Wiring Dock Lights

I am trying to wire two Optronics dock lights on the front of my boat. The two lights each have a positive white wire and a negative black wire. The positive white wires are connected together and run to a lighted 3 prong switch that will go on the dash and turn the lights on and off. The two negative wires are supposed to be grounded. In addition to the white wire that connects to the lighted switch a positive red wire with an in-line fuse goes from the switch to the positive terminal on my battery. A third black wire running from the switch is supposed to be grounded. In summary there are three wires running from the switch. One is a black ground wire, the second is a red positive wire with an in-line fuse going directly to the positive terminal of my battery and the third is a positive white wire that runs directly to my lights. The described set-up matches the instructions received with the lights and I have confirmed with Optronics that this is the correct set-up.

With the above set-up I get nothing. The lights do not work and the switch does not light up. If I touch all three black wires to the negative terminal on the battery, the switch lights up and both lights come on. Unfortunately the wires also spark and get very hot. If I touch the negative wire from the switch to the negative battery terminal, the switch lights up but the two lights do not. If I touch either or both of the negative wires from the lights to the negative battery terminal, either or both will light but the switch does not light up.

Everything else on boat works (bilge, trolling motor, running lights, live well pump, etc....).

Any ideas what the problem is or where I can seek a solution?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like your crossed up at the switch there mate. Just quickly I'd say you have your hot and ground reversed at the switch. Unless I'm missing something.
Don't forget to put that fuse down at the source end of the hot lead or it is not protecting you like it should. If you have multiple leads coming off your battery put in a fuse block with a single (properly sized) lead to it instead of all those little leads coming off.

 

Thanks

I will try it tonight and advise.
Thanks.
GC

 

Well, unfortunately reversing the hot and ground at the switch did not solve the problem. I tested switch and it seems to be fine and lights work. Any other ideas? Am I just not getting a good "ground" connection? This is a painted aluminum boat. Should I scrape off some paint or put a screw in and attach the ground wires to the screw? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
GC

 

The wires will spark if you connect them to the battery. Also, they get hot because the connection is poor. From your description, I understand that the black wires were not connected to the negative side with crimped ends and a screw or nut.

 

Ok Lets start from the beginning. Do you have the Negative wire from the lights running back to the negative on your battery? What is the make of the switch? Usually the positive pole of the pilot light is internal? Are you using your hull as a ground. I don't do that on aluminum boats but some builders seem to think it is OK. I prefer a floating ground...all negatives run back to negative pole of battery.
Make sure all contacts are good as Gonzo says or you will just run incircles.Make sure you are using color coded wire and not reversing the poles inadvertantly somewhere.

 

Thanks for your help. I have been trying to use the hull as a ground but have not been successful. The switch came with the lights so I assume it is made by Optronics. It is a 3 pronged, lighted, rocker switch. If I run all three negatives (one from each light and one from the switch) to the negative pole of the battery everything works (both lights and the switch). Unfortunately, the wires "get hot" in this situation. Gonzo's response seems to indicate that this is due to a poor connection. Is it OK to "ground" all three to the negative battery terminal? If so, I think all I need to do is solder the three together and attach them to an alligator clip.
GC

 

No ..don't use an alligator clip unless it is just for testing and don't solder...use crimp connections. and put a terminal strip with some black or yellow # 10 wire from the battery to the terminals on the neg side and a fuse block for the pos side, and using red #10 wire. Leave the pilot light wire out of the picture first and try everything. Watch to see if it heats up. If so you either have resistance (bad connection) or the poles reversed somewhere. When you connect a wire to the battery that already has a load, in other words, the lights are connected and the switch is on, you will get a small arc or blue spark as you touch the wires. If it is a big audible zzzaaappp...you have a short. That is dangerous for many reasons. One is that the spark can ignite an explosion if your batteries are charging and gassing off. Be careful!
The very best thing for you to do is get a book on the subject or hire a pro to help you or do the job for you.

 

Think of electricity flow as water going through a hose (in this case electrons through a conductor)

If you're getting hot wires, yet the system is working properly (this is what I'm reading from your posts), you've likely got to gauge up the wire (ease the resistance by using a bigger hose), unless you are doing something fundamentally incorrect, which would probably cause the lights to pop a fuse or not work correctly.

Cut the wires a few inches short of the lights and crimp in replacements of heavier gauge. Run the hots directly to the switch where you will have to insert the two hots from the lights into one crimp connector, so that it can be attached to the switch. Run the grounds from the lights and the switch back to the battery. Now run the hot "feed" from the battery to the only remaining leg on the back of the switch.

Typically the new lamp assemblies are 5 amps or less, which is usually over wired with 12 or 14 gage AWG (which is bigger then SAE) Even the new 50 W halogens draw less then 5 amps. The likelihood of needing to upgrade the wire gauge seems unnecessary. How big is this boat? Voltage drop = current (12 VDC) x length (round trip) x ohms per foot (gauge specific) Typical AWG specs for these common gauges are 16 - 4, 14 - 2.5, 12 - 1.75, 10 - .98 per 1000 feet. So if this boat has some length, voltage drop could be the problem and gauging up the wire size can solve this.

Frankly, Exaigre, this is a very simple circuit and problem solving it takes more time to type then to test while on board with a few simple checks and some application of a meter. This also wouldn't be the first time a company sold a product that had a defective part or two inside causing a problem. You may have a bad lamp assembly or switch. This isn't that uncommon, a pain in the butt, sure, but not that unusual. Some warmth in the wires is normal, especially as the lamps warm up to operating temperatures. The wire is rated to 600 degrees (I think) so they can handle a little heat. As the device (lights) come up to operating temp, the draw isn't as bad and the wire will cool somewhat. In any case you'd be best advised to have someone familiar with electrical systems take a look see. If I was there (I'm about 3 hours from the GA line on I-75 or I-95) it would take just a few moments with a tester and meter to find the issue(s) with your lights.

P.S. don't use the boat as the ground . . .

 

What is the watts of each bulb? What is the distance from the lights to the battery? What is the distance from the lights to the switch? Do you have a fuse or a breaker panel within 6' of the light switch? Are you good at estimating or reading the wire size of the lights supplied wires? Let me know these values, and we will finish it off.