Laugh at me!!

[MikeMo]

I?m at wits end!!
I?ve tried two different lights, two different switches and two different batteries. I continue to get a dim stern light.
My 16? aluminum is wired as follows:

Positive battery to pull on & off switch to stern light to bow light; return to battery and attach to negative post.

12 gauge wire is used throughout, except on bow lights and stern light which have their own smaller wire as part of the purchased product.

All connections have been soldered and shrink wrapped.

Both batteries have been fully charged.

I changed the stern light mount to an attwood mount from a seasense mount.

Attwood 24? stern light is brighter than the seasense telescoping stern light; neither are remotely close to being bright.

All suggestions appreciated and invited!!
MikeM

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Laugh at me!!

Wrong bulb perhaps. Wire the light directly to the battery and see if brightness increases. If it does, you have some wiring issues to resolve.
Here is a nav/anchor light wiring diagram.

 

[bds85466]

Re: Laugh at me!!

maybe something in the gauge of wire? maybe not, though too.

http://www.professionalcar.org/technical-info-proper-wire-selection-301

 

[MikeMo]

Re: Laugh at me!!

Thank you! Thank you!! At least my wife is not laughing at me anymore!!
I wired the light directly to the battery and it was visible in the next country!!
Now I'll go step by step and make it work!!
Thanks again!!

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Laugh at me!!

Your wiring description is a little unclear, but from the symptoms and your description I would say you have the lights wired in series. Effectively each bulb is only getting 1/2 the required voltage thus half intensity.

Each lamp must have a direct feed from the (+) side of the battery and a direct feed to the (-) side of the battery. You must not connect the (-) side of one lamp to the (+) side of the other lamp.

Wish I could draw it out for you. It would be easier to understand what I'm trying to say.

 

[rusirius]

Re: Laugh at me!!

Yeah, I'm not sure if I read you're description right or not, but it sounded like you were wiring the lights in SERIES... That's adds the resistance of both bulbs together which will effectively halve the voltage going to each... (and therefore make them dim!)

You want to wire the lights in PARALLEL... That way each get's twleve volts and the circuit just requires more current...

 

[ebry710]

Re: Laugh at me!!

Hook the lights individually to a 12 volt source and see if the light gets brighter.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Laugh at me!!

seasense telescoping stern light

Do yourself a favor and ditch that POS (pardon my french) whether or not it works. The telescoping stern lights have a seriously flawed design in that the internal coiled wire pulls on itself when the light is extended. The BIG problem is, the small 24(?) gauge wire is only soldered to the terminals and constantly being pulled on, no strain relief. After my second one failed at the launch ramp (1am) I ripped it apart and jury rigged it so I could go fishing,,, only took and hour to weasel the thing apart and fix it

I was so PO'ed I contacted the USCG about the safety problem,,, but they don't deal with minor defects like this.

Sorry [rant off]

 

[dchris]

Re: Laugh at me!!

If both lights go out if you remove either bulb then you are in a series mode. You should be able to remove either bulb and the other should stay lit.