Servicing ACR searchlight?

[wkearney99]

I've got an ACR RCL-100D (halogen) searchlight on our EB47 and it seems to get stuck, now more often than not. The light comes on but motion seems to be impaired.

How readily serviceable are these?

And, of course, where it's situated isn't the easier place to reach. Just too tall to get to from the foredeck, and too low to reach from the flybridge above.

I've a feeling this will get postponed to winter, where it's be easier to retrieve dropped parts from the warehouse floor instead of overboard in the water!

 

[Flatswing]

google the model and download the manual and handy troubleshooting guide. Usually it is corroded contacts in the base of the unit (spring loaded contacts against a circular slip ring). If it will work intermittently, 1st (easiest) step is to work it round and round up & down which may be enough to clear minor corrosion, otherwise you have to undo the 4 screws on the underside, to lift the head off the base - exposing the slip ring -I have found it easiest to approach from below, often requiring S-shaped Phillips screwdriver/ right angle drive on a drill depending on the clearance form the mount.

 

[wkearney99]

google the model and download the manual and handy troubleshooting guide. Usually it is corroded contacts in the base of the unit (spring loaded contacts against a circular slip ring). If it will work intermittently, 1st (easiest) step is to work it round and round up & down which may be enough to clear minor corrosion, otherwise you have to undo the 4 screws on the underside, to lift the head off the base - exposing the slip ring -I have found it easiest to approach from below, often requiring S-shaped Phillips screwdriver/ right angle drive on a drill depending on the clearance form the mount.

Found a manual for it online: https://productimageserver.com/literature/ownersManual/53488OM.pdf

Good point about the screwdriver angle. Given where my searchlight is placed that could be an even more tedious challenge. Now I could drop both a screw AND a special screwdriver overboard while trying to reach it!

I was planning on keeping my Festool CXS cordless driver at home, but this tells me I should bring it and its right-angle adapter back to the boat...

Will the unit move if manually turned/tilted? Or are the gears tight enough to prevent that? Other searching online brought up a $24 replacement gear, so I don't want to set myself up for failure if pushing on it will break it.

 

[Comodave]

Ours lights up but does not turn. Given where it is mounted on the brow of the flybridge, I have a humongous LED flashlight that works almost as brightly so that is what I use instead. I guess that I could build a scaffold to be able to get to the spotlight but it has not bubbled up high enough on the priority list to deal with it.

 

[wkearney99]

Ours lights up but does not turn. Given where it is mounted on the brow of the flybridge... I guess that I could build a scaffold to be able to get to the spotlight but it has not bubbled up high enough on the priority list to deal with it.

That's basically where ours sits, high enough to be problematic to reach while it's in the water. No good way to easily service it without some sort of way to set up a scaffold or offset and secure a ladder.

We haven't had need for it, but last weekend did bring us back home after dark with very little moonlight.

Ours has stopped at a relatively useful angle, at least for how much it casts below the beam itself. It's angled up, just how much I didn't realize until approaching the slip and seeing the beam wash across a sailboat mast, about 30' up. If can manually adjust it down a bit I might just leave it there until winter, and the service it while on the hard.

I hear ya on flashlights, the downside being yet another thing to keep charged and scramble to find when needed. I've used various handheld corded spotlights too, and, again, it's about digging it up when you need it, and finding a useful DC outlet that reaches. Still, I should probably look into getting a decent one that could stand-in for the searchlight.

 

[Comodave]

Yes, mine is aimed dead ahead so it could work a bit. I bought the LED flashlight at Home Depot. I think it takes 3 D batteries so it is easy to replace dead batteries. It is probably useful to almost 100 yards. And it is way easier to aim than using a joy stick. I most likely won’t even try to fix the spotlight.

 

[diver dave]

Yes, mine is aimed dead ahead so it could work a bit. I bought the LED flashlight at Home Depot. I think it takes 3 D batteries so it is easy to replace dead batteries. It is probably useful to almost 100 yards. And it is way easier to aim than using a joy stick. I most likely won’t even try to fix the spotlight.

I do this too. A two second scan with a pocked sized LED (lookup Surfire Fury) will cover out a few hundred yards. The joystick thing is obsolete on many boats UNLESS you are in a pilot house, and you can mount the light up high.

two seconds vs about 15 seconds. Now, the old time manual lever and wheel thru the roof spotlights are still very cool.