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Led Tower Light Help


board brained

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ok, added 2 LED tower lights last year. they worked great...so great I wanted 2 more.

wired them in exactly as the first 2 and on their separate dash switch so i can turn 2 on at a time.

hit the switch and on they came. problem is when I turn on the original 2 (so all 4 on) .... both port side lights flash off and on?

turn either pair off and they work perfect?

so I changed the ground....nothing, all 4 on and the port side flash....

changed the power lead to the second set (pulled it from the other side)...nothing, when all 4 on the 2 on the port side seem to flash back and forth off and on?

any advice or things I need to look at?

thanks

Shawn

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I think so

I have pulled from different switches re the power and ground loop

I have not yet run a direct ground as I am not sure if the ground wires all go back to one? but would this matter?

and yes they have there own switches with separate power leads

You say they have their own 12v+/ground/switch for each set?

Edited by board brained
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Have you tried the lights on the LOW setting, they have the LOW/MED/HIGH blue botton on the back of the light. Trying to see if there is an overload for some reason. You're going to have to make sure each switch has it's own 12v+/12v-. You probably already checked but your battery isn't dead is it?

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battery is reading 12.2

I will try the settings on the lights

Have you tried the lights on the LOW setting, they have the LOW/MED/HIGH blue botton on the back of the light. Trying to see if there is an overload for some reason. You're going to have to make sure each switch has it's own 12v+/12v-. You probably already checked but your battery isn't dead is it?

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so it is over load I think.

I hooked direct 12 volt power and ground to the second set of lights and no issue both sets run fine.

guess I have to look into the dash power supplies......

Have you tried the lights on the LOW setting, they have the LOW/MED/HIGH blue botton on the back of the light. Trying to see if there is an overload for some reason. You're going to have to make sure each switch has it's own 12v+/12v-. You probably already checked but your battery isn't dead is it?

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so it is over load I think.

I hooked direct 12 volt power and ground to the second set of lights and no issue both sets run fine.

guess I have to look into the dash power supplies......

Nice job, looks like you probably found your issue.

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ya but interesting.......

i can put on everything on the dash, heater, 4 ballast bumps, bilge, interior lights, running lights, engine fan and one set of lights....no issues

but turn on just the 2 LED lights no matter where I pull the power from (other dash switches) the port side lights flash?

so i guess what i will do is run a separate power line in ( I am doing a big stereo upgrade next month) put an inline fuse and that is the way it needs to be

thought these light drew very little?

anyway thanks for the idea of running separate power it solved the issue

Nice job, looks like you probably found your issue.

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They do draw very little power. You'll have to trace the wires down, back from that second set. I'm sure the issue will be pretty obvious when you find it.

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not sure what it was.

I did note that when the key was off, they all worked, when the key was in the acc position they flashed, but when the key was in the on position they worked???

I ran a separate line and all is well now, works in every position

thanks for the help

I did check all the wires, no shorts I could find so it might be one of the universe mysteries that will never be solved........but it all works now, bring on the spring

Shawn

They do draw very little power. You'll have to trace the wires down, back from that second set. I'm sure the issue will be pretty obvious when you find it.

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i had the same thing with 4 sets of LED checkes all the wiring and found that i did wire it correct spent about 6 hours tracing everthing end up running out of time so headed for the lake and just thought i had a bad set of lights when i was out at the lake i tried the lights again all worked great i believe these lights need 12 volt+ outher wise they will flash. when the engine is running i have no problems!

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i had the same thing with 4 sets of LED checkes all the wiring and found that i did wire it correct spent about 6 hours tracing everthing end up running out of time so headed for the lake and just thought i had a bad set of lights when i was out at the lake i tried the lights again all worked great i believe these lights need 12 volt+ outher wise they will flash. when the engine is running i have no problems!

that can't be right though. How often do we want to run the led's with the engine on, I usually only turn mine on when we're anchored, tied-up, having a beer after dark. I can run a bunch of the led's I have with a 9volt battery...?

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Although LEDs are far more efficient than halogens for example, an ultrabright tower LED light or underwater LED light can still draw a couple of amps each. The amperage draw is directly proportional to the brightness so its very different from the step/courtesy/mood/speaker ring LED lighting that we commonly use which only draw a tiny fraction of the current.

DC bulbs will continue to dim and dim as you continue to lower the voltage. However, LEDs reach a narrow voltage window where they go from 'on' to 'off' in just a fraction of a volt.

So the wire gauge and caliber of electrical connection will really impact the resulting voltage drop.

When trouble shooting always check the voltage while the lighting accessory is 'on' and at the light rather than at the supply source. The two readings can be very different.

David

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Led interior lighting all the time with lights off. tower lights not so much, usually use them when docking or surfing when getting darker

i was told these things are sensitive to voltage........ and it could have been that the boat has been in the garage and not ran for about a month and I have had the stereo on while working on things

once I get back out on the water I will update as to what happens

that can't be right though. How often do we want to run the led's with the engine on, I usually only turn mine on when we're anchored, tied-up, having a beer after dark. I can run a bunch of the led's I have with a 9volt battery...?

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thanks for the note.....very helpful

Although LEDs are far more efficient than halogens for example, an ultrabright tower LED light or underwater LED light can still draw a couple of amps each. The amperage draw is directly proportional to the brightness so its very different from the step/courtesy/mood/speaker ring LED lighting that we commonly use which only draw a tiny fraction of the current.

DC bulbs will continue to dim and dim as you continue to lower the voltage. However, LEDs reach a narrow voltage window where they go from 'on' to 'off' in just a fraction of a volt.

So the wire gauge and caliber of electrical connection will really impact the resulting voltage drop.

When trouble shooting always check the voltage while the lighting accessory is 'on' and at the light rather than at the supply source. The two readings can be very different.

David

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Led interior lighting all the time with lights off. tower lights not so much, usually use them when docking or surfing when getting darker

i was told these things are sensitive to voltage........ and it could have been that the boat has been in the garage and not ran for about a month and I have had the stereo on while working on things

once I get back out on the water I will update as to what happens

Incase you're wondering each on of those lights will draw 1 amp at 12v on high, less obviously as you go to the lower intensity settings. They need a constant 12v minimum to operate correctly. Your battery must have been low.

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Incase you're wondering each on of those lights will draw 1 amp at 12v on high, less obviously as you go to the lower intensity settings. They need a constant 12v minimum to operate correctly. Your battery must have been low.

yes believe so

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  • 2 months later...

ok, added 2 LED tower lights last year. they worked great...so great I wanted 2 more.

wired them in exactly as the first 2 and on their separate dash switch so i can turn 2 on at a time.

hit the switch and on they came. problem is when I turn on the original 2 (so all 4 on) .... both port side lights flash off and on?

turn either pair off and they work perfect?

so I changed the ground....nothing, all 4 on and the port side flash....

changed the power lead to the second set (pulled it from the other side)...nothing, when all 4 on the 2 on the port side seem to flash back and forth off and on?

any advice or things I need to look at?

thanks

Shawn

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Bakes on line. They have discount for crew members. See web site for lumen ratings. I have the LED ones and love them, 3 intensity settings and you can get lens covers to make lights diff colors. Very well made,easy instal.

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