Refrigerator AC/DC?

[wileecoyote]

Your confusing me Ronald! All my lights next to the breakers are fine. See how bright the amber lights are in the pic on the A/C section of the board? On the lower section the 2 amber lights flicker all the time. When I turn to Ship to run on genny they light up just as the top ones do. I'm assuming the first issue could be cords, which I swapped, second guess would be the plug outlet on the side of the boat isn't 100%.

I guess he fixed the fridge and we are just continuing with our own personal conversation!:smt021:smt043

Mark
If they work with the genny and not with shore power than it's not a dead panel light. If they NEVER both work it's likely a dead light bulb. 1/2 of my lights on the AC side are dead or flicker. Assuming all three lights work, than it's probably the connections in the shore power tower that are crossed.

 

[rondds]

Mark
OK, the top part of your panel stays lit when on shore power and with gen on. The bottom part the two ambers flicker all the time? Or only on shore power? What I'm saying is that if they flicker they neon bulb is probably dying. If they only flicker on shore power it could be some funky stuff going on where you plug your shore power in. These neon bulbs have a finite life span and when they are in the winter of their life, they start flickering.

 

[NorCal Boater]

I'm not good enough with electricity to know for sure if this makes a difference but on my boat shore power is 30 amp and the genny (when it works) is 50 amps. Think that matters?

I just want to replace them all with LEDs.

 

[wileecoyote]

Flicker all the time on shore power but never on genny.
Shawn, that's a good point, I hadn't even considered that. If I had the specs on th original bulb I would definatly look into LEDs. If they are some type of neon like Ron is saying, must be a special use only.

Mark
OK, the top part of your panel stays lit when on shore power and with gen on. The bottom part the two ambers flicker all the time? Or only on shore power? What I'm saying is that if they flicker they neon bulb is probably dying. If they only flicker on shore power it could be some funky stuff going on where you plug your shore power in. These neon bulbs have a finite life span and when they are in the winter of their life, they start flickering.

 

[Lucky's]

OK, I doubled checked mine...and nothing! There is not a switch on my dash for the refrig, and my panel in the cabin is for 120ac only! However, every where I look including Sea Ray's original spec sheet for my model says it is there. Not an option, but a feature! If there's no visible switch to go from 120 to 12v, how am I supposed to run it on 12v?? Anyone else have this where you have no visible switches for the 12v fridge?

 

[rondds]

Getting back to panel lights and the previous hijack, pictured at the top of this photo is the part number for a neon replacement from Radio Shack for the 120v panel lights. It is a red "Top Hat" light, as opposed to the flat ones featured by Searay. It is neon and they come 2 in a pack for about $3.50. Just below the part number are two dead SR neons that I took out. Below that is an LED replacement ordered from www.ledtronics.com. Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong voltage LED (notice the 28v stamp - duh) so I can't tell you about the brightness, but I can tell you it fits the hole like a glove.

This pic below shows the 120V top-hats from Radio Shack tentatively wired in place. They fit the hole just OK and are bright enough. But they are not flat.

This is a shot of the back of the hinged panel - the white tubes are the SR lights, the red one is the Radio Shack neons and the black one is the LED one. I just stuck it in there to se how it would fit, and the 8mm (aka 5/16") fits perfectly.

This is the front of the panel with the normal amber SR light at the top, the LED light beneath that (green) and the RS neon top hat below that (red). No, I'm not going for the Christmas tree look. This is purely for demonstrational purposes. My plan is to replace all the AC SR neons with the correct voltage LEDs from ledtronics. What color I'll use I'm not sure. They do not have amber so I'd have to make a change. They ain't particularly cheap in comparison to the RS neons, but in the grand scheme of what we spend on these boats, ya gotta say WTF. Here's the link to the site...
http://www.ledtronics.com/products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=C368K1126

BTW, they do make 12v variations of these same LEDs if you wanted to replace your 12v panel lights with LEDs. No vested interest in the company but Kurt over there was very helpful and patient.

 

[rondds]

What would be the best way to make these connections? I know soldering is a no-no and I like the idea of crimps with heat-shrink tubes, but there isn't much room to get all the connections in there and the leads have to make a sharp turn to connect back to the bus - crimp connector might make that difficult.

 

[AKBASSKING]

What would be the best way to make these connections? I know soldering is a no-no and I like the idea of crimps with heat-shrink tubes, but there isn't much room to get all the connections in there and the leads have to make a sharp turn to connect back to the bus - crimp connector might make that difficult.

If you use the crimps and shrink-wrap, be careful not to overheat it and watch where you are pointing the flame.

BTW thanks for the link as I have some bilge lights out and they need to be replaced. I also have a job with the tape lights as they are all out.

 

[wileecoyote]

I can't understand why Solder is a No No? I have heard it explained that the stresses cause the solder to break and fall away, or they can't handle the flexing, but behind the panel. Someone please tell me why you can't solder on small items on a boat. I can't see how a soldered joint with heat shrink over it is any worse than a crimped joint with heat shrink.
And, I'm certain that the wires on the lights are not tinned for marine wiring, so there goes that argument. For things like fixing the coffee maker or a cabin light I like to solder and use heat shrink with sealer. Just my .02

What would be the best way to make these connections? I know soldering is a no-no and I like the idea of crimps with heat-shrink tubes, but there isn't much room to get all the connections in there and the leads have to make a sharp turn to connect back to the bus - crimp connector might make that difficult.