Anchor & running lights

J

Jeanie P

New member
Last week I put the boat in the water and this week I'm bringing my gear aboard. My anchor light would not light after I connected it. I noticed that my running lights (red/green) would light up when I turned on either the anchor switch or the running light switch. The white light never came on with either switch. The bulb looked ok.

Isn't the anchor light only supposed to light when the anchor switch is pressed on?

Any suggestions? thanks.

Allan
 
Try checking the grounding of those circuits.

The white light is supposed to come on whenever the switch is in anchor or running light mode (single 2 position switch for C-25.) The port/starboard lights only should come on in running light mode. You might be getting some stray path power routing due to a loose ground wire somewhere.

Boris
 
Alan, check the wire going into the back of the anchor light switch. It sounds like that is the problem. They are slip on spade fittings, and it may have either slipped off, or there may be corrosion on the critter. You probably should check for corrosion at the contacts on the Perko light fitting and at the bulb.

FYI, I would expect that you have a diode that is jumpered between your nav light switch and the anchor light switch. i don't think that is the issue, but that is how the anchor light gets power when the nav lights are turned on. Diodes only conduct one way, so it does not feed back into the nav lights when the anchor switch is on.
 
Sorry, but I did not read your first post carefully. I did not realize that the nav lights were coming on with the anchor light switch. Sounds like the diode between the switches may be shorted and allowing current from the anchor switch to get to the nav lights. My guess is that this is also a spade fitting, so try pulling one end from a switch (either) and see what happens. If you still get nav lights when you turn the anchor light switch on, then you have a short in the wiring. I would also see if the anchor light works when the diode is out of the picture and the anchor light switch is turned on.

Sorry I missed this on my first post.

Steve
 
Steve, there is a diode between both switches. It looked like just a wire lead slipping between the plastic spade type connections at each positive switch lead. I'll check it out later today or tomorrow. I'll also check out the connection at the achor light. I didn't have any testing equipment with me yesterday. I have no info on this diode thingamagig with my manuals. Where do I get a replacement and/or info on it?
Thanks

Allan
 
Hi, I also have a problem with the nav lights. They have quit working. The anchor light does come on when the switch is in either position (running lights or anchor light). I replaced the bulbs and checked the connections on the Perko nav light assembly which looked clean. I have had to replace the nav light bulbs a couple of times already (2006 CD 25) which doesn't seem right. I saw the diode jumper that Steve mentioned. Does anybody know where to get a replacement (diode jumper) or have any other ideas/suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Terry
 
Radio Shack has diodes and I can recall another post somewhere here that said what kind to buy. I'm sure Seawolf Joe will find it and tell you!

Charlie
 
Charlie, thanks for the reply I appreciate it! I'm guessing it's the diode, so as soon as I can find out which one to get I'll give it a try. Thanks again.

Terry
 
Terry, make sure you get the polarity right when you install the diode. If the nav lights come on when you turn the anchor light on, you have it in backwards. Ask the guys at Radio Shack to show you how to determine polarity. If you can, make a photo of the back of the switch before you take things apart. It might make things easier to put back together.

I don't have an answer for the burned out nav light bulbs. That seems unusual. As I recall, when I bought spares, the bulbs were a bit on the pricy side.

Steve
 
you should be able to replace the anchor light with a set of LED lights. I ran down to look at the Tom cat's anchor light switch--the diode position is marked on the diode which is in place. IF the diode is the problem (I suspect more in the terminals)--you should take a photo of the way that the diode is in position, and then take that diode down to Radio Shack or other electronics shop for comperable diode--put the new one in the same polarity.
 
Diodes have a stripe painted on them to indicate the direction of current flow (positive voltage to negative voltage). If you replace the diode, just make sure you put the marked end in the same orientation.
 
rogerbum":2vvrwjps said:
Diodes have a stripe painted on them to indicate the direction of current flow (positive voltage to negative voltage). If you replace the diode, just make sure you put the marked end in the same orientation.
Click to expand...

From my old days of arcing and sparking... the symbol for a diode is:

-------|< ------

Where the current flow is against the arrow.

To be truthful, that was 40 years ago, so I am not sure if current wiring diagrams (and diode marking) still conform to the same convention.
 
Wandering Sagebrush":2qkyks56 said:
rogerbum":2qkyks56 said:
Diodes have a stripe painted on them to indicate the direction of current flow (positive voltage to negative voltage). If you replace the diode, just make sure you put the marked end in the same orientation.
Click to expand...

From my old days of arcing and sparking... the symbol for a diode is:

-------|< ------

Where the current flow is against the arrow.

To be truthful, that was 40 years ago, so I am not sure if current wiring diagrams (and diode marking) still conform to the same convention.
Click to expand...

The convention hasn't changed. But, as far as current goes, it's with the arrows (except in the case of a zener diode). The electrons flow against the arrow, but current is the opposite of the directions electrons flow. Here's an image from Wikipedia that shows current as a function of voltage and the circuit diagram for a diode below it. 500px-Diode-IV-Curve.svg.png[/url]
 
Current flow drove me nuts in college. At NC State, they used "hole" flow. When I taught basic electricity in the Naval Reserve on Monday nights, I had to use "electron" flow, sometimes called "conventional" current flow. I was always getting confused. Remember the "right hand rule"? I practically had to stand on my head with my hand behind my back to figure out that one! :shock:

Charlie
 
Charlie, I am an old A/C electrician, and yes that was the way we were taught semi conductors in both "A" and "B" schools. Holes flow, not electrons.

Roger, I had forgotten that Uncle Sam took a different view of current flow. We were taught that current flows from negative to positive as I recall things. Some of my other AE type friends on the site can either confirm that was the taught convention, or remind me that I am losing it in my old age. Marin, Bill U, what do you remember?

In the bigger picture, it doesn't matter a bit, but it is fun to think about. I wonder why the two philosophies........?
 
Wandering Sagebrush":vg5k7l4c said:
In the bigger picture, it doesn't matter a bit, but it is fun to think about. I wonder why the two philosophies........?
Click to expand...

I think it's because they started the convention that current flows from + to - with batteries and circuits before the understanding of the atom and particles came about and the realization that only the electrons were free to flow along conductors, etc.

In high school physics, we always taught that current flowed from - to +, because it made more sense, and simplified everything, though I did mention that the "old school" thinking was backward, and why.

No sense adding a "Mental Monkey Wrench" to your students burdens! :lol:

wrench.gif


Joe. :teeth :thup
 
As I recall the convention in automotive and marine electrical work is that the current flows from the positive battery post towards the negative battery post.

This is not the 'actual' electron flow, but is used to avoid confusion by mechanics and electrical workers.

In some classes I have asked the instructor what convention he is using in the class, just to be sure.
 
Larry H":3h6pe5rv said:
As I recall the convention in automotive and marine electrical work is that the current flows from the positive battery post towards the negative battery post.

This is not the 'actual' electron flow, but is used to avoid confusion by mechanics and electrical workers.

In some classes I have asked the instructor what convention he is using in the class, just to be sure.
Click to expand...

Larry, we were taught that convention for "in" the battery/power source, but in the circuit the current flowed from negative to positive (i.e. back to the positive terminal of the power source.
 
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