LED Lights Behind the Comming Pads

LED Lights Behind the Comming Pads

I would Like to change the lights behind the coming pads on my 1999 196. I am worried about them being too bright and lasting. Has anyone messed around with doing this and could give their experiences and what LED Product they used?

Thanks!

3 months until May!!!!!

Otto

Pete,

If I am remembering correctly from my engineering days, a LED will have a constant voltage drop, say around 0.7V. If the voltage difference is less than that, no light. If it is greater than that, light. Increasing the voltage doesn't change the brightness, current does.

So, if you connect them all in series, the last ones will get less voltage, and either be on or off.

If you want to change the brightness, I think you need to reduce the current. Using V=IR, this can be figured out...But it's probably just easier to buy LEDs designed for a specific voltage and brightness.

I replaced the old fashioned mini bulbs with LED strips in our boat. Worked fine. No issues. Simply wired up the LED strips to the existing light connections and all worked as it should have.

I know I posted pics on here somewhere.

The LED rope lighting looks similar to the factory incandescent rope lighting in my dad’s former ‘92. A small diode every 2” maybe? I used 10’ under each gunnel.

Picture here if you have the photobucket fix installed.

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16014&PN=29&title=another-bfn-rebuild

Went the led rope light route and am happy with the results. Not quite as intense as photo suggests.

75 Tique wrote: Went the led rope light route and am happy with the results. Not quite as intense as photo suggests.

Careful Larry... the light strips/tape are not the same as rope lighting. The latter encapsulates the led strips in a more robust, sealed (waterproof) tubing. The strips can be had pretty inexpensively but I suspect the rope will hold up in the marine environment a little better.

Pete, the title of the thread indicates LED- no cc knowledge necessary.

Can you share your mounting tips...e.g. where underneath you mounted them....how you mounted them...securing them every "x" inches...

Are you sure they are not too bright when you run them at night?

The stuff on a roll that Larry posted, I haven't used on my boat yet, but use under the lip or our swimming pool, and it's on the upper lip of our RV as well. They are sealed well, and hold up to the elements perfectly fine. THey also have 3M double sided tape already installed on the back, so you just peel off the backing, and stick it wherever you want. Another cool thing is you can cut the roll stuff any length you want..lights a little too long, just cut them off the length you want.

They are great IMO

Chris, was that me you were asking about mounting or Tim? If me, here is how I mounted mine.   Although they do have the sticky backs as reported, I doubt they are sticky enough to stick to the rough fiberglass under the gunnel, My boat has, not sure if the bigger or newer ones have, fiberglass supports scattered along under the gunnel.




(again, the photography makes it appear a little more intense that it actually is)

I stuck a 1/2 inch pvc frame in those supports and then stuck LED tape to those. I reinforced on regular intervals with zip ties. I have two, one down each side and half way across under the deck. They have wire terminals to hook up. I didnt want mine on all the time the running lights are on so they are on their own switch, hidden under the deck.   I understand what Tim was saying about durability compared to the rope lights . Just have to wait and see. Time will tell. I mounted mine early last summer and they survived one season. Like them so much, I have a coordinated set in the house, now.

I didn't buy the comming lights from Amazon, they were from an online marine supply (and American made) as was the NAV light replacement - I'll have to search for the link. But the ones I linked may not be bad as not all Chinese manufacturers make bad products - quite the opposite in fact. As with most things, a few bad apples always seem to ruin the batch!   The "cheap" ones I was referring to merely have an issue with their waterproof/ water resistance and thus may not last nearly as long in a wet environment.

The dash LED's were purchased from Amazon though and quite possibly of Chinese origin. Most of the older gauge lights are one standard size, T-10, although occasionally a smaller T-5. Both are available in LED replacements in a multitude of colors. Cost is very negligible with these so replacement is only a matter of the time it takes to pull the dash and replace one. Having said that, even the generic Chinese bulbs have been very reliable - I've had a complete set in my truck for many years and haven't had the need to replace them even once.

Stern anchor LED is a bit more illusive but I happened to find one at our local Authority Sports.

Dash LEDs

As far as the sticky tape LEDs like I used, (see ad above) they came with short wire leads (maybe a couple inches long). So you would need some extra wire. As mentioned above, I did not want them tied to my running lights, so I also had an extra switch in the mix (hidden under the dash, not mounted in the dash) Maybe you have an aux switch in the dash you could use. 12 volts, no converter needed. They did come with some terminal block you could use, but I didnt see a need for it.

Love the LED's. They really make the interior come alive. The wiring part of the install was very easy. It was more difficult getting the 1/2" PVC pipe substrate all situated and secured. Also, there was an ACC switch on the dash with a tidy little roll of wire behind the dash attached to the ACC switch. Thank you Correct Craft!