Jim wrote:
For parts look at West Marine, Perko, Aquapower, Tempo, Ancor, etc.

Ground problems could include broken wire but insulation remaining intact,
bad connection between terminal and wire, bad connection between terminal
connectors, tight but corroded connection,bad splice at lamp socket.

A visual inspection doesn't always find the problem. You must use the meter
or a test light to verify a problem.

The following statement has me puzzled.

"(but I had to find another ground source to verify. So indeed it appears
that the footlight fixtures are bad"

Does that mean you got something to work by bringing a new ground to it?

Yes.

wrote in message
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Yes, I have checked the hot side of the switch to insure power then
checked the other side and it reveled power.
On the anchor light I checked to insure that I had a circuit thru the
fixture insuring that the fixture and bulb were ok.

How did you do that? did you ohm it out across the pigtail leads?
Is the anchor light working now?

Forgive me for asking these stupid questions but I need to know in great
detail, how you are coming to your conclusions. If I make a wrong
assumption, I'll be leading you down the wrong path and wasting a lot of
time.

Yes, I ohm it across the leads and the only way that I could get it to work was to take it straight to the battery (both hot and ground).
Don't worry about wasting time, I have more time then I do money
that's why I appreciate all your help.

On the bow light it
was a little difficult to get to so I haven't done that one yet. On
the footlights I took one out to see if I could buy another's to
replace them but have had no luck. I think that on the footlights it
might be (area 2) the springs. I checked the bulbs and they were ok and
I had power going thru them (but I had to find another ground source to
verify. So indeed it appears that the footlight fixtures are bad but
where can I find others to fit in the existing holes? I have gone to
several boat repair shops and no one has them and my closest Pro-Line
dealer is miles away.
If you could enlighten me on some of the grounding problems it would be
great because I will not be able to work on my boat for about a week
and have no computer access where it is stored.
Thanks for the help Jim

Steve


Jim wrote:
The switches are working and you are able to get 12v to the switched
side,
correct?
You might need to check each light separately, since there may be a
separate
problem with each light.

Problem area 1: Most lights have some wires that come out of the
assemblies. These wires are then spliced somehow to the 12V supply. In
order
to find the splice, you might need to remove the lighting fixture and
pull
the wires out of the hull enough to examine the splice. Measure voltage
at
the splice.

Problem area 2: The light socket might have broken wires or corroded
contacts, or broken or weak spring.

Problem area 3: The bulb itself could have a broken filament or corroded
contact.

problem area 4: Ground wires. If you cannot find 12 volts on any or all
the
splices you check. Verify that you have a ground problem, before you
start
tracing wires. We can discuss ground troubleshooting if you have no Joy
with
the other suggestions.
Jim

I would check the footlights at the console first since they're probably
the
easiest to get to.



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Jim,