1998 Seafarer 226 nav lights

[elixir76]

Hello all, I'm new to this board.

I tried searching but failed to find a thread.

I ran into some issues last season with my starboard light and anchor/stern light. They would shut off and come on by themselves while underway. I'm assuming its a connection/wiring issue. It was late in the season, end of October so I didn't get to look close at it. I haven't uncovered the boat this year yet to dive into looking at the problem.

Anyway, my question is, best place to buy replacement lights and wiring? I checked west marine and they have the port and starboard lights. Having trouble finding a new anchor/stern light which mounts to the cabin windshield and is removable. The light i have now has a plastic piece under the light so you aren't blinded while operating at night. I might not change out the p/s lights. But the removable anchor light and attachment base all might come out. Looking to find the entire unit if possible.

Also, LED vs. bulb lights? I'm leaning going with the bulbs, I read pros and cons on here for both.

Thank you,
Dave

 

[seasick]

The first thing to do is open the lamp housing and take a look at the lamp socket. It may be corroded or loose. In many cases, if corroded, it can be cleaned up and will work fine. If loose, you may be able to bend the tabs to tighten the contacts. Of course the wiring may be the issue if the fixture looks good. You should be able to remove the fixture and gently pull out the wires to get to the splice. If it turns out that the fixture is shot, your best bet is to replace the entire fixture(s) with new sealed LED ones.
Replacing an incandescent bulb with a LED bulb can result in poor illumination. Since the LED emits light in a narrow wavelength, adding a lens may act as a dark filter. Retrofitting a colored LED into a fixture with a clear lens generally will work. Other combinations of colored lenses with colored LEDs or white LEDs with colored lenses might result in low light output and therefore reduced visability

 

[drbatts]

If you end up replacing the light fixtures, I would recommend switching to LEDs. Replace them and forget about them, no more bulb changes.

 

[elixir76]

The first thing to do is open the lamp housing and take a look at the lamp socket. It may be corroded or loose. In many cases, if corroded, it can be cleaned up and will work fine. If loose, you may be able to bend the tabs to tighten the contacts. Of course the wiring may be the issue if the fixture looks good. You should be able to remove the fixture and gently pull out the wires to get to the splice. If it turns out that the fixture is shot, your best bet is to replace the entire fixture(s) with new sealed LED ones.
Replacing an incandescent bulb with a LED bulb can result in poor illumination. Since the LED emits light in a narrow wavelength, adding a lens may act as a dark filter. Retrofitting a colored LED into a fixture with a clear lens generally will work. Other combinations of colored lenses with colored LEDs or white LEDs with colored lenses might result in low light output and therefore reduced visability

Thank you for the advice. I'll check the contacts in the fixture on the boat. the light post contacts are not corroded.
Once I uncover the the boat I can check the fixtures/wiring. I'm most likely going to upgrade all of the lights to LED, with new fixtures, and the wiring.

 

[elixir76]

If you end up replacing the light fixtures, I would recommend switching to LEDs. Replace them and forget about them, no more bulb changes.

yeah, that's most likely the route I'm going to take. thanks for the advice

 

[IpswichGrady]

Im looking at lights also... Can't the bulbs simply be replaced with LED bulbs? I purchased some LED bulbs for these deck lights. I tested them... seem to work fine. And they are much brighter than the old incandescent bulb. Hmmm... thing I didnt consider is getting "sealed" LEDs. The fixture is sealed... good enought? I think I'll google sealed LED bulbs right now.

 

[elixir76]

Im looking at lights also... Can't the bulbs simply be replaced with LED bulbs? I purchased some LED bulbs for these deck lights. I tested them... seem to work fine. And they are much brighter than the old incandescent bulb. Hmmm... thing I didnt consider is getting "sealed" LEDs. The fixture is sealed... good enought? I think I'll google sealed LED bulbs right now.

If it's working why change them now? I'm just going to go in and upgrade all my lights and wiring to LED. I'm pretty sure PERKO has LEDs that fit my 1998 Seafarer.

 

[elixir76]

Update:

I was able to replace the port and starboard lights using the existing wiring for the original incandesent bulbs, upgraded the entire unit to LEDs. Easy!

Anchor/stern light that mounts to the windshield. absolute nightmare. the wiring runs through the metal at the top of the windshield. had to take apart the windshield, not fun. couldn't get the existing wiring out. so i'm in the process of bypassing the entire existing wiring and switch. it looks like a rats nest going to the original nav light switch anyway.

so i bought new wiring, a new toggle on-off-on switch. Hoping to just wire straight to battery with the 12v converter in line.
any tips? any of you guys replace the anchor/stern light on an older grady seafarer?