Stern And Bow Light Not Working

[JOEATMUZI]

My stern and bow light are not working on my 17' 1978 MFG. I just purchased it and everything else works fine. The fuse is intact. Should I run a new wire and go straight to the battery?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bilge Monkey]

Re: Stern And Bow Light Not Working

depends on how the existing wires look, take a volt meter with the switch on and see if your getting 12 volts at the bulbs.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: Stern And Bow Light Not Working

I think you need to do a little troubleshooting first. How do you know that both bulbs aren't burned out or the switch is defective or the connections aren't corroded? Get a meter or a test light and start at the fuse then the switch and then at the lights themselves to check for power.

 

[haskindm]

Re: Stern And Bow Light Not Working

You need to figure out what is wrong before you start running new wires. It could be blown bulbs, corroded sockets, a fuse that looks OK but is actually bad/corroded, bad switch, broken or disconnected wiring, corroded splice, etc. A few minutes with a meter and test light could save hours of unneeded work.

 

[marquette]

Re: Stern And Bow Light Not Working

i'm not trying to be funny but have you checked the bulbs? i had a trailer that one morning when i went to leave for the lake that my lights didn't work. i knew they had 3 days before that. so with both lights out i assumed it had to be a problem with the truck or trailer wiring. long story short, after abut an hour i checked the bulbs. both were burned out. so before you start rewiring the boat check for power to the sockets. and maybe the boat gods will be with you and it will be a simple repair. otherwise the simplist solution is "don't boat after dark" (that was supposed to be funny)

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Stern And Bow Light Not Working

This should help with the wiring aspect in case the bulbs actually are OK. The diagram below applies to a switch with six terminals. The next diagram uses a switch with three terminals. Check for 12 volts INTO the switch. Turn the switch on and check for 12 volts OUT of the switch. Then check for 12 volts at the bulb contacts. In other words, follow the juice. When you lose it you found the source of the problem.