Navigation Lights issue

SouthLake

New member
My navigation lights have stopped working. When the rocker switch is on navigation, no navigation lights, the red led on the switch doesn't come on, the anchor light doesn't come on and the instrument lights on the dash don't come on. Likewise when the switch is set to anchor, the led on the switch does not come on and the anchor light doesn't come on. The circuit breaker isn't tripped. The lights used to work.

I'm suspecting the switch is bad but have never had a rocker switch go bad on any boat before.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
 
Use a voltmeter to check the switch and bulb.
Check the switch at the on position using DC voltage setting.
If functional you see around 12V
You may need key on depending on how it is wired
Other possibilities
It might be a poor connection or corrosion at the bulb housing, switch, battery, bad wire or the fuse which can look ok but fail a conductivity testing using the DVM
 
There should be a fuse right beside the rocker switch. If it is the fuse, something caused it to blow and that means doing some circuit tracing so it doesn't happen again. You might also check the buss bar behind the panel to see if you have 12V there. If you have 12V there then you know the problem is between it and the switch.
 
On Journey On, a 20005 25 (euphonious, isn't it?) the DC panel has breakers next to each switch. It's a white plunger with a clear plastic boot. Press it to reset the thinghy.

I'd check the anchor light first, and if that works, try the nav lights. If the breaker is tripped, there's a short somewhere. One can try unplugging the wires leaving the switch.

As a final thought, after a while the red light burns out. I don't know how to replace it. Maybe the newer ones use a LED.

Boris
 
Jeff, it is a good practice to pull/trip the circuit breaker, then reset it before checking other parts of the circuit. I do recommend that you get a good multimeter if you do not have one.

Now that I reread your post, you mention that "instrument lights" don't come on either. I don't believe that my 22 has instrument lights (I could be very wrong), but regardless, it sounds like there may be something up stream that is affecting more than one circuit.

Steve
 
There are a lot of variations in wiring, so best to go with what you know of your boat. It would not seem illogical for the instrument lights to be wired into the nav light circuit, but on my 22 they are not. (That would all be dependant on the rigger.) What has been listed is good advice. The red power on indicator on the switches will both (anchor and nav light) come on when the nav light switch is on, but only the anchor light switch should come on when you push that switch.) Sure does sound like a power loss between the buss (or power source) for that circuit and the switch(es). On mine I believe they are both powered from a single wire, with a jumper to the anchor light side.

Good Luck, and a good volt meter helps,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Well I found the issue. The 5 amp circuit breaker was bad. One of the other rocker switches is wired up but unused and had a 10 amp circuit breaker so I switched the breakers and now have nav, anchor, and instrument lights. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
Glad you found the issue but I would get a five amp circuit breaker ASAP and use it instead of the ten amp one. The circuit breakers are like fuses, safety devices intended to open at a certain amperage and using a ten amp on a circuit designed for a five amp risks damage to your nav lights or...in the worst case...a fire. It is always tempting to just use the existing but higher amperage breaker but it is never a good idea. Alternatively you could leave the lights connected to the ten amp breaker and wire a five amp fuse in series in that line where it would be the safety device at the five amp level.
 
Well, here's my update on the search for a replacement circuit breaker.

I needed a 5 amp BUSS circuit breaker to replace the bad one. I got the part number off of the one I have and started to search the internet for any place that carried them or sold them, all to no avail.

Finally in desperation I called Triton Marine and ended up speaking with Jeff Lindhout. Now, I'm new to this whole C-Dory thing. I bought my boat from a dealer in New Jersey with the full understanding that there was no warranty or support since the manufacturer of that boat had gone out of business. So I didn't really expect much to come from this phone call. Maybe a pointer to a supplier I might try.

Jeff asked if I had photos of the part which I did and he asked me to email them along with the part number info and said he'd see if he could find one.

About 4 and 1/2 hours later I get a return email from Jeff saying he found one and asking where I would like him to send it. I called him back and thanked him and told him I wanted to pay him for the part, his time, etc. He said no, just to remember him when people asked about my boat and who builds them now.

Believe me, I'll be more than happy to compliment him and Triton Marine. What may not be a big deal to some folks, to me is what great customer service is all about and I'm not even a customer. Yet...

Thank you Jeff Lindhout! This midwest boater really appreciates your help...

_________________
Jeff and Deb
the Get~Aweigh
2008 25 Cruiser
Celina, OH
http://www.MontezumaBay.com
 
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