running lights not working, frequently

[Dave Slepoy]

On my Catalina 28 (1991) the bow light goes out frequently!! I have replaced it 2 times this year already, The bulb is black on the inside so it is blowing. Running the engine I get 13.6 vdc on the connectors of the bow light. The light is a 12v 10watt. Any ideas???? thanks Dave

 

[Gary Shaw]

Running lights

Are you getting any water into the light and on the bulb that will blow them but then they are white colored. 13.6 volts shouldn't be blowing your bulb that is the required voltage to charge your batterys.

 

[Bayard Gross]

I believe you are using the wrong bulb

The bulb I think you should be using is Anchor number 50090.This bulb is about 4 CP (candle power) and 7.5 watts. The 10 watts you are using may melt the plastic lenses.I am sure your voltage is fine. Also, there is some voltage drop in the length of the wires leading to the bow lights.Nevertheless, I do not think merely using the bulb I suggest alone will rectify your problem.Make sure that the positive and negative leads are attached to the bulb sockets independently. There should be no wire leading from the positive lead of one bulb socket to the positive lead of the other socket and likwise for the negative lead.Finally, the amperage on the bulb you are using may be too low. Sometimes you can find this information, sometimes you can't. If that amperage is less than 5 amps, I suspect that may be your problem. I am resonably certain that the bulb I mentioned will have the proper amperage and wattage that won't melt the plastic lense.

 

[RonD]

Bayard --

Something doesn't quite compute there:Power (Watts) = Voltage (Volts) X Current (Amps)7.5 Watts (rated) / 12 Volts (rated) = 0.625 Amps (rated)or, put another way5 Amps (rated) X 12 Volts (rated) = 60 WattsIt could be the bulb type being used. Some types might be more ruggedly constructed for a boat's high mechanical & thermal shock environment (like the types used in shop lights). Very likely they will be interchangeable with non-rugged versions in size, power/lumen ratings & socket type, too.

 

[Bayard Gross]

That's right, .625 amps, not five amps

The .625 amps is more or less on the money for the bulb I suggest, as indicated in the first equation.In the second equation, for some unknown reason, five amps was employed in place of the .625 amps just calculated above. Since I did not do that equation, I cannot speculate why that was done.Hence the second equation should read:.625 amps (rated) X 12 volts (rated) = 7.5 wattsSo I think everything is copesetic.