www.iFourWinns.com

Hello everyone, I just bought a 2006 FW Horizon 180 yesterday and this is my first boat. I am quite excited, but the trailer that came w/ the boat has a busted right tail light housing. I need to replace it. Do I have to buy it from the dealer? I a want to get a replacement that doesn't require a lot of modifications to wiring or drilling a ton of holes.

Also I notedthat the left rear bulb was blown when I was hooking up to it, I removed the red lens cover and eposed the clear "waterproof?" cover to get to the bulb, and it was full of water is this normal? Seems like a defect to me, so maybe I need to replace both tail lights on my trailer?

_________________
2006 Four Winns Horizon 180 3.0L Volvo Penta
Towed by 1978 Chevrolet Pickup 4x4 (Yeah it's old but it has family history)

It's normal to have a bit of water inside the housing. The bulbs are inside of an inner, sealed shell (which is "sort of" effective at keeping the water away from the hot bulbs).

Having said that, the fact that you have one broken housing is more than enough reason to replace all the lights on the trailer with LED units. It's the best upgrade I've made to my trailer and can be done for less than $100. No more worries about broken bulbs, and they're brighter.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

These?

http://www.innovativelight.com/truck-and-trailer_c_1455.cfm

_________________
2010 H190 4.3VP
Tow Vehicle:
2007 F150
Previous boats:
2009 H180 3.0VP
1996 Horizon QX 3.0VP

Should be a Wesbar Part#403078, I had to buy a replacement lens it was $8.00, I think the complete light was around $20.00.

_________________
2000 235 Sundowner
Previously 2007 Horizon 190
2004 Chevy Avalanche Z71

Mike the LED upgrade interests me but currently I have to put money elsewhere. Behind the red lens is the clear sealed bulb capsule. Both of mine were filled w/ water which is what has me concerned. However if I do get LED replacement lights, can I just get the lights and not the entire kit?? Not sure if I have to re-wire the trailer or not.

_________________
2006 Four Winns Horizon 180 3.0L Volvo Penta
Towed by 1978 Chevrolet Pickup 4x4 (Yeah it's old but it has family history)

Those clear capsules are supposed to be water tight. Mine stayed that way for about 3 launches, after that I was replacing bulbs every other trip.

You can buy the LED units from Optronics directly (http://www.optronicsinc.com), either in kit form or individual units. You shouldn't have to rewire your trailer at all, but you might need to get some pigtails to connect the tail lights.

Here are the part numbers I used and the 2007 prices. You might not need all of these since your trailer is under 80" wide. You could start with just the left & right tail lights (36 & 37) then do the rest if the need arises. If you have a 3-light bar, I'd recommend replacing it too since it also gets submerged.

STL-36RS Aero Pro passenger tail $31.09 ea.
STL-37RS Aero Pro driver tail w/license $34.29 ea.
MCL-95APG Fender front side markers $5.29 ea.
MCL-35A32G Winch post amber square $4.29 ea.
MCL-97RPG 3-Light bar, stainless steel $16.49 ea.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Thanks for the info on that mike!! So basically the wiring is the same, and by pigtails you are just referencing the splicing of the wires correct?

Just went and checked out optronics link and I don't see a retail/sales portion of the site. I don't think you can buy from optronics directly anymore.....

_________________
2006 Four Winns Horizon 180 3.0L Volvo Penta
Towed by 1978 Chevrolet Pickup 4x4 (Yeah it's old but it has family history)

They didn't have online ordering when I bought them either - just call them, they'll fix you up. On the pigtails - the new tail lights don't come with connectors, so you can either cut your harness connectors off and splice directly, or use pigtails with a bullet connector to plug into your harness. I bought pigtails from http://www.wiringproducts.com. Gender of plugs is determined by the brown wire, which is for the tail light.

8" Male 2-way pigtails: $1.09ea.
(1 needed per tail light)

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I had the right rear light capsule filled with water and a broken bulb last weekend. I had an extra bulb, but not the whole capsule. I had to painstakingly cut/tear into the capsule to replace the bulb - a temporary fix to get me home with lights. So, you all think I should replace the rears with LED's as stated above? If so, can someone walk this dummy thru (exactly) what I need to do. I mean, where do I cut which wires, how do I splice together, and what do I wrap the wiring with ? Electrical tape?

_________________
2005 Horizon 250

For your year and model trailer, if you buy the list and the pigtails I showed above you'll have everything you need to change out your whole trailer to LED's, and you won't even need to drill any holes. Note you'll need two each of the side markers and winch post lights.

You might also want to get some shrink tubing at Home Despot to connect the pigtails to the new tail lights. I wouldn't trust electrical tape in this application, you want something watertight and that won't loosen up or come apart later. Other than the need to add the pigtails on the tail lights, everything is plug & play and I think once you start taking lights off you'll see what a no-brainer job it is.

All your lights are connected to the trailer wiring harness with quick-disconnect bullet connectors. Basically you just want to make good solid connections, don't allow conductors from different wires to come into contact with each other, and make sure the ground connections are good everywhere. As with all electrical connections on boats & cars, I smear a dab of dielectric grease on each light connection just for added long-term insurance.

If you get into the project and need help, feel free to holler, any of us can help.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I'm having a hard time finding what an 8 inch male two way pigtail is. I did find these "pigtail connectors", that, because they are water resistant, seem interesting. http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d237.html

_________________
2005 Horizon 250

I don't see the ones I used there now either. I sent them an e-mail and will let you know as soon as I hear back.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Swearting- when i bought my boat and trailer I had the same issue with the lights. Only one working, rusted bolts for the license plate etc. I bought the rear light LED kit at Northern Tool. Other than having to use my dremel with a handful of cutting blades to get the rusted bolts off, it is a very easy install. I used the heat shrink on the connectors as they will get submerged, but the lights fit perfect. Now the side marker lights required me to drill new holes, but again, it was not that hard and a pretty cheap upgrade. Check your truck fuses. I was tracing wiring issues when I first got the boat and it was the truck fuses that were bad.

_________________
2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4

Found it, finally. Their web site is awful.

http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d174.html

Scroll down to the section, "2-Contact Flat Molded Connector." You need two of the "Male - 8'' wire length (74275) (+$1.32)." They're cheap enough, I bought a couple of spares in case I need them in the future.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

So, I'm looking at the Optronics website because I too have the stupid Wesbar lights that are anything but waterproof. I have already had to replace 3 bulbs in 5 outings. This last time I broke the little plastic fingers that hold the capsule in place. Time for new lights.

I like the idea of LEDs.

I think if we could buy p/ns ST-36 RPG and ST 37 RPG they would be a direct replacement for the Wesbar lights. No wiring/splicing/extra pigtails required.

http://www.optronicsinc.com/oempages/st36-37.htm

Does anyone know of a retail store that sells these lights?

_________________
Current Operational Boats:
'04-Four Winns 180 Freedom 150 HP Evinrude
'72-Chris Craft Commander 31 Sedan Twin-350Qs