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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Your anchor light is on

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5368 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/23/2010 : 20:01:34

Last summer when my Power Squadron buddy was performing a safety check on <i>Passage</i>, he asked "how's your anchor light?"

Smugly I said, "checked it while she was on the hard -- working fine".

Of course, you can all guess what happened next: He said "show me", and confidently I flipped it on. Light did not come on. Flip - flip - flip - nada. No way. So, I did not pass my safety inspection.

Over the summer, I asked the Marina Yard Boss to change it out with a LED light -- but as summer came and went, he never got around to it, so I told him to fuggetabouddit.

Now today, the boat's back up on the hard, and a guy walks over and says, "I noticed your anchor light is on -- don't forget to shut it off or your battery will run down."

So what the HECK ?!?!? It was D-E-D over the summer. Now it's fine. Flip-flip-flip. No problemo - works like a champ.

Go figure.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - Voyager on 11/23/2010 20:01:58

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 11/23/2010 : 20:23:10

Just wait 'till you tank test your OB - all its problems will dissapear instantly as well.

Oh, and those leaks you were driven crazy by all summer - gonzo.

But the moment your keel kisses the faintest ripple on launch day, water will come pouring in, the OB will refuse to start, and your anchor light won't turn off. Then you'll really be screwed.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 11/23/2010 : 20:26:18

Like when you take your car to the shop to fix the thing that goes...

Now Bruce... were you going to leave the battery in there??

(If it's an AGM, that's fine.)

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 11/23/2010 : 20:59:07

If its non-AGM thats fine too, just be sure you keep your shore power plugged in all winter. The charger (assuming you have one) will keep it from freezing, and you will have more bench space in your shop. At least that seems to have worked fine for me - far better than forgetting to put a charge to the batteries once a month all winter.

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4023 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2010 : 06:02:44

I would guess that the bulb or connection is a little dirty and at the time of your inspection it wasn't making contact. You went sailing the rest of the year and pounded over a few waves sending a vibration up the mast and now it works. At the time of the inspection had you hit the mast with a rubber mallet or wiggled the plug I bet the light would have come on. Just my guess.

Edited by - islander on 11/24/2010 06:05:21

OJ
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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2010 : 06:14:15

Yepper, the first time we turned our lights on this summer, the stern light didn't work . . . so I tapped on the lens with my index finger and voila, it worked fine for the remainder of the summer. We will probably apply electrolytic grease to all the bulb sockets next spring - if we don't go to LED by then.

Edited by - OJ on 11/24/2010 06:15:33

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5368 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2010 : 20:56:49

The way things like this go is just mind boggling. Guess you can always count on things going wrong, especially if you want to prove a point.
OJ and Scott, I'll bet you're right about the corrosion loosening on the terminals -- rust never sleeps.

But I did try the light several time throughout the season -- you know, just in case. It always seemed to be dead.

Dave, I've left this battery in <i>Passage</i> for the past 3 winters. I keep it topped up using my two 18W solar panels and regulator. I frequently go out and work on things in and around Passage over the winter, so I need to power a few cabin lights, the FM radio and my iPod while I'm there.

Going on 4 years and the battery is still working fine.

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
Captain

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USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2010 : 11:06:48

I think Scott was right:

"You went sailing the rest of the year and pounded over a few waves sending a vibration up the mast and now it works."

Or in other words, "Sailing fixes everything."

Edited by - on

triley
Captain

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USA
251 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2010 : 17:55:45

The way life works!!!

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skrenz
Captain

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USA
351 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2010 : 16:01:10

Another possibility is that the plug for the wire in the mast to the outlet on the deck is corroded. I have a plug and socket made for that usage and don't even live in a saltwater area and I cannot keep the wire connections in the plug and socket and the plug terminals and socket receptors from corroding enough to fail contact. I spent one Saturday this summer taking everything apart, sanding and otherwise cleaning away whatever looked like corrosion and putting it all back together with electrical paste. Worked that evening but the next week, nada.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5368 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2010 : 17:51:39

Steve, that's a constant problem in saltwater, so it's definitely worth checking.

Last summer, right after I flunked the safety check, I flipped on the switch and popped open the back of the plug. I measured battery voltage between ground and the anchor light lead, and also between ground and the steaming/bow light connection.

Bow light worked fine, but the anchor light was dead. I turned off both circuits, then set my digital multimeter (DMM) for the 100 Ohms scale. The bow light read about 1 Ohm, but the anchor light read as open.

Poked and scraped the pins and connectors with the pointy DMM leads to no avail -- read infinity, aka open circuit. I wiggled the wire leads to determine whether there was a broken wire hidden inside the insulation.

So at that point, I assumed the bulb had bitten the dust, or the light socket was corroded to all get-out. That's when I requisitioned the yard boss to replace the light fixture and bulb (which he never got around to doing).

Oh well, as Cub fans say, "there's always next year!" Once I splash, I am going to drop my mast using the A-Frame plus three guys method to check the top of the mast.

Edited by - on

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