Navigation Lights Failed - What To Check?

[Berleyguts]

So, my nav lights stopped working suddenly halfway down the Bay on Wednesday morning. I’ve checked all fuses and they’re intact. What should I check next? The contacts and give them a bit of a clean? Can I spray with Lanox?

If I have to take it somewhere to be rewired, should I use my local boat dealer/outboard mechanic or is it better to go to an auto electrician?

Thanks in advance.

[kingfishbig]

Often the contacts corrode given they are so exposed to the elements. The light bulbs can blow too (usually you can see if the filament is broken or that the glass is discoloured). I wouldn't use Lannox, Silicon Spray or Innox would be a better choice after cleaning up the contacts first. It's not hard to rewire it yourself if all that fails. Make sure you use tinned wire.

[Croydon]

Hi Baz,

The boats 12v wiring system is fairly simple and with a bit of patience and a couple of ales most problems can be tracked down.  Are your nav lights LED or do they have globes?  If globes, the contacts can get a bit of corrosion on them, give them a light rub with some fine sandpaper.  Did you loose both side lights and the anchor light?  Most times the side lights and anchor light are on separate circuits/switches. If on separate circuits/switches and both are out, then most likely the switches are OK but may be worth checking.  Check the earth on your bus bar make sure it's clean and tight.  As for waterproofing I've been using a spray used by Boeing on their aircraft.  It's called Boeshield t9  and you can get it online.  It works great.  Hope the above helps.  Cheers........

Dave

[masterfisho7]

15 hours ago, kingfishbig said:

Often the contacts corrode given they are so exposed to the elements. The light bulbs can blow too (usually you can see if the filament is broken or that the glass is discoloured). I wouldn't use Lannox, Silicon Spray or Innox would be a better choice after cleaning up the contacts first. It's not hard to rewire it yourself if all that fails. Make sure you use tinned wire.

This I good advice what Kingfishbig has said

Edited January 25, 2019 by masterfisho7

[Berleyguts]

On 1/26/2019 at 8:32 AM, Croydon said:

Hi Baz,

The boats 12v wiring system is fairly simple and with a bit of patience and a couple of ales most problems can be tracked down.  Are your nav lights LED or do they have globes?  If globes, the contacts can get a bit of corrosion on them, give them a light rub with some fine sandpaper.  Did you loose both side lights and the anchor light?  Most times the side lights and anchor light are on separate circuits/switches. If on separate circuits/switches and both are out, then most likely the switches are OK but may be worth checking.  Check the earth on your bus bar make sure it's clean and tight.  As for waterproofing I've been using a spray used by Boeing on their aircraft.  It's called Boeshield t9  and you can get it online.  It works great.  Hope the above helps.  Cheers........

Dave

Well, I’ve just spent an hour or so on my back in the boat, tracing the wiring and checking all contacts. They’re cleaner than a nun in Sunday! Both the nav light and stern light are LEDs and work off the same switch, so maybe the switch is the problem. I think I’ll just get my local dealer/mechanic to fix it - at least they have a huge shady shed to work in! The light in the speedometer hasn’t worked for a while either (the globe’s OK), so I’ll get them to look at that, too.

BTW - what’s the bus bar?

On a side note, I took the helm seat out of its slot for easier access and that was a real b**ch of a job! It obviously needs some lubricant. What grease or spray would be the best for this?

Edited January 27, 2019 by Berleyguts

[Croydon]

Hi Baz,

At least you had a go.  The 'bus bar' is a terminal block where your earth (negative) wire from the battery terminates at the helm.  The negative side of all your switches are then connected at the bus bar.  It is just a common earth for all your wiring such as lights, bilge pump etc.  You cant test the nav light switch by swaping the wires to a switch that you know works.  If the nav lights come on then  it's the old switch which can be easily replaced.  As for the helm seat try some inox/lanox.  Cheers.............

Dave  

[Berleyguts]

18 minutes ago, Croydon said:

Hi Baz,

At least you had a go.  The 'bus bar' is a terminal block where your earth (negative) wire from the battery terminates at the helm.  The negative side of all your switches are then connected at the bus bar.  It is just a common earth for all your wiring such as lights, bilge pump etc.  You cant test the nav light switch by swaping the wires to a switch that you know works.  If the nav lights come on then  it's the old switch which can be easily replaced.  As for the helm seat try some inox/lanox.  Cheers.............

Dave  

Thanks Dave. I’ll have another look this evening and try swapping to the accessories or bait/bilge pump switch. I did spray the seat pole and slot with Lanox, so I’ll see how it goes when I pop it back in.

Cheers!

[back cruncher]

Hi all...baz,you can buy electrical cleaner (pressure pack)from super cheap and the likes,it’s good for your switches.my switch for my nav lights seems to need a spray on a regular basis.

[sydney south]

May I suggest that you first check that you are getting power to the + terminal of the switch and then when the switch is in the on position check that you have power to the - terminal. Use a cheap test lamp or multi meter to test.

[Berleyguts]

30 minutes ago, back cruncher said:

Hi all...baz,you can buy electrical cleaner (pressure pack)from super cheap and the likes,it’s good for your switches.my switch for my nav lights seems to need a spray on a regular basis.

Thanks backcruncher. I’ll duck into Supercheap on my lunch break tomorrow.

[Berleyguts]

29 minutes ago, sydney south said:

May I suggest that you first check that you are getting power to the + terminal of the switch and then when the switch is in the on position check that you have power to the - terminal. Use a cheap test lamp or multi meter to test.

Thanks. Yes, I’ll try that next. I reckon it’s the switch. I hit the bilge/bait pump switch and they didn’t work straight away... it was intermittent, so I reckon the switches are the problem.

[sydney south]

31 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

Thanks backcruncher. I’ll duck into Supercheap on my lunch break tomorrow.

I would go one further and replace the switches anyway. Especially if they have some age about them or do get wet .

[sydney south]

Best way to quickly check if the switch is gone to god. Generally the switches have two wires with spade connectors. Pull each spade connector off the back of the switch and then touch the copper part of the two spade connectors together and see the accessory works