Aftermarket Docking Lights

ericscher

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I bought a set of aftermarket docking lights at my local marina.

These are small form factor lights, a rounded oval about 4" x 1.5" with a 55watt bulb in each.

I used a wire "harness" that was made for a trailer and contained four Siamesed wires in a flat ribbon, which allowed me to run a separate hot and ground wire for each light, back to the console area.

The wires off the lights were 18g and the harness was 16g. It was either that or 16g vs 14g. To be honest, as I type this I cannot recall, except that the harness was one gauge larger, which is actually good as it helps to make up for the length. (25' total)

At that point I turned it over to the mechanic at my local marina for three reasons...

  1. I figured they could more easily make the actual insertion via the existing chase from under the deck and into the console than I could in my driveway.
  2. They know these boats better than I do and would be better able to make the hookup to the existing docking light switch on the console.
  3. I don't fit under the console all that well.

Well, the first time I tried to use them, they popped the circuit breaker.

I thought at first that it was a question of the lights drawing too much power for the breaker, but then I checked the math.

Since Amps x Volt = Watts and therefore Amps = Watts ÷ Volts. The bulbs are 55w each, so that's 110w, which when divided by the voltage (12v) yields bit under 9.2 Amps.

The face of each circuit breaker on my dashboard has the number "10" molded into it, which I am ASSUMING means it's a 10 amp unit.

Well, that should be enough, right? Except that the breaker keeps popping so clearly there's a problem.

I go under the console and fit one arm and my head inside to take a look.

I should probably mention at this point that I presume Bennington uses standard basic wiring harnesses across several product lines just as any rational company would, and only hooks up those wires that are needed for each build.

Now, my boat, a 2006 Sedona L21 did not come with docking lights when I bought it. However, there seems to be a provision for them in the harness.

When I went under the console I saw that the mechanic had combined the two "hot" lead and the two "ground" leads into one connector for each. The ground side was connected to the back of one of my gauges to what I presume he figured was a common ground.

The hot side was connected to one of the three posts coming off the back of my "Docking Lights" switch, which was already on the console. There is a wire coming out of the existing harness with the appropriate connector on it which seems to have been pulled loose from the switch. I am guessing that it the lead for what WOULD have been my factory/dealer Docking Lights if my boat had been equipped with them.

That spot, which the factory line vacated, is now occupied by the "Hot" line for my docking lights.

One last thing I should mention... I have not tried using the docking lights with the engine running.

So, I am a bit stumped here....

It would SEEM that I have a large enough breaker (10amp) for my lights (9.2amp) but hat assumes the #10 on the face of the breaker means what I think it does.

If it does not, then perhaps there is something in the way the factory harness is wired that leads to a greater current draw when I turn the switch on than the breaker is capable of handling.

OR...

Perhaps the ground needs to be hooked directly to the back of the docking light switch and NOT to a common ground on the back of one of the gauges.

Those are my thoughts so far.

It happens to be raining now, but if nobody has an answer for me before the next sunny day I will remember to get out there with a camera and post a picture.

In the meantime, anyone with a thought on this issue is invited to speak up. And thanks in advance.
 
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The breakers are not that precise to trip at exactly 10amps, the volts are not exactly 12v, the bulbs may not be exactly 55watts, any additional resistance in the circuit will cause more of a amp draw. So a 10 amp circuit using a calculated 9.2 amp draw is too close. Some options for docking lights are 1. lower powered lights 2. upgrade the wires, switch and breaker. Do not just up the breaker to a higher amperage. I would use lower power lights, you really don't need that much light to see your dock coming in at night. A reflector on your dock might help or solar powered lights. Another reason for using lower power lights is that sometimes you want to flip them on briefly if you think you see something in the water and you don't want to blind other boaters.
 
Thank you Clark, I appreciate your reply.

I have considered that 9.2 is rather close to 10; as well as what else you said.

Still, the circuit goes down so quickly. A mere second or two.

Of course, that's not dispositive, and the breaker CAN shut down that fast or even faster, especially if it's a bit "tired". But it doesn't "feel" right, as illogical as that may sound. STILL, I may wish to consider replacing it anyway, and your comments are quite valid no matter how it "feels" to me.

The wires don't worry me as much since they are capable of carrying much more current than the breaker. Or maybe I should say relative TO the breaker. They are still either 14ga or 16ga, which I cannot determine from a foot away.

However, The American Boat and Yacht Council publishes tables showing how much amperage each size wire can carry at 50v or less with 105C insulation. (Chart posted below) Even 18ga wire, provided it's outside of a hot area like an engine room, can carry 20amps.

More importantly, I cannot change out the lights without pulling the boat out of the water. Well, I suppose I COULD, but we're talking major PITA here. ;)

Also, these docking lights are not strictly for docking. I need them for navigation under certain limited, low speed circumstances.

Even more importantly, I have been thinking about this overnight and I had some thoughts I'd like your opinion on.

The various breakers and switches are daisy chained. The mechanic pulled one wire and inserted a hot lead onto the now open post.

It seems to me that one of two things need to occur:

  1. The hot wire needs to come off that post and the item connected should be the GROUND wire, with the hot lead going back to the main "Buss" coming into the console.
  2. Both the hot and ground leads from the headlights needs to be connected to the switch.

What do you think about that?

OH, BTW... I'll have pictures this evening.

21731.jpg
 
I pulled out my file for my boat 2009 2250sl, but it was early so it says sedona in some places and bennington in others. I have a wiring diagram for a 2006 ob sedona that came with it. I tried to scan it and post it so you can see it but I'm doing something wrong. I will keep trying and post if I can. the switch is on the hot side and the docking lights are 55 watt, but the breaker is a 15 amp breaker. So contrary to what I posted it looks like the breaker is the wrong. As for attaching the ground wire for the light to the switch ground it should not make a difference if the connections are good.
 
Clark, thanks very much.

I responded to your e-mail, but I don't know if the system this board uses is reliable, so I'll give you my e-mail here as well:

It's my screenname "at-mac-dot-com"

There...

That ought to stymie the e-mail harvesting bots. :)

Oh, BTW...

I did get pics yesterday, but then I couldn't stay awake long enough to edit them down and post them.

I'll do that this evening.
 
OK, here are the pics I promised. There are only three because of the 500k limit. I do HAVE more, but it's easier for me to just e-mail them to someone who wants them than it is to upload them somewhere and then hotlink them. Plus I can never remember where I put things. I have pictures up all over the web that I can't find because I don't remember where I put them.

Anyway, the first pic is a closeup of the docking light switch. You can see the Black/Yellow siamesed wires on the rightmost post, as well as the grey-ish wire that was displaced. The other three wires, from left to right are red, orange and red.

There are 3 questions here:

  1. Do the two red wires carry power INTO the switch or are they meant to carry it away from the switch and to the factory docking lights. (If I had factory docking lights)
  2. Is the Orange wire a hot-lead INTO the switch or a ground lead AWAY from the switch.
  3. What was the grey wire for?

The second pictures shows the grounding to the back of the trim gauge.That gauge works, so I assume there was no problem created there, although I realize now that I can't see any Red of Orange leads. There is a sort of Purplish lead that you can't see in this picture, but I only now realize that I can't tell for sure how that gauge is wired.

The third pic shows how the circuit-breakers are sort of daisy chained into one another. I THINK the red wires bring power both INTO to the circuit-breakers and back out to the next one, while the orange wire brings power to the switches.

It APPEARS to me that the answer is to replace the grey wire on the switch then splice the Black/Yellows wires into the two red wires. Splice as opposed to replace since this will leave a visual reference for some future owner or mechanic; and the red wires won't matter forward of the splice since I don't have factory docking lights.

What do y'all think?

============================

Note to Clark: I looked over the diagram you sent and while it doesn't match precisely it is close enough that I believe the factory lights would have each been 55 watt anyway, thus making it more likely that the issue is improper wiring, not a circuit-breaker.

I figure I should address the wiring issue FIRST and then once I'm sure that's OK I can more on to the circuit-breaker

Closeup of Switch.jpg

Grounding.jpg

Daisy Chaining.jpg
 
Hi Ericscher, let me throw my 2cents in here. First get yourself a 12v test light, connect the alligator clip to a good ground. Now lets go to the back of your dock light switch, pull the wires off one at a time and probe with the test light. One should light up,[orange?] that one is power incoming from the breaker. Now leave that one connected, disconnect the yellow/brown and turn the switch on, probe the spade terminal on the switch to see if it lights the test light, if it does, turn the switch off and retest, test light should not come on, this verifies power out to docking lights. Repeat this test on the red/pink connector, I think that and the black wire are for the light in the switch. If all is well so far, disconnect your docking lights, and turn the switch on. Test with the test light here to confirm which wire is power to the lights. The other will be your ground wire. No ground wires should go to the switch, grounding at the gauge should be fine. If you can, trace the wiring to see if they have been shorted togather by a screw or the like used to secure the harness, these things happen! I hope this helps and if i can help further let me know!
 
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Glad you got the diagram, It's a good thing to have for future wiring work. I took a look at my docking light switch and it looks to be the same as yours. The orange wire coming from the breaker is your constant power and it is in the right place. The tab that had the grey wire is the switched power and you have that correctly hooked to the positive of your dock lights. The red and black wires at the other end of the switch are for the light in the switch. The black is ground and the red wire needs to be connected to switched power. I agree with G&B that a test light would be a helpfull tool. I prefer a multimeter, because it does more. If the other wire on the dock lights are hooked to ground and you replace the breaker with a 15 amp unit your docking lights will work, but the light in the switch won't until you splice the red wire at the end of the switch into the positive switched power you have going to your docking lights. I would pull the connector with the red wires off and cover it with tape and run a new wire from that tab on the switch to switched power wires going to the dock lights.
 
Yes, I believe you are correct about the Breaker size, but I have taken some time to research the wiring to make sure it's correct.

And, BTW...

Thanks G&B for the testing thoughts

Once I get this fully sorted I'll let y'all know what the fix turned out to be.
 
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