Light upgrades

[LS1boarder]

1 minute ago, hawaiianstyln said:

haaaaa man I wish!  I'm in the Maumee River (Toledo, OH) which as @oldjeep said it well a few weeks back on another post, "suddenly i'm craving to drink some chocolate milk"

HAHA, ohh yeah I know exactly where that is. I grew up in Tecumseh, MI. So, we’re both consistently enjoying the chocolate water. 

[gregtay]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:24 AM, hawaiianstyln said:

So, I used a regular 5/8 drill bit because I didn't want to go all the way through the hull with a 5/8" hole as it was not needed.  Plus a hole saw would only work if you go all the way through.  I only needed a 1/4" hole to fish the wire through the hull.  My thinking was that more could go wrong or leak with a bigger hole versus a smaller.  That is why I went half way with the 5/8 bit so that the back of the light could seat against the transom properly.  If this makes sense.  If you need to measure what truly is "half way" through the hull, remove your OEM lights and wiring and stick a paperclip through the hole of previous wiring.  then mark with a piece of tape to figure out your true depth.  Once I found the thickness of the transom I put a piece of tape on my 5/8' drill bit and went at it.

I'm not going to use the factory wiring because factory had hooked these lights up to my MUX controller setting for "interior lights"  So any time I was running the boat at night with interior lights on, I'm susceptible to getting pulled over running the boat with underwater lights on (I've been pulled over twice now, not ticket fortunately).  So I bought a DPDT carling rocker switch to separate them.  As far as the waterproofing: I bought those new waterproof heatshrink connectors where you heat them up and also has solder at the connecting points that melts when you heat it all up to shrink it.  Don't feel shy to ask more questions.

https://www.ebay.com/p/1480151669?iid=184275470709&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=184275470709&targetid=883069117886&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9016879&poi=&campaignid=9426387489&mkgroupid=95112702865&rlsatarget=aud-622524041238:pla-883069117886&abcId=1140476&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI99Cg4dqa6QIVUb7ACh3X_wAREAQYAyABEgL41PD_BwE

What length screws did you use to mount the lights?  And guessing just a little 5200 for the holes and all is good.  Finally going to get around to my install.

[hawaiianstyln]

13 minutes ago, gregtay said:

What length screws did you use to mount the lights?  And guessing just a little 5200 for the holes and all is good.  Finally going to get around to my install.

honestly I can't remember the length, maybe 1.5".  I believe I used 4200 on the holes, dunked the boat the following weekend no issues or leaks.

[gregtay]

Looks like the underwater light harness in my boat has both the male and female connectors with the wire taps from the light side just plugged with rubber seals.. so super easy to just use the water-tight connectors.

[Reider]

On 5/15/2020 at 8:44 AM, gregtay said:

Looks like the underwater light harness in my boat has both the male and female connectors with the wire taps from the light side just plugged with rubber seals.. so super easy to just use the water-tight connectors.

Do you need to buy special pins for this?

[gregtay]

7 hours ago, Reider said:

Do you need to buy special pins for this?

Not sure what pins they need.. but yes, if you want to use the connector they need pins.  The lights come with bare wire.

[Reider]

17 hours ago, gregtay said:

Not sure what pins they need.. but yes, if you want to use the connector they need pins.  The lights come with bare wire.

Just curious.  I think when I do this I’ll just cut and splice my own connectors. Thanks for info

[gregtay]

49 minutes ago, Reider said:

Just curious.  I think when I do this I’ll just cut and splice my own connectors. Thanks for info

I will probably just do the same.  If the pins there in the harness I would use it but not work the challenge of finding the right ones. 

[justgary]

16 hours ago, gregtay said:

I will probably just do the same.  If the pins there in the harness I would use it but not work the challenge of finding the right ones. 

Or ask Malibu/your dealer for the part number.

That looks like it could be a standard Weather Pack connector.  Can you show a few more photos?  Are the female sockets round or square?

When you disconnect it, does it look like this?  https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Packard-Weatherpack-Terminal-16-14/dp/B004DVM7RG

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, justgary said:

Or ask Malibu/your dealer for the part number.

That looks like it could be a standard Weather Pack connector.  Can you show a few more photos?  Are the female sockets round or square?

When you disconnect it, does it look like this?  https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Packard-Weatherpack-Terminal-16-14/dp/B004DVM7RG

Those are the right connectors, expensive from that vendor though. The same connectors are used on the cabin lighting if you're looking to change the cabin colors. There's actually a crimper for those pins that is < $100. You could use butt connectors but I don't like any sort of connector that allows moisture into the connection, especially on a boat. Over time it will corrode and cause you problems. If you're going to cut off the Weatherpak connector, solder and shrink wrap the wires. Use the shrink wrap with the sealant inside.

 

[justgary]

3 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Those are the right connectors, expensive from that vendor though. The same connectors are used on the cabin lighting if you're looking to change the cabin colors. There's actually a crimper for those pins that is < $100. You could use butt connectors but I don't like any sort of connector that allows moisture into the connection, especially on a boat. Over time it will corrode and cause you problems. If you're going to cut off the Weatherpak connector, solder and shrink wrap the wires. Use the shrink wrap with the sealant inside.

 

Thanks for confirming the parts are basically Aptive Metri-Pack Series 150.  I wasn't suggesting that kit per se, just showing all of the parts in the same view.

Male pins are good to 14 Amps.  Mouser part number 829-12077628,  https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Aptiv-formerly-Delphi/12077628-L?qs=DlE0rdXB%2FL2cvGLUNFIpnA%3D%3D  Edit:  This is the flat pin.  Sorry.  I'll try to find the round one.

Wire seals 15324979 should work.  https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Aptiv-formerly-Delphi/15324979?qs=TcI%2BB%2FoBdJusQHfG6GuKnQ%3D%3D

The iWiss SB-28B crimper has jaws that are slightly narrow, but will do the job if you move the connector over a touch and take a second crimp.  Not sure of this vendor or shipping rates.  I think I paid about $35 for mine.  https://www.crimpingtools.com/products/sn-28b-ratchet-terminal-crimper

Edited May 18, 2020 by justgary
Wrong part number

[justgary]

The round pins are Mouser 829-12124582 for 18-12 gauge wire.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Aptiv-formerly-Delphi/12124582-L?qs=DlE0rdXB%2FL1GlixGBDWw2Q%3D%3D

[asnowman]

So i just got around to installing my underwater lights. We put the waterdragon 12's on our 2019 25 LSV, used the factory connections and they work.

But there's an issue. On my dash i added them, and they turn on, but the bubble doesn't light up yellow like it does for all the other lights, AND they won't turn off. Never experienced an issue like that before. Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix that?

[phinz]

22 hours ago, asnowman said:

So i just got around to installing my underwater lights. We put the waterdragon 12's on our 2019 25 LSV, used the factory connections and they work.

But there's an issue. On my dash i added them, and they turn on, but the bubble doesn't light up yellow like it does for all the other lights, AND they won't turn off. Never experienced an issue like that before. Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix that?

I just picked up the same light in blue from The Trailer Shoppe ($140 each). Now my question is what size screws did you use and what did you use to seal the holes?

[store934]

On 8/1/2020 at 10:22 AM, asnowman said:

So i just got around to installing my underwater lights. We put the waterdragon 12's on our 2019 25 LSV, used the factory connections and they work.

But there's an issue. On my dash i added them, and they turn on, but the bubble doesn't light up yellow like it does for all the other lights, AND they won't turn off. Never experienced an issue like that before. Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix that?

I had to wire in a relay for my LifeForm 9s because they would not turn off either.

Edited August 2, 2020 by store934

[asnowman]

1 hour ago, store934 said:

I had to wire in a relay for my LifeForm 9s because they would not turn off either.

Did that solve the problem so they would turn off from the dash screen?

[store934]

21 hours ago, asnowman said:

Did that solve the problem so they would turn off from the dash screen?

Yes.  I could not turn my lights off on the screen.    Using the relay solved that problem. 

[Kseiter]

My boat (2021 M240) has white and I want to swap for the blue light. Reading through this thread it wasn't clear if the RGB swap would be an option for a OEM solution. If I put the RGB in would I be able to control them from the touch screen like the rest of my lights? This isn't a factory option (white or blue only) so wasn't sure.

Obviously referring to the under water lights...

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Kseiter

[Bdeppen]

On 8/5/2020 at 1:05 PM, Kseiter said:

My boat (2021 M240) has white and I want to swap for the blue light. Reading through this thread it wasn't clear if the RGB swap would be an option for a OEM solution. If I put the RGB in would I be able to control them from the touch screen like the rest of my lights? This isn't a factory option (white or blue only) so wasn't sure.

Obviously referring to the under water lights...

 

I would assume you could tap into your RGB wires to the existing lights but you would probably want to add an RGB amplifier. 
 

https://boatpluglight.com/collections/accessories/products/rgb-amplifier-only

[Sharpag01]

Installed a new pair of the Tecniq M50 underwater lights on my 2012 MXZ, now they wont turn off with the MTC unless you kill the batter disconnect.  They draw about 5A each.  Would anyone mind sharing the details on the added relay to fix this issue?