Rocker Switch Light for Blower - On Electrical Panel

[skolbe]

I noticed the light went out on the switch for my blower on my electrical panel in the cabin. Do these lights go out often? This is the second switch where the light has gone out - the dealer replaced the first one under warranty. The boat is 3 years old. Should I be looking for something else or is this common? I know the switch is cheap to replace. But, I want to see if this is common or if I should be looking for something else. It went out the last time, after I had the generator running for about 5 hours.

 

[Yachtmaster.]

I just purchased an 00 SR 340 DA and a number of switches have lights burnt out in them.

 

[fc3]

What type of switches? Are they stand alone rockers or that integrated electronic panel? The former are easy to fix permanently with an LED. I hear that the latter type are hard to fix.

 

[Bill Z]

We have an 03 320 and my light for the generator preheat just went out on the rocker as well. Please keep me in the loop for the solution.

 

[Loneranger]

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5710


Check out the above thread. It is one of the most informative posts I have seen on this forum. I repaired mine with incandescent bulbs. I guess LED would have been a more permanent fix.

John

 

[promocop]

I just replaced three of them Would be too much to ask that SR put LED's in them so they dont burn out so fast?

 

[fc3]

It's the same process to install an LED as it is to install an incandescent bulb. The only difference is watching the polarity of the LED and installing a small current limiting resistor. I've done a couple switches on Just Ducky and we did one of the panel mounted battery switches on Rod's boat while we were at A.C. It's not a big deal. Just don't get 2000 mcd blue LEDs for the instrument panel. They're too bright. They're good for other places as they're like night-lights.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Loneranger]

Which LED bulb did you use and what size resistor?

John

 

[skolbe]

Thanks guys - I was just wanting to confirm that this is normal.

 

[fc3]

This would work. It's a blueish green color LED that's not too terribly bright, about 250 mcd. Dropping Vf a bit can bring that down to about 200 mcd. Bringing an LED to down to a lower intensity can be a problem since a boat's electrical system voltage can vary, from about 12.6 to 14.6.

I think 500 nm is also the correct wavelength for the switches in my helm. You colors might be different and therefore require a different color bin than G3 / G4, which I selected. Calculating using Ohm's Law on the basis of 14.2 to 14.6 V, we find about a 550 ohm 1/4 watt resistor would work. That's an odd size but a 560 is common. http://www.unique-leds.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=1830

Grand total, a little more than an incandescent light bulb, but still only $0.18 per switch.

 

[Loneranger]

Thanks for the info. Next time I lose an incandescent I will get the solder gun out and put in LED's.

John

 

[fc3]

Don't forget to watch the polarity! Flat spot, dot, or dimple on the case marks the cathode as does the long lead.

Best regards,
Frank C

 

[Cocktail Time]

Please see the link in post #5 on this thread. I have asked so many people if it was possible to do and the answer was always no, "buy a new switch". Easy if yours are black, not so much if they are grey. Thanks again for bringing this up. Nobody likes a burnt out switch and this post is worth the price of admission. Since I have four bad switches, maybe now I can afford something from BOE. Thanks guys!