2017 22 SL Navigation Light (bulb?)

MBinTexas

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nav1.jpg nav2.jpg nav3.jpg I am beyond frustrated with my dealer. I am getting conflicting information and the run around all this week regarding whether I can replace a bulb for my green navigation light or if we have to replace the entire lighting unit.

At first they said entire unit and it would be covered under warranty with a $250 fee to come to our marina to replace it. They backed down to $125 to come to marina to replace the entire unit under warranty.

Now they are saying it is just a bulb that needs to be changed (with the lake fee). If it is truly just a bulb, I can do that. I tried to do that to begin with and couldn't figure out how to get the unit open to find out what kind of bulb it takes.

If this unit can be opened, will someone tell me how before I drive to the dealer tomorrow. I unscrewed the two screws that mounts it to the boat, but I couldn't figure out how to get it open.

Argh - should be so simple, but I've been dealing with this all week.
 
I don’t know, but dang...how frustrating. I’d have assumed it would be a fairly straight forward or easy process. Like you said, its just changing a light bulb. Hopefully someone on here knows the “trick” and it is really as easy as one might assume. Best of luck.
 
I had those lights on my previous boat. You can replace the bulb. I don't remember exactly how, but I think you take the 2 screws out that hold the light assembly to the deck. Unplug the wires that go to the light from below the deck. You should be able to remove the whole light assembly now. I think the navigation light is held on from the underside of the light assembly. It takes a torpedo shaped bulb if I remember correctly.

Keep in mind this is all based off memory. So, this may be all correct or need additional steps.
 
I have a different light on my 2014 SFX but I had to take the whole plastic housing apart as well as take a screw out of the nav light that went into the decking. But that was only on one side, the other side light was just bolted to the plastic housing and not screwed to the deck. Once unbolted and unscrewed the light came apart fairly easily and it takes a festoon replacement bulb. Wasn’t really thrilled with the “engineering” of the light install. I ended up replacing both with LED’s after the 2nd time the dealer fixed it, but didn't. I have found that even though it’s under warranty, you are better off handling some of the small stuff yourself. It saves time.
 
Just wondering if this was resolved as i found my red nav light out the other night but had to ride 20 minutes in the dark. Kind of silly if it is not LED in this day and age. Mine is a 2016 SLX.
 
Remove both bolts on entire housing, then remove screw on the outside of nav light (screwed into deck), you can now turn housing over to expose wiring plugs and nav and dock lamps.
 
Just wondering if this was resolved as i found my red nav light out the other night but had to ride 20 minutes in the dark. Kind of silly if it is not LED in this day and age. Mine is a 2016 SLX.


Our light is not LED it is a tiny light bulb around $6.00 bucks, but it was difficult to replace the first time. Now that I know how to do it and I have some spares on board it will be ok. I only had to remove two screws that hold the nav light to the deck and then go underneath the boat to unattach the wire that connects the nav light to power (just to give me enough length to move the nav light enough to get the top off of it). Then replace the bulb, put the cover back on, reconnect the wire under the boat and screw the two screws to the deck.
 
3FB821A7-D262-4BDB-9695-322CB106BF1B.pngI have a 2005 2875 RXL with the plastic housing that holds both the dock light and the nav light. My local Benny dealer had no idea what nav bulb I needed, neither did Bennington directly. So, I had to make another trip to the boat to disassemble the housing to get to the bulb. Here is the listing on Amazon for the LED replacement bulb.
You’ll need a 11mm wrench for the two bigger nuts under the deck as well as a 5/16 wrench to hold the small nut that goes through the nav light fixture. I used a cordless drill with a Phillips driver on the top side to loosen the bolts. Be careful not to drop your stuff into the lake!
Once you get everything loose, lift the plastic housing and turn it upside down. The plastic piece that holds the nav bulb will easily unlatch from the base. Carefully slide out the old bulb and replace it with the new LED bulb. Be sure to insert the bulb so the LED lights face the nav lens. Before you reassemble everything, turn on the nav light switch at the helm to ensure the light is working.
Message me if you have any questions.
 
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Here's a few pictures. The key for me was that I couldn't get the top off the housing to get to the bulb until I disconnected the gray cable from the power under the boat to give me enough slack.
 

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View attachment 25285I have a 2005 2875 RXL with the plastic housing that holds both the dock light and the nav light. My local Benny dealer had no idea what nav bulb I needed, neither did Bennington directly. So, I had to make another trip to the boat to disassemble the housing to get to the bulb. Here is the listing on Amazon for the LED replacement bulb.
You’ll need a 11mm wrench for the two bigger nuts under the deck as well as a 5/16 wrench to hold the small nut that goes through the nav light fixture. I used a cordless drill with a Phillips driver on the top side to loosen the bolts. Be careful not to drop your stuff into the lake!
Once you get everything loose, lift the plastic housing and turn it upside down. The plastic piece that holds the nav bulb will easily unlatch from the base. Carefully slide out the old bulb and replace it with the new LED bulb. Be sure to insert the bulb so the LED lights face the nav lens. Before you reassemble everything, turn on the nav light switch at the helm to ensure the light is working.
Message me if you have any questions.
I have purchased LED replacements, but haven't felt like going through the hassle to switch them out yet. Off season project. :)
 
Here's a few pictures. The key for me was that I couldn't get the top off the housing to get to the bulb until I disconnected the gray cable from the power under the boat to give me enough slack.
I have purchased LED replacements, but haven't felt like going through the hassle to switch them out yet. Off season project. :)

I had enough slack that allowed to to simply flip the whole light assy upside down. Seems over engineered, disappointed this project became a small hassle.
 
Our light is not LED it is a tiny light bulb around $6.00 bucks, but it was difficult to replace the first time. Now that I know how to do it and I have some spares on board it will be ok. I only had to remove two screws that hold the nav light to the deck and then go underneath the boat to unattach the wire that connects the nav light to power (just to give me enough length to move the nav light enough to get the top off of it). Then replace the bulb, put the cover back on, reconnect the wire under the boat and screw the two screws to the deck.

Yeah I figured it out. What I found was that one of the screws that actually hold the light fixture on the plastic piece that holds the docking lights has a small nut underneath. So the outside one goes into the deck but the inside has a nut that goes with the machine screw. Not sure how big of deal it is but I took the whole housing off and put that nut back on. I found the lights at the dealer. Package of two for about 5$. Ordered some LED's off the internet and will replace them at a later time and keep the new ones as spares.
 
So to those who have had this issue I went ahead and replaced both with an LED bulb which I will link to below. The thing i want to mention is just be careful taking the screw out for the actual light that goes into the deck. Apparently some one decided to use a longer screw which ended up getting bent because it hit the aluminum underneath the light housing. I had to drill it out just to get the light off then use a vise grip to get the screw out. It was pain but now i have LED's in them and we shall see how long they last. There has been some saying that the LED's were turning the green light to a bluish green. They looked fine to me but I have not had them on at night yet so we shall see. I also read that some would not fit in the housing but these went right in no issues.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3G95W5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
You should use colored led bulbs. I just replace 2 side marker light bulbs on the trailer (1 yellow and 1 red lens) and they look goofy now. The white light of the bulb overpowers the lens color. Just a heads up.
 
You should use colored led bulbs. I just replace 2 side marker light bulbs on the trailer (1 yellow and 1 red lens) and they look goofy now. The white light of the bulb overpowers the lens color. Just a heads up.

Yeah that is what I have heard as far as the green lens. Initial test though it seemed green and the red also looked fine. The biggest complaint was they made the green light look a blueish. The old lights were white lights also so hopefully it will not make a difference. They were only 10 buck so not a big loss if they don't work. I read were it was more an issue on the dual lights rather than the single lights such as these.
 
The issue might be that the incandescent bulbs are not 5000k white light.
 
Great thread and information. Our 2018 22SSRXP has an issue with the lights as well. The root cause was a failed solder. Using MBinTexas photo I drew a line where it failed. The heat generated from the bulb (not LED) melted the solder and completed the circuit causing a short each time we put on the lights. Removing the wiring harness, 2 screws & plastic clip allowed me to clean the solder and reinstall the bulb. Unfortunately, the added stress on the bulb caused it to burn out 3 weeks later. I am looking to replace them with LED's. Luckily easy fix.
 

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So finally made it out at night and yep the LED's make the green light turn a slight blueish color. I mean it still is green but it may be confusing while on the water although my experience is that a lot of boaters have no idea what the nav lights are for anyway:(. I am ordering some green led bulbs and will let you all know how they work out. The red light seemed fine and is not affected by the LED bulb.
 
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