ms 390 lights/switches

[tom campbell]

I'm new owner of a 2001 mainship 390 trawler: sunshine daydream

A question about lights/switches. I'm still unpacking and haven't started tracing wires, but I'm hoping someone knows the answers.

1) In the main cabin, there are two forward ceiling lights powered by AC group 2 stbd outlets breaker. port light over sink and stbd light over wheel. I can't find any switch that turns these lights on/off. Breaker on means lights are on. That breaker also powers head sockets and sockets by bed.

So .... at night I either have lights on or no power in head/stateroom.
Anybody know if there is a switch?

2) There is a switch on top of the stbd side on the stairs to v-berth/owner cabin I can't discover anything it does. Flip it and nothing goes on/off. It would be the logical place to control lights in #1 above. Anyone know what it does?

The logical thought is that it is broken, but usually they fail open (wire fell off) and the ceiling lights would never come on.

Thoughts?

 

[Cartouche]

the switch for 1 are at the lower helm, 1 is AC 1 is DC if I remember correctly 2 turns on the head

 

[garmstro55]

I have a MS400 which differs in a lot of ways but the switch at the top of the stairs turns the cabin courtesy lights off but allows the exterior courtesy lights to stay on. You won’t see the switch do anything unless you turn on the courtesy lights at the main DC panel, then flipping that switch cycles the lights on the steps and the cabins. This arrangement, in my opinion, is a bit strange because I would rather be able to turn off the exterior lights and leave the inside lights on at night to reduce the bugs that gather at night by the lights.

 

[Shrew]

The light switch for the lights above the galley and lower helm should be at the lower helm. Ours is right beside the sliding helm door, so if you come in that way, you can turn the lights on.

The switch at the top of the stairs turns on the courtesy lights in both staterooms and the head. (It took us about 2+ months to figure that one out LOL).

Lights and outlets are on the same breaker? So they're 120V AC lights? They didn't put any 120VAC lights in the 350.

 

[tom campbell]

Ahh .. the light bulb goes on (pun intended).

This all checks out. It would have taken me the same 2.5 months to figure out the courtesy light switch by lower helm. I love TrawlerForum!

Some of the lights are AC. I don't get that. I don't have an inverter yet (high on the todo list), so I don't have those lights at sea? Curious design choice. I wonder why they did that.

thanks all

 

[tiz]

Yes. They are 12v lights running on small transformers dispersed around the boat. The ones over the helm are powered from ac supply under the flip up helm. The transformer brick is in there. The one for the other salon lights is behind the main electrical breaker panel. The one for the head is inside the sliding door cabinet near the 120v outlet. In the guest cabin its behind the outlet panel over the hanging locker.

I changed most of mine to 12v only. We are rarely connected to a dock

 

[tom campbell]

It's certainly a considerable energy savings to run them directly from the battery instead of Battery (12v) -> inverter (AC) -> transformer -> 12V.

ISadly, it's probably way down on my todo list.

Thanks so much.