Changing out V-berth reading lights

D

DocJoe

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 18, 2022
Messages
60
Fluid Motion Model
C-242 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2302E819
Vessel Name
Bonus Round
MMSI Number
338469685
Hello,

Neither V-berth reading light works, so I want to replace them. Voltage at both is 3.5V and should be 12.0V.

The same reading light in crawl-in berth works fine and voltage is 12.0.

All fuses are good. Checked all related fuses in two fuse panels behind dash and the one fuse panel in crawl-in berth. All are OK.

No other electrical problems on the boat.

What else should I check?

Thank you for any advice.

Joe
 
All fuses are good.
Click to expand...
How exactly did you check that? If you only did a visual inspection of the blade fuse it can be misleading by not seeing micro cracks or possible damage to the fuse metal bedded inside the sides of the fuse. To see if the fuse is good, you can use the probes on a multi-meter to check if you are truly getting a full 12V thru the fuse. With the fuse installed, ground the MM probe, then use the other probe to touch each side of the fuse and get your readings. Its possible you see 12V on one side and 3 on the other if there is some type of resistance in the fuse. Others can correct / add to this. HTH, Gary
 
I visually inspected at first; then I replaced the fuses with new ones. No change in voltage at the V-berth light's wires.

However, I did not check voltage at the fuse panel. And, if the voltage at the panel is low, then what?

I will do that today.

Thank you!!

Joe
 
Dont forget to check the return loop (ground), every circuit has a ground. Corrosion at a ground termination point will cause high resistance and low voltage. Everyone forgets the ground side. If you have a long enough jumper wire you can test to see if its the positive or negative side that has the issue. Temporarily connect one end of a jumper wire to a known 12V positive source, use your meter to check between the ground side of the light and the jumper wire. You should get 12V.
 
Boy oh Boy, this is getting frustrating. 🙂

I used my VOM to test voltage at the fuse panel; both sides read 12.24V, in fact all the fuses on that panel test 12V both sides. And all the other lights on that panel are working fine.

A bad or corroded ground affecting the light V-berth sounds like a likely culprit, but at the fixture site (I have removed the light fixture) I have two (2) wires coming out of the overhead, one is white and one is black. That's all.

I think one (black) is hot carrying the voltage and the other is a return wire (likely the white one). Correct?

I'll connect the black to a good ground and see what voltage I get.

I'll go back to the boat, and check the voltage with the black and white wires connected to a good ground. The VOM connected to the black and white wires is reading 3.4V. Not enough voltage to power up the lights.

Should there also have been a ground (likely green) wire at the fixture?

Thank you guys for taking the time to help me problem solve this electrical issue.

Joe
 
Boats are usually black for ground but unsure of the Ranger stuff and unlike AC circuits DC circuits don't have the green Neutral wire. Just the ground and positive wires.
 
You should look at the R23 owners guide and the electrical and lighting diagrams if you haven't. If the same year as your boat the reading lights (switched at the light) are all on the same circuit using BLU/BRN for positive and Yellow for ground.
 
Ok, tested hot (+) from fuse panel to black wire at fixture and got 4.1 Volts, was expecting 12Volts: suggests faulty ground.

Tested negative (-) from fuse panel to black wired at fixture and got 0.0 Volts, as expected.

Today, I want to test with jumper wire from panel's ground connection to fixture's white or hot, and see if I get 12V with my VOM. Sound right?

So, to my limited marine electrical mind, it seems as if a ground connection for the V-berth switchable lights is faulty, and this fault must be affecting both V-berth lights because both will not work, and only get 3 to 4 Volts.

I imagine I can trace the port and starboard black wires back to locate the common ground connection both lights share and clean it or tighten it. Failing that, which seems probable, I can try and run a new wire from the ground connection in the fuse panel to both fixture locations.

I do have and have looked at the wiring diagrams for my 2019 R23, but they are not detailed enough to see where the actual wiring is routed in the boat. It does provide color coding for the wiring, although I don't recall it at the moment.

Thanks for you continuing advice and suggestions, :idea:

Joe
 
On my 2021 R-23, the negatives (sometimes called grounds) are accessed in the head, below the fold down positive wood panel. Mine is a panel with 4 screws.

My guess is that you will have a loose screw on the ground connection. You can either locate it based on continuity, or just tighten all the screws. There’s a bunch of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have always used Fluid Film on all my electrical stuff. On really important stuff you can use proper terminal grease but I spray fluid film on everything. You can even use it on the underside of your car to prevent rust. I put that Sh*t on everything. 🙂
 
Thanks for that advice. I have been using the ground connections that are below the fuse panel, and they look new. However, I will check for a loose connection on all those various terminals today.

I use a similar product to coat all my metal and electrical connections, although I have not yet applied any to this boat.

I'll post results if I find any loose connections in the 'ground panel.'

Thanks guys,

Joe
 
Problem resolved:
I did all I could with my amateur electician knowledge, then when I was about to simply run a new hot wire to the light fixtures, I injured my foot - now in a cast, and not safe to climb aboard the boat.
So, I hired a marine electrician. We reviewed the problem and all I had tested, and he agreed that what I did was correct procedure. I told him my next step was simply to re-wire the light (hot wire only inasmuch as ground was intact).
After about an hour on the boat, he called to tell me he had to re-wire as we had discussed.
Now, I have 12V at the light fixtures -- hooray!
He added that the hot wire comes up from below decks from battery area in the stern, stops off at port light, then goes all the way around the bow of the boat (!) to the starboard light. Somewhere below decks before reaching the port light there was a short in the hot wire, resulting in low voltage. He surmised this has always been the case on this boat, and the short likely occurred during construction.
So, I called the previous owner (original owner) and asked if the V-berth lights had ever worked. Guess what, he said no! He never got it fixed because he never used the boat for cruising or overnights.
In any event, it's all nominal and in the green now and functional.
Thanks again to all who replied with words of help and advice,
Doc Joe
 
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