Hunter 34 Anchor Light problems.

[Mark Eden]

I have a 1987 Hunter 34. The Anchor light goes on and off when you kick the mast. The electrical connections behind the electrical panel seem to be good. How are the electrical wires connected and disconnected when stepping the mast? I am thinking the problem may be in there. I have not gone to the top yet to look at the anchor light itself. Has anyone had a similar problem? What was the cause?thanksMark

 

[Jack]

Filament

x

 

[Barry]

h34 Mast Wiring

Mark,I have an earlier h34 and can tell you about the mast wiring. I assume yours is similiar. At the base (inside) of the mast is a four pin connector with wires for the steaming and anchor light. My connector was corroded so I removed it. There is also a coax connector for the VHF antenna.When I had problems with the connector I was told I had to pull the mast to correct it. The early boats had a different mast base (than your) and I was able to remove the pully sheaves and get limited access to that connector. I'm not sure you can do that on the boats built after 1983. It's easier and cheaper to sneak in that way if you can. You might try to reach in there, move the wiring if you can see it, and see if make the light go on. Maybe you're lucky and it is the bulb or top connection.Barry

 

[Russ]

sheave wear

i had the same problem - pounded on the mast for an entire race once.the sheaves had worn holes in the wires and shorted out both the steam and mast lights - repaired when mast was down over the winter in Huron.Russ

 

[Kent Johnson]

Drill a hole

When I had my boat moved by truck to its location, I checked out all the wires and lights on the mast before we stepped the mast. I replaced the anchor light and the put in a new antenna when the mast was down. The antenna wire was cut, so the yard installed coax connectors. When we stepped the mast, the coax connectors would not fit together and I discovered later, that I should have checked the wiring going into the boat from the mast, as none of the lights worked on the boat. To make a long story short... I used a 2 inch hole saw and cut a hole in the mast to fix the antenna, and the wires. This was on advice from a specialist at the boat yard. I had to snake a new neutral wire from the bottom up to the deck..and repair the 4 wire connector as it was corroded but I did get it fixed.To repair the hole, I got a brass door push from a local hardware store and cut it to size. I used double plates with 3M 5200 behind and stainless screws to bend the two plates over the hole. That fixed the problem. It beat spending another $150 + hourly charges to have the hoist lift the mast off the boat while the wires were repaired.Kent