LED Nav Light retro-fit

[a7ewizard]

I just read a post about a broken Nav light........Reminds me of a change I made that some of you may be interested in.

My '98 251 came with a pair of Attwood nav lights. These have a festoon bulb which seemed to be in constant need of a new bulb. Attwood (http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/3530) makes an LED version that has the same foot print of the originals. Easy swap; no holes to see or fill; no more problems and a good looking SS cover.

The folding all-white fixture was a bit more work to change out. Now they have this, http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/7812, which looks to be an exact replacement of my original light. When I did this 2-3 years ago, I bought an Attwood white LED light that was on a 4 foot post. This I had to cut down and fit onto the mounting foot of the dis-mantled original.

Warren

[26walk]

Thanks for the info & link!

[ppaulg]

Just wanted to say that there are now many LED replacement bulbs for all styles of bulbs, including festoons. Saves having to change out the whole nav light fixture. Same for other lights onboard.

[cJAY]

I just replaced the ones on my 08 26 express with the 2 mile leds.  Very easy and the new ones are great

[n2striper]

I would not replace the OE desigh festoon bulb with a retro led bulb. The festoon design is poor in that it allows corrosion between the contact points(tips). Dielectic grease helps but going with an all LED assembly makes better sense to me. I think I am going to change my nav and white light to LED soon. I want NO problems and piece of mind. My $0.02.

[a7ewizard]

A bit of an update.....

I installed these LED navigation lights about 3 years ago. Recently, I discovered both bow lights had failed. The all white was still working and I had good voltage to the bow lights. No visible signs of corrosion or water intrusion.

I called Attwood. I could not find my sales receipt. The customer service rep said, "We haven't been making them that long (10 year warranty)". I sent them in and promptly received a replacement pair in the mail.

Great customer service! I hope to get better than 3 years out of these.

[scblackbeard]

I just did the two mile led replacements too. We will see what kind of mileage I get from them, very easy install.

[van]

I soldered my festoon bulbs to the fixture.  Been working fine for years.

Just another cutomization.

I did add LEDs under the gunnels for deck lighting for night fishing.

[gargoyle]

I did add LEDs under the gunnels for deck lighting for night fishing.
[/quote]

I was looking to do the same thing for the same reason. What color and how many LED's did you go with? I will be adding them to a 20' Walk. 

[a7ewizard]

I did add LEDs under the gunnels for deck lighting for night fishing.

I was looking to do the same thing for the same reason. What color and how many LED's did you go with? I will be adding them to a 20' Walk. 
[/quote]

Just a caution here!

I installed 2 strings of "outdoor" LED lights that I purchased on-line and were promoted as being a marine product. These had 2 LEDs in small chrome plated, self adhesive, ovals about 6 inches apart. I had a short as the housings either aren't sealed well or corroded from the salt environment. Fortunately, these were CB protected and a more serious situation was avoided.
I removed these after that experience. Don't go cheap. Buy lights that are designed for the marine environment.

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