Beneteau courtesy light controller

[kodiak1120]

I have a 2009 Beneteau 37. It has two courtesy lights installed in the cockpit that are controlled via a remote. My research has determined that the remote is an Aqua Signal unit that is no longer made. I would like to add two more lights but I'm not sure about the wiring. I found instructions online, which state:

INSTALLATION Mount the receiver in a covered area and preferably close to the 12-volt power supply. Mount it with the open areas pointing down so that water cannot enter the receiver. The unit mounts with four screws, which are not provided, as mounting areas vary. Do not mount it next to electric motors or appliances. The red wire with the in line fuse is connected to the positive (+) side of the power supply. The black wire is connected to the negative (-) side of the power supply. The two yellow wires are connected to the two separate light terminals.

So it looks like the red and black wire are power going into the unit. I don't understand the bold portion. How are the yellow wires are connected to the lights. If the lights are LED, then polarity would be important. Anyone know anything about how these are actually wired?

 

[mdibella]

Why don't you put the the two wires on a voltmeter and confirm polarity and voltage?

 

[DougM]

12v DC yellow wires should be negative. That standard changed awhile ago from black so that the DC wires would not get confused with AC positive.

 

[kodiak1120]

Why don't you put the the two wires on a voltmeter and confirm polarity and voltage?

I can try next time I'm down at the boat.

12v DC yellow wires should be negative. That standard changed awhile ago from black so that the DC wires would not get confused with AC positive.

Thanks. If that's the case, then I guess one yellow to each light and then ground the lights somewhere else?

 

[DougM]

I can try next time I'm down at the boat.


Thanks. If that's the case, then I guess one yellow to each light and then ground the lights somewhere else?

The yellow (negative) is the ground if the wiring coding is correct as delivered

 

[kodiak1120]

The yellow (negative) is the ground if the wiring coding is correct as delivered

Right, I misread your original post. That doesn't seem to make any sense then. Red and black are power in, and two yellows out. I'll check with with a volt meter next time I'm down at the boat.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Right, I misread your original post. That doesn't seem to make any sense then. Red and black are power in, and two yellows out. I'll check with with a volt meter next time I'm down at the boat.

It could be that the yellow wires are the switch legs, and could well be on the negative side. Good luck.

 

[jssailem]

Or if the previous owner using his land based electrical skills might have wired it based on the wiring a 3 way switch at home. Where the black is hot the red is the signal and the white is neutral (common- perhaps yellow on the boat). Only way to know is test with your DVM.

 

[kodiak1120]

Thanks everyone. I'll check with the DVM when I'm down at the boat later this week and post the results. I know this set up come stock on most Beneteaus, so I don't think it's something the PO did.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I looked at how mine are wired today. Unfortunately it’s still not really clear to me how it’s supposed to work.

The yellow wires definitely connect to both the red and black.The wires from the top of the connectors seem to go to the LEDs. The wires going into the bottom of the connector go into a bundle that heads toward the battery switches. But that doesn’t make much sense, because it would suggest the lights are always powered. No part of the terminals were really exposed enough for me to touch with a DVM.

 

[DougM]

I would tear everything out and rewire that rat’s nest! It doesn‘t look like proper color coding was followed, who knows. Whoever wired it may have used whatever color was handy.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I would tear everything out and rewire that rat’s nest! It doesn‘t look like proper color coding was followed, who knows. Whoever wired it may have used whatever color was handy.

Except for one pair of red/black that I’ve added (and moved from its bundle while I was digging) it’s all factory. Maybe the picture makes it look worse than it is. Everything is red/black, and proper polarity, except for the two yellow wires from the AquaSignal device.

 

[kodiak1120]

I looked at how mine are wired today. Unfortunately it’s still not really clear to me how it’s supposed to work.
View attachment 197415

The yellow wires definitely connect to both the red and black.The wires from the top of the connectors seem to go to the LEDs. The wires going into the bottom of the connector go into a bundle that heads toward the battery switches. But that doesn’t make much sense, because it would suggest the lights are always powered. No part of the terminals were really exposed enough for me to touch with a DVM.

Thanks for that. I was at my boat today but I didn't have a chance to check the wiring. I did replace the battery in the remote, so I'll see if that makes it work more consistently. I am going to check the voltage and polarity at each light next time I'm there. I know there are 2 wires going into each light... One red and one black. I'm assuming they are positive and negative and 12v, but who knows!