Wiring/lightng question- 110volt to 12volt AC... is this Hatteras Normal?

I have upgraded from 12v halogens to led and learned a few things along the way.Vessel lights were rewired to 12v dc halogens in a previous refit.. System was setup as follows.Wall mount household 120 volt dimmers.Large grey metal transformers hidden away in various locations. Many of these had failed. Some with blown fuses. Some looking burned inside. Locations included 5 above helm seat, 1 in each vanity cabinet, 1 in compartment with exhaust mufflers. All of these transformers created heat and hum. 120v ac to 12dc All recessed lights are imtra units. On a buffing wheel they mostly came back to looking new. A few of the retainer clips broke off.I did have to experiment with several combinations of 120v ac LED bulbs. One challenge was physical fit. Many of the G4 bulbs were too big.These were the ones that worked best: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09SP...b_b_asin_title. These have a nice warm color temperature. About 2700k, spec says 3000k.The dimmers took trial and error as well. Some dimmers would not work with certain bulbs at all and some flickered when dimmed. These included several models from Lutron. Caseta, Maestro, and Diva +. Oddly only the Diva + was reliable with most LED bulbs.These dimmers: Diva LED+ Dimmer Switch for Dimmable LED and Incandescent Bulbs, 150-Watt/Single-Pole or 3-Way, White (DVCL-153PR-WH)So in summary I was able to get rid of the hot halogens, hot and noisy transformers that were a fire hazard. I also wanted to avoid a complicated low voltage led with led driver boxes everywhere with proprietary controllers that would need new wire pulled. All of the wiring was 12 gauge, so wire was correct for the breakers. All with readily available off the shelf parts.Good luck with your project!

Did you get rid of the tranformers or replace them? I'm guessing since you kept the same fixtures, you had to replace them. I don't want to keep the fixtures and so I'm hoping I don't need them for the new fixtures.

I don't think I have the grey transformers that Hatteras used for lights. They are not on the diagram from the boat according to the electrician that looked at them. I've been in every nook and cranny on this boat, including pulling all the panels off the mufflers in the master, and I have not seen any grey transformers like people have said to look for and, I do not hear any humming when lights are on. I will double check again, just in case but I think my boat didn't have them. And, I found the two little ones under the light, another reason I don't think I have the hatteras installed ones. =-)

The current lights just get super hot and they scare me as I feel like they are a fire hazard (which many people say they are). I also do not care for the lights overly much, nor the layout of the lights. It's very harsh and you can only have lights on port side or starboard side, so kind of dumb how they are set up. I plan on doing something a bit more user friendly and more ambient oriented vs this side or the other. So, when I redo my headliner, I'm going to change to newer fixtures that are easier to get bulbs for. Thus my asking if I could get rid of these transformers and just go with 120 (110) volt straight across.

I've had one person say yes, but no one else has chimed in yet. =(

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Originally Posted by pmacFL

I have upgraded from 12v halogens to led and learned a few things along the way.Vessel lights were rewired to 12v dc halogens in a previous refit.. System was setup as follows.Wall mount household 120 volt dimmers.Large grey metal transformers hidden away in various locations. Many of these had failed. Some with blown fuses. Some looking burned inside. Locations included 5 above helm seat, 1 in each vanity cabinet, 1 in compartment with exhaust mufflers. All of these transformers created heat and hum. 120v ac to 12dc All recessed lights are imtra units. On a buffing wheel they mostly came back to looking new. A few of the retainer clips broke off.I did have to experiment with several combinations of 120v ac LED bulbs. One challenge was physical fit. Many of the G4 bulbs were too big.These were the ones that worked best: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09SP...b_b_asin_title. These have a nice warm color temperature. About 2700k, spec says 3000k.The dimmers took trial and error as well. Some dimmers would not work with certain bulbs at all and some flickered when dimmed. These included several models from Lutron. Caseta, Maestro, and Diva +. Oddly only the Diva + was reliable with most LED bulbs.These dimmers: Diva LED+ Dimmer Switch for Dimmable LED and Incandescent Bulbs, 150-Watt/Single-Pole or 3-Way, White (DVCL-153PR-WH)So in summary I was able to get rid of the hot halogens, hot and noisy transformers that were a fire hazard. I also wanted to avoid a complicated low voltage led with led driver boxes everywhere with proprietary controllers that would need new wire pulled. All of the wiring was 12 gauge, so wire was correct for the breakers. All with readily available off the shelf parts.Good luck with your project!

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If the wires coming into the switch box meter at 120v ac, and the wires at the lighting fixture meter 12v dc (or 7v for that matter), then there must be a transformer hidden somewhere.Yes, I did bypass and remove old transformers. There were not factory installed.

They are 12v AC not dc... and I posted a picture of the tranformers I found for them.=)

I'm going to try changing dimmer and see if bulbs stop flickering... if they don't, I'm going to replace with some cheap led fixtures until I get what I want.

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Originally Posted by pmacFL

If the wires coming into the switch box meter at 120v ac, and the wires at the lighting fixture meter 12v dc (or 7v for that matter), then there must be a transformer hidden somewhere.Yes, I did bypass and remove old transformers. There were not factory installed.

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