I hate the nav lights that came with my J/100. The days when they have
worked are less than 40% of the time I have tried to turn them on.

Does anyone have a fool proof plan for lights that work? Should I
replace mine with LEDs (I haven't much paid attention to the LED threads
so I am not sure they are legal or work). If my problem is bad wiring,
is there a wireless solution (or inexpensive one).

I plan to cruise next summer and take my daughter night sailing. But not
if I cannot fix these problems.

Harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port ,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?
If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at. First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability. Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
I hate the nav lights that came with my J/100. The days when they have
worked are less than 40% of the time I have tried to turn them on.

Does anyone have a fool proof plan for lights that work? Should I
replace mine with LEDs (I haven't much paid attention to the LED threads
so I am not sure they are legal or work). If my problem is bad wiring,
is there a wireless solution (or inexpensive one).

I plan to cruise next summer and take my daughter night sailing. But not
if I cannot fix these problems.

Harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port ,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at. First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

It might be a tad hard to rewire. Depending on age of boat, but presuming
she is a few years old and plastic then the wiring may well be embedded in
the fibreglass which makes rewiring a bit hard. I reckon it's a connection
issue. Nav lights are so damn simple that about the only things that can
stop them completely are blown lamps (bulbs , light globes , call 'em what
you will) and bad connections. If you have dirty connections in the light
itself then while replacing them will solve your problem a good clean,
freshly stripped ends, maybe even a bit of solder on the tips will do just
as well for a lot less money. On the other hand if the bad connection is at
the board or in a junction box then nothing will be solved by new lights. In
the light itself the bad connection may even be a corroded terminal in the
lampholder itself.
Cheers
Andrew
"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port
,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at.
First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is
undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to
the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a
contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast
step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you
will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is
the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course
is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

In article , tdw wrote:

It might be a tad hard to rewire. Depending on age of boat, but presuming
she is a few years old and plastic then the wiring may well be embedded in
the fibreglass which makes rewiring a bit hard. I reckon it's a connection
issue. Nav lights are so damn simple that about the only things that can
stop them completely are blown lamps (bulbs , light globes , call 'em what
you will) and bad connections. If you have dirty connections in the light
itself then while replacing them will solve your problem a good clean,
freshly stripped ends, maybe even a bit of solder on the tips will do just
as well for a lot less money. On the other hand if the bad connection is at
the board or in a junction box then nothing will be solved by new lights. In
the light itself the bad connection may even be a corroded terminal in the
lampholder itself.
Cheers
Andrew
"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port
,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at.
First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is
undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to
the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a
contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast
step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you
will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is
the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course
is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Thank you Andrew. I like the solder idea.

Someone else thought I could replace just the bulbs with LEDs. Any
thoughts about this?

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

LED light sources for marine use have a lot going for them. The extremely
low power consumption is an obvious advantage, added to this is that the low
wattage of the led lamps means that voltage drop through the wiring is not
so much of a problem. The one area where you need to be careful with led
lamps is that some do not give an adequate spread for use as nav lights.
There are available led arrays that can be simply retrofitted (retrofitted ?
not sure I like the word but...) into existing bayonet or bipin lampholders.
By the way, I'm not trying to dissuade you from getting new nav lights. By
the sounds of things your old ones are way past there use by date and let's
face it nav lights are not the most expensive thing on your boat to replace.
My point has been that even crappy old nav lights will work if the
connections and wiring are good unless of course the lampholders themselves
are corroded beyond redemption.
My basic suggestion still stands. Rig up a test lampholder and starting at
the lights themselves see what happens. If nothing at the light itself then
work back until you get to the battery.
Cheers
Andrew

ps - Anyone thinking of replacing there cabin lights with LED lamps should
first try one out for the quality of the light. They are good for reading
and chart work perhaps but they are a very "unfriendly" light source. I'm
going LED for my nav and chart table lighting but sticking with incandescent
and halogen for everything else and that's because of the quality of the
light itself.

A

"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article , tdw wrote:

It might be a tad hard to rewire. Depending on age of boat, but presuming
she is a few years old and plastic then the wiring may well be embedded
in
the fibreglass which makes rewiring a bit hard. I reckon it's a
connection
issue. Nav lights are so damn simple that about the only things that can
stop them completely are blown lamps (bulbs , light globes , call 'em
what
you will) and bad connections. If you have dirty connections in the light
itself then while replacing them will solve your problem a good clean,
freshly stripped ends, maybe even a bit of solder on the tips will do
just
as well for a lot less money. On the other hand if the bad connection is
at
the board or in a junction box then nothing will be solved by new lights.
In
the light itself the bad connection may even be a corroded terminal in
the
lampholder itself.
Cheers
Andrew
"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port
,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at.
First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is
undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to
the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a
contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast
step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn
you
will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is
the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of
course
is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Thank you Andrew. I like the solder idea.

Someone else thought I could replace just the bulbs with LEDs. Any
thoughts about this?

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

You could just put simple battery powered dinghy lights up, but that
doesn't seem like a step forward.

Otherwise, you have to supply juice through wires, and since you have
a system that is probably 99% functional, it would seem to be
appropriate to track down the failing 1%. My guess is that the person
installing the lights forgot to finish the job and left the seal a bit
loose, allowing moisture to get in.

It seems odd to me that you went a season without even looking into
this; are they that inaccessible? And did they really ship a boat
without an anchor light?

Harlan Lachman wrote:
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port ,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at. First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan

In article ,
Jeff wrote:

You could just put simple battery powered dinghy lights up, but that
doesn't seem like a step forward.

OTOH, it is the minimal preparedness I should have. Thanks for reminding
an old fart to use his brain.


Otherwise, you have to supply juice through wires, and since you have
a system that is probably 99% functional, it would seem to be
appropriate to track down the failing 1%. My guess is that the person
installing the lights forgot to finish the job and left the seal a bit
loose, allowing moisture to get in.

It seems odd to me that you went a season without even looking into
this; are they that inaccessible? And did they really ship a boat
without an anchor light?

Actually, my yard looked at the lights a number of times and was unable
to fix the problem. Every time they checked, things "apparently" worked
fine.

And, yes, the boat shipped without an anchor lite.

Harlan

Harlan Lachman wrote:
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port
,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at.
First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is
undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast
step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you
will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course
is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan


--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Harlan Lachman wrote:
It seems odd to me that you went a season without even looking into
this; are they that inaccessible? And did they really ship a boat
without an anchor light?

Actually, my yard looked at the lights a number of times and was unable
to fix the problem. Every time they checked, things "apparently" worked
fine.

This isn't rocket science - if your yard can't figure it out they're
not trying. Do they send a kid who flips the switch, or do they strip
it down and look for corrosion or cold solder?


And, yes, the boat shipped without an anchor lite.

You can get a Davis MegaLight. With the low power bulb it uses about
1 AH a night, and with the high power bulb it is as bright as a
standard anchor light. However, it is not certified, because its too
easy for someone to change the bulb! We use ours in addition to the
anchor, or in mooring fields where a light is needed, because
sometimes its easier to spot the light dangling 8 feet over the water
then at the masthead.

tdw wrote:
First up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability.

Undersized wiring with its associated voltage drop just means the
lights will glow less brightly, and may not meet Coast Guard
specifications for brightness. Incandescent bulbs *like* lower voltage
and last longer. Shouldn't affect reliability. Assuming it's not also
crappy wiring with compromised insulation, or ridiculously undersized,
like 22 gauge or smaller.

Corrosion at contact points is usually the problem; check switches,
fuse carriers, connections, bulb mounts, etc.