Replacing incandescent lights with LEDs

[wrvond]

I have five 1141 lamps I want to convert to LEDs. I have replaced approximately 24 1141 bulbs in my camper with LEDs that work perfectly. No problems over the past year. I had two LEDs left over from the conversion, so I plugged them into a couple lights on the boat. Neither LED worked. I took them into the camper and they worked fine. So now I'm baffled.
The camper uses 1141 bulbs and the LEDs work perfectly. The boat uses 1141 bulbs and the LEDs don't work.

Any ideas?

 

[alldodge]

Did you try flipping them and see if they work?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Test the outlet for proper polarity. Someone could have wired the sockets backward

 

[wrvond]

Did you try flipping them and see if they work?

I did, even though I knew it wouldn't make any difference since they are a single contact base. I guess I should have included a picture or two of the bulbs and LEDs with their bases. I checked and rechecked, and the bases are identical. I can't think of a single reason they wouldn't work. Up to this point, other types of bulbs have worked just fine.

Here's some pics:

 

[wrvond]

Test the outlet for proper polarity. Someone could have wired the sockets backward

​I tested the LEDs in five different sockets, but it's still a good idea. I will do that in the morning for sure.

 

[dingbat]

Test the outlet for proper polarity. Someone could have wired the sockets backward

Yep. LED are polarity sensitive

 

[wrvond]

Test the outlet for proper polarity. Someone could have wired the sockets backward

​Amazingly, all the 1141 type sockets on this boat are wired backwards (negative 12vdc on the base contact). Who does this sort of thing? :facepalm:

 

[Scott Danforth]

​Amazingly, all the 1141 type sockets on this boat are wired backwards (negative 12vdc on the base contact). Who does this sort of thing? :facepalm:

Low paid employees who don't care

 

[GA_Boater]

Low paid employees who don't care

More like supervisors and inspectors. The low paid guys just do as they're told or shown.

An easy 2 wire swap should fix it. That's the good news.

 

[gm280]

On any circuit, whether an AC house circuit or a DC vehicle circuit, the grounds, returns and neutrals will always be the larger prongs and bases. The hots will be the smallest. It makes total sense if you think about it too.

 

[wrvond]

Low paid employees who don't care

​One or two, I can see, especially when they are physically close to each other, but these are located in the port side water locker, the stbd side shore power locker, the head, and the aft berth are all wired backwards. I find that hard to understand.

 

[bruceb58]

​One or two, I can see, especially when they are physically close to each other, but these are located in the port side water locker, the stbd side shore power locker, the head, and the aft berth are all wired backwards. I find that hard to understand.

Because with an incandescent bulb it works either way.

 

[Grandad]

I think consistency is a sign of a worker who does care, but in this case is poorly informed or wrongly directed. - Grandad

 

[wrvond]

I think consistency is a sign of a worker who does care, but in this case is poorly informed or wrongly directed. - Grandad

You may very well be right.
In this case, when I pulled the fixtures out I found each fixture has two wires - one white and one black (pretty standard), while the boats wires are white and purple. In each case the whites were connected and purple/black were connected.
So maybe the fault actually lies with the manufacturer of the lights who decided white was the low side.
In any event, they are all switched and I have excellent cabin lighting at a fraction of the current draw.
I still need to replace the navigation/anchor lights and two courtesy lights and I'll be all done with lighting.

 

[bruceb58]

So maybe the fault actually lies with the manufacturer of the lights who decided white was the low side.

For RVs, the white is the low side and that is what likely caused the problem when wired up by the boat manufacturer.

 

[wrvond]

For RVs, the white is the low side and that is what likely caused the problem when wired up by the boat manufacturer.

Absolutely right. I had forgotten that.