Replacing my courtesy lights that operate off of my house batteries to LED.

[sunsetacres1318]

I would like to change out my courtesy lights that operate off of my house batteries to LED. Do I need to change out the whole fixture or can I purchase LED bulbs that will work off of my house batteries. Any suggestions of how to do this conversion and a source where I can buy the LED bulbs would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[pmacFL]

The bulb type in the original is a festoon. You may find the old fixtures corroded inside as well? The Perko 0965DP0STS is a matching fixture that fits the mounting holes. (At least it does on 56MY). I have never seen a festoon led bulb that will operate at 32v. Had to step it down to 12v. There are plenty of 12v festoon bulbs.

 

[Captain Ralph]

There are 32V Festoon incandescent lamps. We use them on our Bertram.
Sadly, the LED versions come 12 & 24Vdc only.

As long as you are not using a dimmer, should be plug & play if 12 or 24Vdc operation.

https://www.doctorled.com/#navigation-lights-LED-bulbs

 

[neildeb2]

FWIW, I've had difficulty finding a few of the bulbs on my 58LRC in an LED replacement. In one instance I found the perfect bulb, but it only came in 28v. I bought one just to see how it would do in a 32v application. It's been great. After a month of continuous operation without an issue I bought a handful of them. Ive now completely replaced every bulb on the boat with LEDs, including the little bulbs that show power is on at the circuit breaker panels. Oops, except for the running lights - I don't care about reducing electrical consumption when underway. Oh yeah, and one more. There's a weirdly shaped bulb that lights the swim platform area. I could not find an LED that fit under the glass lens. So, my point is, if needed, you might be able to get away with an LED bulb that's slightly off the voltage for the socket if you can't find the perfect voltage replacement.

 

[Boatsb]

Thank God the lights don't get hot and even burn up with higher voltage. What is safe? What is worth saving a few dollars?

What is with people that take these chances?

 

[Phasma2128]

I’ve had really good luck finding any bulbs I want with these guys

Www.superbrightleds.com

 

[IOLANI]

My 1986 54 MY uses a single contact miniature bayonet bulb in the courtesy lights. Difficult to find the matching Perko housing as most of the newer ones use that Festoon style bulbs. I found a replacement Perko brass socket for the original on Amazon. Then it's easy to find the 32v bulbs in bayonet.