Anchor light switch not working intermittent

[Spinner]

2013 R-29. I was on a buoy for the Labor Day Holiday and had an issue with the anchor light. Ran it the first night, no problem. Second night, it did not come on with the switch. Nav lights did come on. Finally tried the switch one more time and did get the anchor light.

Has anyone else reported this? I started looking at the lighting schematic, not sure where to start... At the masthead? At the switch?

Ideas??

Sue P
Spinner

 

[knotflying]

I had the same issue once. Check your connections outside by the mast. There is a plug and the wires were loose and corroded, once cleaned all was well.

 

[baz]

My Nav switch has two positions. One position lights up all the Nav lights and the other lights up just the mast anchor light. Does your switch operate in the same manner ?

I would check the wiring in the mast and at the connection to the mast head light receptacle to see if there's a break or loose connection.

 

[knotflying]

Yes, two positions on the switch. I am not at my boat now, but I seem to remember that it is a fixed socket near the mast and the wires come out of that and run to the mast. The wires enter the back of the socket and are set in place with set screws. You need to dismantle the socket to get to the set screws.

 

[Spinner]

Thanks! The switch is three position-off, nav, anchor. I would be surprised if corrosion is the problem, as Spinner was delivered in May of this year, but I suppose it is possible!! Sigh ...

 

[Kenny Marrs]

Hello Sue,

I would pull the cover off of the anchor light and check there to make sure the bulb itself is making good contact.

Thanks,
-Kenny

 

[baz]

If your moorage is open and uncovered then corrosion can setup very quickly. So even after 4 months exposed things can get quite cruddy IMO. Check the switch connections as well as they could be loose or the switch simply is not doing its job properly and needs to be replaced. BTW... your boat is still under the full 1 year warranty so Ranger Tugs should take care of you or at least provide you with some clues etc.

 

[tlkenyon]

The switch corrodes pretty easily. Spray some electrical contact cleaner into its innards as you vigorously "exercise" the switch. Worked for me.

 

[knotflying]

Kenny was correct in saying that you should check the light itself. Rule of thumb is to work backwards with a voltmeter until you don't get a reading. Could just be a bad bulb or a bad contact at the bulb. The fact that it is intermittent leads me to believe you may have a bad connection someplace and that plug I mentioned is a likely suspect.

 

[Spinner]

Thanks everyone! I will be at the Rendezvous this weekend, maybe the Ranger folks can take a look, as someone mentioned...

Sue P

 

[knotflying]

let us know the outcome.

 

[Spinner]

It was the simple solution! The LED bulb was not seated all the way, so it sometimes did not make full contact.

Thanks Ranger Tugs guys for climbing up and checking !!

Sue P

 

[knotflying]

Good to hear it was a simple fix!