DC Three wire deck light question.

[BAD ORCA]

My new to me deck/steaming light combo has a round wire coming from the steaming light that contains a red and black dc wire, however the deck light has a separate round wire that has a dc red, black and white wire. They are LED lights and there was no wiring diagram included. I've not yet come across a three way DC wire yet with a white. Were the two lights meant to be wired to an ON-OFF-ON toggle switch and the white wire is used as a common ground? Sorry dont know whats up with this funky image formatting.

 

[mermike]

Who is the manufacturer?

 

[BAD ORCA]

Who is the manufacturer?

Peters & Bey

 

[duck21]

I see the steaming lights on the Peters + Bey website, but I'm not seeing deck lights there. Do you have a model number for the deck light portion? Is there a chance that the deck light is actually an AC capable product (which might make sense given the three wires AND the braided shield in the wire sheath). Or maybe an some sort of "AC/DC" combo product (I.E. disregard the braided shield and the white wire for a DC installation)?

Doug

 

[duck21]

I kept searching a bit more...not the identical product, but probably related...

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The liner notes for this Peters and Bey spotlight say:

"If no dimmer is used, please connect the white cable with the red one (dimmer with +phase)"

It feels like there is a "dimmer" feature which you may not be using.

I couldn't find any other specific parts, and their website is disappointingly short on info/manuals.

Doug

 

[BAD ORCA]

I kept searching a bit more...not the identical product, but probably related...

Loading…

cdn.shopify.com

The liner notes for this Peters and Bey spotlight say:

"If no dimmer is used, please connect the white cable with the red one (dimmer with +phase)"

It feels like there is a "dimmer" feature which you may not be using.

I couldn't find any other specific parts, and their website is disappointingly short on info/manuals.

Doug

Huh interesting. I was going to ask if it might be a dimmer wire. I came across other LED installation (non boating) that mention a white dimmer wire. I didnt think that would be appropriate for a deck light but maybe? Its the T-580 deck/steaming light combo. All the documentation so far has been sales type brochures. You would think for the price you pay for these lights, they would toss in a gold leaf freaking embossed wiring diagram. Comes with absolutely no documentation.

 

[BAD ORCA]

I kept searching a bit more...not the identical product, but probably related...

Loading…

cdn.shopify.com

The liner notes for this Peters and Bey spotlight say:

"If no dimmer is used, please connect the white cable with the red one (dimmer with +phase)"

It feels like there is a "dimmer" feature which you may not be using.

I couldn't find any other specific parts, and their website is disappointingly short on info/manuals.

Doug

So, i had a 12 volt battery here at the shop and decided to do a potentially costly experiment. I connected black and red wires to DC 12 V battery. The light came on for only about a second and then turned off. If i then connected the white wire with the red wire to the 12V + wire, the light stays on. So, yeah im guessing that was correct, dimmer switch wire. Is a deck light dimmer a thing? Now im trying to decide if i should get one to use with it?

 

[jssailem]

I can see times when a down facing foredeck light might be useful to be dimmed. I would not want to dim the forward facing Steaming Light.

When installing my steaming/foredeck light I used a single three wire cable. Black for negative on both lights, red for positive to the steaming light and the other color for positive to the foredeck light. There are Two switches back on the DC panel.

 

[BAD ORCA]

I can see times when a down facing foredeck light might be useful to be dimmed. I would not want to dim the forward facing Steaming Light.

When installing my steaming/foredeck light I used a single three wire cable. Black for negative on both lights, red for positive to the steaming light and the other color for positive to the foredeck light. There are Two switches back on the DC panel.

Interesting. I might install a dimmer then. This sucker is really bright, even for an LED.

Thats exactly what i wanted to do. Have each on its own separate switch at the helm. Switches are already installed just need to get up the mast when i get a chance. I really hope the old wiring is not locked in place inside the mast. I really dont want to have to haul out and pull the mast for this job.

Is in mast electrical wiring normally secured somewhere inside or just run loosly up conduit? Im hoping i can pull the old wires out from one end or the other without too much fuss and pull a mouse line through to run new wire.

 

[jssailem]

My wire is secured at the light fitting and then hangs loose in the conduits located in the mast.

Your images appear to show that you have enough wires to do the task. Run the red wire to one light and the other red wire to the second light (positives). The 2 black wires are common to ground. Attach the white wire to the dimmer. If you need an additional wire, use one of the black wires, but label it and use colored heat shrink to show it is not ground. You can run a pigtail between the two lights to your single ground wire.

Note this is a setup for LED bulbs. They take negligible current to run, so you will not be over-taxing the wires.

 

[Deparlocean]

Hi, I just read your article.
I want to point out that there is a shield wire around the 3wires for your deck light, which might tell that the dimmer is sensitive to interference if not shielded. How it will behave without a shield in the mast? I do not know. But putting one from the base of the mast to the switch/dimmer would probably be a good thing!

 

[BAD ORCA]

Hi, I just read your article.
I want to point out that there is a shield wire around the 3wires for your deck light, which might tell that the dimmer is sensitive to interference if not shielded. How it will behave without a shield in the mast? I do not know. But putting one from the base of the mast to the switch/dimmer would probably be a good thing!

Thanks D. I have since changed my mind about the dimmer and am going to install the light without it for now. If i change my mind in the future i will add it next season when we pull the mast for new mast step. Too much on my plate right now.

 

[OS2Dude]

Typically, RED is DC POS, Black (now Yellow) is DC NEG. On my 1985 Catalina 30, there are 4 wires up the mast: 1 common DC NEG, 1 DC POS Anchor, 1 DC POS Steaming, 1 DC POS Deck light. If the white wire on your light is for dimming, you will need to run an additional wire down to where you control your mast lights from.