 |
05-15-2022, 01:58 PM
|
#1
|
|
Guru
City: Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island
Vessel Name: Capricorn
Vessel Model: Mariner 30 - Sedan Cruiser 1969
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,004
|
Replacing cabin light to LED - but don't work
Thought I'd throw this Jeff Cote short video (2 minutes +) on why swapping out incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs may not always work - and the solution.
|
|
|
|
05-15-2022, 05:19 PM
|
#2
|
|
Guru
City: Madeira Beach, FL
Vessel Name: Seaweed
Vessel Model: Schucker mini-trawler
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,179
|
I had a friend pick up a new LED for a light fixture in my galley. I was so excited to upgrade. This was a dozen years ago... my first foray into the world of LED. And the dang light was yellow. Seriously, dim and yellow. Thank goodness I didn't get on the phone to complain about this supposedly "amazing LED" that was dimmer than a candle!
Yes, it was a polarity problem. I swapped the bulb around and it worked perfectly. Lesson learned.
Edit to add: my light was wired properly. There were two ways to inset the bulb. I did it the wrong way first.
|
|
|
|
|
05-15-2022, 05:45 PM
|
#3
|
|
TF Site Team
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 15,821
|
Well there is a 50/50 chance of getting it right or wrong. Of the two my luck is usually wrong…
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
|
|
|
|
|
05-15-2022, 06:46 PM
|
#4
|
|
Guru
City: Duvall, Wa. USA
Vessel Name: Beach Music II
Vessel Model: 2003 Mainship 430 Trawler
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 870
|
I think I posted this once on the Camano forum. I replaced the six cabin light bulbs with LED's and none of them worked. I removed a housing and saw a white wire going to a white wire and a black wire going to a black wire. My voltmeter showed the positive wire going to the bulb base and the negative wire going to the center. I had to swap wires around on all six lights.
|
|
|
|
|
05-16-2022, 08:35 AM
|
#5
|
|
Guru
City: Bethesda, MD
Vessel Name: Solstice
Vessel Model: Grand Banks 47 Eastbay FB
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,848
|
Also be aware that if you've got dimmers on the circuit you may have to replace them AND do some re-wiring. LEDs do not dim like incandescents.
__________________
-- Bill Kearney
2005 Eastbay 47 FB - Solstice, w/Highfield CL360 tender
|
|
|
|
|
05-16-2022, 08:55 AM
|
#6
|
|
Senior Member
City: Merritt Island, FL
Vessel Name: Changes in L'Attitudes
Vessel Model: 1999 Maxum 4100 SCA (not a trawler)
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 152
|
The Sailor in me says ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comodave
Well there is a 50/50 chance of getting it right or wrong. Of the two my luck is usually wrong…
|
Back in my NAVY days we called that the Fifty, Fifty, Ninety Rule. If there is a fifty percent chance of doing something the right way, and a fifty percent chance of doing something the wrong way, you'll do it the wrong ninety percent of the time.
__________________
Paul
Changes in L'Attitudes
1999 Maxum 4100 SCA
Merritt Island, FL
|
|
|
|
|
05-16-2022, 01:55 PM
|
#7
|
|
Veteran Member
City: Duvall, WA
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 63
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by PJHoffnet
Back in my NAVY days we called that the Fifty, Fifty, Ninety Rule. If there is a fifty percent chance of doing something the right way, and a fifty percent chance of doing something the wrong way, you'll do it the wrong ninety percent of the time.
|
Same when trying to insert the bloody USB thingy into the computer, right? 
|
|
|
|
|
05-16-2022, 05:48 PM
|
#8
|
|
Veteran Member
City: Cedar City
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 37
|
Sounds like your trying to inform the world about what it already knows..>>>Dan
|
|
|
|
05-24-2022, 07:07 AM
|
#9
|
|
Guru
City: Hampton Beach, NH
Vessel Name: Mischief Managed II
Vessel Model: 1992 Tollycraft 44 CPMY
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 510
|
All the lights in the front third of my boat had reverse polarity. I know the mistake was made in a junction box/bus bar somewhere in the path between the breaker that serves those lights and the light fixtures, but I could not find it and ended up just fixing the problem at each fixture. I have only 5 non-LED bulbs in my whole boat now, the stern running light, the red and green running lights, and two odd sized bulbs in the cabin. The difference in power used is amazing.
|
|
|
|
|
05-24-2022, 08:25 AM
|
#10
|
|
Guru
City: Southern Maine
Vessel Model: Prairie 36 Coastal Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,405
|
Wait, someone thought it was necessary to create a video to explain that polarity can be reversed with incandescent but not with LED lights?
|
|
|
|
|
05-30-2022, 05:25 PM
|
#11
|
|
Guru
City: Bethesda, MD
Vessel Name: Solstice
Vessel Model: Grand Banks 47 Eastbay FB
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,848
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTom
Wait, someone thought it was necessary to create a video to explain that polarity can be reversed with incandescent but not with LED lights?
|
Sure, because most folks probably don't understand how incandescents actually worked, and how LEDs are entirely different. With incandescent you're just heating up a wire (or gas) until it glows, so it doesn't really matter how the power is applied, polarity-wise. Diodes depend on voltage polarity. LEDs have to regulate the power to effectively excite the diode into emitting light (to greatly over-simplify). Thus they need a reliable starting point of +/- voltage to function. Sloppy wiring for incandescents won't work.
__________________
-- Bill Kearney
2005 Eastbay 47 FB - Solstice, w/Highfield CL360 tender
|
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
|
| Display Modes |
 Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Trawler Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
