrightleds.com. Both seem good quality, but are rather pricey. Anyone who's done this, and have had close to the same experience as their older bulbs, it would really help!
 
I tried the low budget ebay stuff and ended up re doing Marine beam and am happy
 
We did the superbrightled ones and they are excellent.
 
Did superbrightleds.com for replacement bulbs and marinebeam.com to replace the plastic fixtures in the cabin.
Very happy with both.
 
In the process of changing mine over now. My cabin bulbs are all 1156's. Not sure who to get them from, I ordered one from e bay to see how it works.
 
Mike is right. I replaced all the lights from my first changeover to LEDs (as shown above) to marinebeam. MUCH better product and worth the extra money. I never liked the way the cheap chinese LEDs lit up the cabin and their build quality was just "OK". If you care about the QUALITY of the light and fixture itself, go with Marinebeam. (I believe there's also a discount for CSR members!)
 
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I gotta also share the caution on the cheap LEDs. Saving 50% sounds like a great idea, but when were talking about saving 100 bucks or so for something that should literally outlast the boat it doesn't seem worth the risks to me.
 
I appreciate everyone's response - but i was looking for a little more technical information in regard to what specific LED, and lumens to buy. I need something more specific than just a website that I've already scoured. I was hoping to match mine identically.
 
jaywoodz said:
I appreciate everyone's response - but i was looking for a little more technical information in regard to what specific LED, and lumens to buy. I need something more specific than just a website that I've already scoured. I was hoping to match mine identically.
Click to expand...

I can tell you this. I went the ebay cheapo route. I changed out all of my 12v lights for $50. $25 of that was for one bulb-300 lumens from Marinebeam.com for the galley overhead light. I could not find one that I liked for that application. Thus far, and it has only been 3 months, they are performing perfectly-I have checked and rechecked and they are totally cool after burning for 4 hours. I took my time researching and found that I got information that would compare watts to lumens. It is not a perfect science, but it worked for me. The more "SMD"s an LED has, the brighter it will be. Some of the cheapos are about the size of a playing card and will have 48-60 SMDs on it. These have worked flawlessly in my 3 of my OEM cheap plastic fixtures with 1156 bases. The reading lights beside the mirror are either 18 or 21 SMD G4s(bi-pin). Measure the length of the festoon (look like the old glass fuses) bulbs and see how many SMDs are offered in your length. Most of mine were 33mm long I believe. I ordered maybe 2 of each kind to start with. I went with the cool white in the 1156 base to begin with. Stay away from the cool white unless you want to change your current "look." They should be called cold white. Warm white is what you want and likely what your OEM are. I have changed out every bulb except for the red and green nav lights. I figured the motor/alternator would be running whenever they are on so no big deal. It is amazing how much cooler the cabin stays. One day, I may spend the $$ and go with the higher quality bulbs, but for now, these are working fine. Hope this gives you some idea of what to look for. If I could find exactly what I ordered through eBay, I will post for you.

Bennett

If you are interested in looking into the cheaper ones, go on eBay and look for a seller named "yitamotor." I basically decided to go the cheapo route to learn about LEDs. I got the 70-SMDs with 1156 bases for the OEM cheap plastic fixtures refered to above. For G4s, I got the 27 SMD for the reading lights(I do remember that these replaced 10watt halogen). My overhead in the galley was, I think, 20watt halogen and I replaced it with the bulb from Marinebeam.com that was 300 lumens. The 24-27 SMD bulbs wiht the 1156 bases are not bright enough for anything I had. My 1156 bases were in other overheads as well as my bilge. Good luck! If you want more info, PM me and I will copy and paste exactly what I purchased and where it went.
 
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jaywoodz said:
I appreciate everyone's response - but i was looking for a little more technical information in regard to what specific LED, and lumens to buy. I need something more specific than just a website that I've already scoured. I was hoping to match mine identically.
Click to expand...


Hi guys,
I'm in the middle of replacing all my lights with LED lights (complete replacement not bulbs) and here's the brand and part number list I have used
Now remember "I come from a land down under" so it took considerable research as everything is metric here and all wrong sizes plus I didn't want to go cheap and have to do it ever again.

I also wanted to be able to plug them straight into the existing cutouts etc which these do.

Cabin and cockpit lights

Lumitech Mirage (USA company) SKU: 113119
http://www.lumiteclighting.com/prod...nterior-lights/flush-mount-down-lights/mirage

They come in all sorts of variants including warm white and bright white.
I put bright white over the galley to give more light when cooking and warm white everywhere else
These are IP67 so completely sealed and water proof so you can use them both indoors and out and it keeps everything uniform.
I chose the polished stainless rim and they also look sensational - better than the originals by far.

Large dome lights in the cabin
Hella make a light called a Eurolec 150 which fits perfectly and one variation comes with it's own on/of switch which is handy.
They are a New Zealand company but I believe they have a US arm
Part number 2JA 980 630-611
www.hellamarine.com
Just be careful to make sure you skew screw them slightly to make sure the new screws bite. Other than that a perfect fit.

Courtesy lights in the cabin
This was a challenge but it looks like Hella again have one that fits the existing cutout.
I haven't installed these yet - this weekend's job but they measure up exactly against the originals so I'm not expecting an issue.
Warm white easy fit step Part number 2JA 998 560-401

Navigation lights
There are probably plenty of options for these but the Hella's were a straight replacement - even used the same screw holes!
I went with the white shroud part number 2LT 980 620-911

Anchor/masthead light
This one was doing my head in until I got onto Attwood in the USA.
Everyone over here does 2-wire all round lights and what you need for this is a 3-wire combination anchor/masthead.
I got the 24" to clear the radar etc and it folds down if necessary
This one is in transit from USA as we speak.

I have an extended rear cockpit awning so I'm also going to wire in some LED strip lights on the support bars for the rear canvas covers to give a bit more light over the rear table at night

I'll post some photos if anyone is interested

Hope that helps

Chris
 
I am in the process of switch to LEDs. Here is an inexpensive quality G4 by Philips. They are about $5.95 for 1 or about $30 for a 6pack. They are 10w or 20w equivalent and hard to from tell the difference from the halogens, but when you look straight at them you don't get that blinding light. Best of all the are at Home Depot - sold as out door12v landscape LED replacements. I used the 10w for the most of the swivel lights and 20w in the ceiling lights. Check them out.
 
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