With knowledge and encouragement from this forum I recently installed blue LED courtesy lights in my 2006 Horizon 240. As everyone has posted, it is an easy project but I thought I would share my hints… having just traveled the learning curve.
1) hardest part is threading or fishing the wire around the boat. A plastic fish tape would be best… in a pinch, I used a tape measure. Not ideal, but it worked. A second pair of hands would have been really nice, but I got along solo.
2) I bought wire from SuperBright LED, but next time I would use run of the mill speaker wire… the kind that comes on a spool and is copper color on one side and silver on the other. You want to use stranded wire, and speaker wire is typically stranded and should easily carry the current for your LEDs. I had to take my two tool spools of wire, one black and one red, and tape them together every foot or so.
3) Start by running two wire pairs (one for power, the other ground) around the boat, past each place you intend to light up. One going forwards from the under the help and around the bow,and then back down the port side. The other going aft along the starboard side. Your wire does not need to be too close to each light location as the LED strips have about 30" of their own wire.
4) The ideal way to make make connections would be to use an automotive splice that crimps on to the one wire, and adds a second (the lead to the LED). The problem I ran into is that these two wires are quite different in size, with the LED wire being much smaller. A solder connection would have been easy, but generally speaking solder connections are not advised in this environment as they are quite brittle and tend to break with excessive movement. I found some connectors that worked… you will need to figure that out depending on what kind of wire you are using.
5) Polarity is important. Each LED has a pos and a neg lead.
6) I had some issues with the 3M double backed tape. It did not want to hold on the smooth fiberglass -- under the helm. It seemed to work fine above the cup holder well, where the fiberglass was raw, unfinished. My install is only 2 days old, so I can't vouch for how long the tape will hold.
7) I found a switch from Great Lakes Skipper that exactly matched those in my panel -- made by Carling. I removed one of the unused switches (wiper switch) and installed the new one. It lights when the circuit is in use. Cost is $10. Here is a link: http://greatlakesskipper.com/product/86 ... witch.html
8 ) Wiring connections….. the switch I used has three lugs. There was no wiring information with the switch. Your can get diagrams at Carling's web site (the switch manufacturer). Or you can just figure it out. One lug is for ground. Take it directly to the boat ground. The other two are for power… one to the the fuse panel and the other to the positive LED leads. The remaining LED leads, the negative leads, go to the system ground. System ground, BTW on my boat, is on the side of the fuse panel. If you wire the switch wrong, the switches internal light will be on permanently (not good). If this is the case, simply switch the two power leads. I used a "Spare" fuse slot on the fuse block and installed a 5 amp fuse.
9) I added a LED lighted cup holder. I think I got it from a Formula dealer. It was easy to add to my system, and I may order a few more, to light those cup holders that are not situated in lighted wells.
All in all I am happy with the installation. I do have a something that I'd like to try but have not yet. The original white courtesy lights (marked as deck lights on our original switch) are quite bright… too bright to use and then have any night vision left. But they are well located. I am thinking about trying to install a single or possibly two individual blue LED bulbs in that same housing by drilling the back and inserting the new LED -- using silicone to secure it in place. I am not sure if there is room, or if the plastic will survive the drill and not shatter or crack, but it is worth the try. Replacement light assemblies are readily available. It would be nice to have them on the same courtesy light circuit as the other blue LEDs. So… those light fixtures would serve two different circuits.
I'll post a few photos that I took… these were shot with my iPhone under the lighted dock. The exposure is not that great. They do look much better in person, especially when out on the lake away from the dock lights.
Hope this info is of some help. See photos below.
Navy Dad
