problem w/ interior lights

[iron21]

hi, the 2 interior lights in my maxum are working very sporadically. After i hit the switch, they'll take up to a minute to actually turn on. I cant figure out why. The weird thing is all the other lights(bow, stern, etc) work fine, and light right up... any suggestions? <br /> Jamie

 

[jlinder]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Assume they are plain old incandescent bulbs, yes?<br /><br />If so, you need to get a cheap voltmeter and measure the voltage going to the bulb.<br /><br />If florescent you could have bulbs going bad.

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Are they flourescents and what voltage ?

 

[iron21]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

no they are not florescent. Just regular cheap 12v bulbs..

 

[Bearcamp]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Try changing the bulbs with one that works fine.

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

If it takes that long, you probably have a bad switch if both lights come on at the same time.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Sounds like you have corroded contacts in the switch. Is the switch part of the light fixture or is the switch external ? If you can get to the back of the switch, or the switch leads, I would "jump" across them and see if the light comes on immediately, if so...time to replace the switch.

 

[iron21]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

ok, thanks.. No the switch is not part of the light fixtures, it's mounted on the dash. I'll replace the switch and see what happens. Think maybe the wiring somewhere could be corroded as well?

 

[demsvmejm]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Not to worry you, but you need to find the cause and fix it. High resistance, ie corroded contacts and connections, causes high temperatures. Best case scenario is melted/shorted switch and wiring or blown fuses. Worst case scenario, and I 've seen both, is FIRE! <br />All the posts so far have been very sound advice, follow your replies and you should be good to go. Just replacing parts is not the way to go. You'll never find the true cause, just the result. Good luck.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: problem w/ interior lights

Jamie, I just mentioned the switch because I believe that is the most likely cause of failure. If it isn't the switch, you will have to do some circuit tracing with a volt meter. Had a similar problem with a Regal 290 last year....turned out that there is a multi pin wiring harness connection inside of the forward bulkhead that had a loose crimp on one of the pins......that one took some troubleshooting to find.