Nav light not working

[Ron Burgundy]

My green Nav light is not working. I looked at the bulb and it dosen't appear to be burnt out. My red light works fine so I assume that should rule out a blown fuse. Correct? I suppose I need to check for lose connections. I wanted to ask first if there are any usual suspects that cause the light to not work before I started messing around with my wires.

[jrolin1]

Corrosion is the usual suspect. If you have a meter hook it up to see if you have juice.

[dockholiday]

I have had bulbs that appear to be okay, but later found out it was the bulb. If you don't have a spare bulb use the one that is working in the socket, also help determine if it is bulb or socket issue or both

doc

[STEVEBRENDA]

Our green is real finicky. It will not work until you smack it with a paddle, then it works fine.

These bulbs seem to get real hot. I am planning on switching over to LED's if the price ever becomes affordable.

[GregF]

Corrosion in the socket is #1 suspect. Then you start working your way back to the switch. Look at splices along the way. The best way to wire these is to use "home run" wiring all the way from the light to the switch so you have no splices under the boat. I have all my wiring in conduit so it doesn't get wet. I could also pull the wire out and replace it without going under the boat.

[Thommes]

Try taking some high grit sand paper to the inside of the socket to clean it. As others have said, try another bulb even if it looks ok. Then try the bulb from the green nav in the socket for the red nav just to make sure the green nav bulb does work.

Nothing is worse than not knowing you have two problems.

[Ron Burgundy]

Thanks for the tips guys. I stopped by the boat today but only had time to check my lines. We are getting some pretty big tide swings, and my in-laws are out of town so nobody is babysitting the boat. Next time I go I'll check for corrosion and maybe give it a good whack with my paddle. I want to get ready for my my first full moon run on the pontoon.

[badmoonrising]

Take a test light with you, it'll take you 2 seconds to determine if you have power at the socket or not.

[jafo9]

get a decent multimeter. its a must if you are going to trouble shoot any electrical stuff on the boat, car, house, etc. turn of the lights and start at the bulb socket. if you got juice there, voila. bad bulb or connection. you can also check the resistance of the bulb. if you don't have any juice you can work your way back till you find 12v.

[GregF]

I vote with BMR, for fixing something like this. A good test light is all you need and they hold up a lot better than a meter in a tool box.
I have a half dozen meters all the way from $400 Flukes to $4 Harbor Freights but I carry a test light on the boat.

[Ron Burgundy]

Hold on a minute...Greg and BMR agree on something...Something's fishy...

Thanks for the tip. My father in-law who was a lifelong carpenter is up north for a month so I'll check his garage for a test light. I love when they go away for a little while. That's when I borrow all his tools and do my DIY projects

...Anyone want to rent a waterfront home for a month.

[GregF]

Sometimes. even on a circuit this simple, it is good to draw it out on paper and note what you see at the various points.

If you take the time to map all of your wiring and put it on a laminated sheet, you can make future troubleshooting a lot easier.
I have a little DOS charting program that still runs on XP and it makes drawing these on the PC very easy

http://gfretwell.com/ftp/RFFLOW.ZIP

There are a few diagrams I have drawn in there to get an idea what you can do.

[Ron Burgundy]

I finally got around to checking out my green nav light, and I'm still not sure the problem. The bulb isn't burnt, and I didn't have a light tester with me, but even if I did I'm not sure where to place the electrodes on this light. I twisted the bulb pretty hard to get it out. I thought it might break, but it didn't. Now I can't get it to go back in. I'm not sure if I took it out improperly. There is some greenish corrosion on the light and socket.

[Red555]

......There is some greenish corrosion on the light and socket.

Replace the bulb and clean and treat the socket. Use 'Cramoline' or some other electrical contact treatment to prevent future corrosion. you can use a stiff bristle brush or fine grit sandpaper if you are going to treat it. If not, clean the socket with a clean pencil eraser and blow it out.

[PlaynDoc]

Check your trailer tire pressure. Once you find how messed up that is, you'll forget all about the light.