1989 280 Sundancer Cabins do not work no power to switch

[gman280exp]

hey everyone. I'm new to the club. This is my 4th boat but my first searay.

My cabin lights have done some strange things all summer. I turn on the cabin light switch on the dash when I arrive at the boat. I go down below and turn a light on. If I turn on more than one light for more than 15 min they all go out. I have to go up to the cock pit and turn off the switch for 30 min before they will come back on.

Then yesterday they went out again, but now a new twist. On the dash the cabin switch is grouped with two other switches. Cabin, Indierct Lighting, and Bilge Lights. I have lost function of all three. I let her charge all night with everything off and still nothing this morning. Any ideas? I am really unfamiliar with SeaRay's design's and methods, but I am impressed with what I've seen so far.any insight is appreciated.

 

[Lazy Daze]

In that era of Sea Ray's, you likely have circuit breakers on the dash? It sounds like the breaker is getting tired. Typically the breaker will pop and you would have to reset it, but it sounds like you are not doing that. Sometimes, though, it can partially pop and then when it cools down it resets. The other option that I can think of is that a previous owner changed the lights and they now draw too much current or messed with the wiring and used a wire gauge that is too small. Check the wiring behind the switches (also check for clean/tight), and if all is good, try swapping the breaker with a known good one.

 

[gman280exp]

You're definitely correct. The breaker is not popping but my first thought was if it was overheating it could be shutting down. At this point I don't think anything is been messed with all the bulbs seem to be OK and of the right size. I am going to look into converting to LED so that I draw less energy. I'm thinking because they lost all three that the breaker itself is shot. The breaker is the typical little round breaker with a little white round cylinder that pops out if it's blown you push it back in and all is well. Any recommendation on how I find out where to purchase a good breaker? I've only had 12 V breaker switches before never the pushbutton type

 

[Lazy Daze]

Correct, the white button will pop out. They're very easy to find and cheap. If you don't have an actual marine store near you, try BOE Marine (the host of Club Sea Ray). To make sure you get the right thing, pull it out and look at the ID label on it. You don't necessarily have to get the same brand name, but names like Blue Seas and Cole Hersee will be your higher-end brands. Offhand, though, I'm not sure if CH makes that type of breaker.

 

[gman280exp]

I pulled the schematic from SeaRay and found that it's a 20amp push button breaker. I found one on Amazon made by blue sea systems, but it seems large. I'm still trying to navigate this site as I am new to it. How do look at BOE Marine's catalog?

 

[gman280exp]

Hey GREAT NEWS! It was indeed the breaker. Thank you for the insight. It was very helpful. I had it fixed in ten minutes, just in time to crack open a cold one and deal with an emergency holding tank issue. Quick got a little messy. LOL