I bought some LED replacement bulbs and they wont turn on. I put the incandescent back in and they fire right up...what am I missing?
1992 Catalina
1992 Catalina
Whats up with my interior bulbs?
- Thread starter freeheelbillie
- Start date
Might be a polarity issue. Make sure positive (+) goes to positive and negative (-) goes to negative.
Also, are you sure you have the right replacements? Did you take the old bulbs in to compare when you bought the new ones?
Also, are you sure you have the right replacements? Did you take the old bulbs in to compare when you bought the new ones?
Hmmm how would I address that? I am not much of an electrician.
Strange that the incandescent work but not the LED...or maybe its not strange at all.
Strange that the incandescent work but not the LED...or maybe its not strange at all.
You can check polarity with a multi-meter, or a quicker method (if the bulbs allow for it) is to put the bulb in reversed, with respect to the connection points.
It's not likely a shore power issue, much more likely the bulbs are polarity dependent.
It's not likely a shore power issue, much more likely the bulbs are polarity dependent.
These are your run of the mill lamps with the standard light bulb base. Came stock on the boat, forward of the NAV station and one forward of the galley sink. Has http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/files/1974975/uploaded/7.5watt S11 White.jpg now. Bought led replacements and they won't fire up.
Push in and twist a little?
Can you point out your bulb(s) on this page? Note: there are indexed and non-indexed bases available.
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/cu/detail-led.php
It has these http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/files/1974975/uploaded/7.5watt S11 White.jpg in it now and they work.
Freeheelbillie,
Listen to the advice about the polarity. Get a multimeter and learn to use it. It will save you hours of frustration on your boat and probably thousands of dollars. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to use it.
Good luck,
Jesse
Listen to the advice about the polarity. Get a multimeter and learn to use it. It will save you hours of frustration on your boat and probably thousands of dollars. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to use it.
Good luck,
Jesse
Odd that a screw-in base would suffer from polarity issues.
As mentioned earlier, a check-up with a good multimeter should tell you where in the base the positive and negative terminals reside. Power up and carefully apply one of the probes to the threaded part and the other to the center contact of the socket. Note whether your voltage value is a negative or positive number. If it's positive, your probes are hooked up correctly.
Edit- We're talking about 12 volt bulbs, are we not?
As mentioned earlier, a check-up with a good multimeter should tell you where in the base the positive and negative terminals reside. Power up and carefully apply one of the probes to the threaded part and the other to the center contact of the socket. Note whether your voltage value is a negative or positive number. If it's positive, your probes are hooked up correctly.
Edit- We're talking about 12 volt bulbs, are we not?
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WADR, you are NOT listening.
Check the polarity. If the new LEDs need the + and - switched, then just change the wires to the fixture.
It's DC NOT AC and had absolutely nothing to do with shorepower.
Do you have a multimeter?
That bulb in the picture is designed to be plugged in 120V AC POWER. It converts to low voltage DC in the bulb.
http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/product/903432_7-Watt-S11-Philips-White-Medium-Base-Light-Bulb
I assume your light fixtures are 12V DC. You need a screw-base LED bulb that can run on 12V DC, they make them.
http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/product/903432_7-Watt-S11-Philips-White-Medium-Base-Light-Bulb
I assume your light fixtures are 12V DC. You need a screw-base LED bulb that can run on 12V DC, they make them.
I have one, I'll check polarity tomorrow. I think its a bulb issue (120v) need to check that too...picked them up at Walmart so almost certainly are 120v and not 12vDC.
Silly question from a sailboat electrical system newbie, shouldn't a 120v bulb work on shore power?
Don't do it. I assumed 12 volts, and 120 volts is not to be messed with in the method I described in post 12.
When your Catalina was built ALL lights were 12 volts, mostly the "bayonet" mounts with pins that insert with a quarter turn, don't know where your screw in bulb came from but not the factory.
120 volt lights only work with shorepower or inverter, 12 volt works anywhere, any time.
I don't know what you have, this thread is a little confused, 12 volts can sting but 120 can kill.
120 volt lights only work with shorepower or inverter, 12 volt works anywhere, any time.
I don't know what you have, this thread is a little confused, 12 volts can sting but 120 can kill.
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