Older Aqua Signal 25

[ref_123]

Hi dear All,

last morning I decided to go up the mast with a noble purpose to replace a fore-deck light bulb in the Aqua Signal 25 combo light of 2005-ish vintage. The steaming light works fine; the old deck bulb went MIA many years ago, as they reportedly do all the time. So far we had managed just fine, but I decided - what the heck, I can fix it! (I was wrong on that account...) I had with me a replacement flat two-prong bulb that WM store guy said is the direct replacement. The thing is all glass, 12V/5W, and it has two relatively thin wires sticking from the base. So, I tried this way and that, and the thing is just not going into the slot! I was afraid to push too hard, as those wires were bending easily.

So, any advice is welcome - to take the whole thing down, to push harder, or to replace the whole darn thing...

Thanks in advance,
Stan

 

[bgary]

I'm thinking West gave you the wrong bulb. The AquaSignal-25 foredeck light takes a "bayonet" bulb, which doesn't have wires sticking out of it.

An easy replacement is an LED bulb, like this one. Uses less power, stays cooler, lasts longer than a filament-based incandescent.

http://store.marinebeam.com/high-powered-ba9s-deck-steaming-light-led-ba-9s-5w/

Either way, this is approximately what the connector-end of the replacement bulb should look like.

 

[ref_123]

No luck - old unit

Thanks, but it turns out Aqua Signal had changed to Byonet in 2011. Before that, it was that darn two-prong, AKA G4. And replacing the whole $80 unit just because of the outdated bulb is not gonna be approved by the Admiral.

So, the question still stands

Regards,
Stan

I'm thinking West gave you the wrong bulb. The AquaSignal-25 foredeck light takes a "bayonet" bulb, which doesn't have wires sticking out of it.

An easy replacement is an LED bulb, like this one. Uses less power, stays cooler, lasts longer than a filament-based incandescent.

http://store.marinebeam.com/high-powered-ba9s-deck-steaming-light-led-ba-9s-5w/

Either way, this is approximately what the connector-end of the replacement bulb should look like.

View attachment 22437

 

[toddster]

Have you tried superbrightleds.com? They seem to have almost everything. One caution with combo lights like the Aquasignal 25 is that you need a festoon device with red LEDs on one side and Green LEDs on the other. A plain white one won't do. Because LEDs aren't full spectrum light, like incandescent. You have to have the right wavelength to get significant light through the colored lens. If you can't get such a festoon, you have to stick with incandescent.

For the bulb in-hand - maybe try lubricating the pins with a tiny dab of conductive grease?

 

[ref_123]

Great suggestion, will try that.

As for the LED, the life is not that complex for me - that combo is just a steaming light/deck light unit, colors are not involved.

So, looks like I probably shall take it down from the mast. There is a good chance that those old corroded pins are still stuck deep in that rectangular socket somewhere, so the job may be a bit more complex than I thought in the beginning.

Have you tried superbrightleds.com? They seem to have almost everything. One caution with combo lights like the Aquasignal 25 is that you need a festoon device with red LEDs on one side and Green LEDs on the other. A plain white one won't do. Because LEDs aren't full spectrum light, like incandescent. You have to have the right wavelength to get significant light through the colored lens. If you can't get such a festoon, you have to stick with incandescent.

For the bulb in-hand - maybe try lubricating the pins with a tiny dab of conductive grease?