Aft Compartment Cabin Light

Apr 5, 2019
44
Catalina 310 323 Brooklyn, NY
OK here’s the mystery of the week ...
Rear compartment cabin light does not work. Same fixture as the ones in the head.
Good voltage to the prongs and the switch works properly. Tried using the working bulbs from the head and none of them light up. Seems very strange no?
 

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Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
FYI this is likely a light added by a previous owner. Hull 65 doesn't have one.

As to the light. My head light went bad exactly like you are describing. I replaced it with an LED version from Catalina Direct.
 

Dave Groshong

SBO Staff
Staff member
Jan 25, 2007
1,864
Catalina 22 Seattle
Doesn't look like a particularly attractive light fixture, I'm not familiar with it, we do offer some Catalina specific lights, but I would upgrade to a light of similar size/footprint, the electrical connections will be the same:
 

DaveJ

.
Apr 2, 2013
449
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
I do not have this light on hull #160, but I think its a good idea to have one in this area. Possibly the prongs are bent and not making contact to the bulb, heat will sometimes do this. If there is power to the prongs, and a working bulb does not light up, its the bulb/prong connection. Or it is a LED lamp that is reverse connected.....

Cheers
dj
 
Oct 3, 2011
825
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
That looks like the light fixture that is in our head (we have two lights there) , your fixture looks like it is in the fuel tank steering gear area. We have no light there on hull 155 hence what Jesse said!
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,078
Catalina 1999 C36 MKII #1787 Coyote Point Marina, CA.
Check for corroded connections. Trace the wire back. Remove the light fixture and connect an incandescent bulb and see if it lights up with full brightness.
 
Aug 29, 2016
131
Catalina 2004 310 (Hull #250) BC
I have the same exact light in the same place on my hull. Probably OEM.
 

JRT

.
Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Hull 211 does not have that light in there either. Good idea for sure
 
Apr 8, 2011
768
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
+1 for DaveJ comment RE an LED bulb. If you insert with the wrong polarity they will not work. 100% of the time. And if you insert with the right polarity in another fixture, they will work until years from now when they burn out. Sounds stupidly simple. Ask me how I know. If you have proper voltage measured right at the contacts (voltage when switch is "on", and none when it is "off"), then electricity is making it to the bulb, likely without significant interference from any corrosion. Absent the polarity issue, there's no physical reason why electricity at the prongs won't light up a working light bulb (maybe dimly if amps are low).

Test all assumptions!
 
Last edited:
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Another case where things changed during the production run. Thru hulls, lighting, fuel tank, etc. Not really surprising.

Curious: does the power for that light come off the cabin light circuit, or somewhere else? Does seem like a nice addition, although I usually just open up the hatch for lighting back there.
 
Mar 6, 2008
331
Catalina 310 Scott Creek, VA
That light was OEM installed on hull #218 (2003) if we are trying to determine the switch over date. Try sanding the prongs where the bulb connects if you have voltage on the meter.
 

rukidn

.
Apr 23, 2012
160
Catalina 310 258 Sandusky, OH
We have the same light on #258. Same circuit as cabin lighting. We did have trouble with the switches in head and tried to find replacements. No luck, so I took switch apart, cleaned up and has been working since.
 
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Apr 17, 2013
153
Catalina 310 57 Pompano Beach, FL
OK here’s the mystery of the week ...
Rear compartment cabin light does not work. Same fixture as the ones in the head.
Good voltage to the prongs and the switch works properly. Tried using the working bulbs from the head and none of them light up. Seems very strange no?
You can have voltage to a circuit, but if you do not have enough amps to light the bulb the bulb will not light. This is normally caused by corrosion in the wires, I would suggest to check the wires for corrosion. If the wires are embedded in the headliner or in the core of the ceiling there could be corrosion there.
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
I have that light on hull #231, same as the overhead light in the head. The switch on the light in the head died years ago, so I replaced it with a mini toggle switch from radio shack. May be the same issue with your light.