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Cabo Salon lights 24v & 120v confusion

Discussion in 'Cabo Yacht' started by CSkipR, Feb 24, 2015.

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  1. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    Decided to change some of the cabin lights to led which I did in the front stateroom. They work great but got me to thinking.
    When I turn off the generator or shore power 4 of the lights will go out. The two on battery power remain on.
    In seems like 4 of the bulbs should be 120v and two 24v. When I put in the new Led lights they were all up 24v and yet they are all working.
    What am I missing? These are the lights I installed.

    http://www.hero-ledstore.com/side-p...smd-led-bulb-120-degree-30w-equal-p-3632.html
  2. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    I'm not an electrician. but last year I mistakenly put a 120v bulb in a 40v socket. The result is that it lit. but was extremely dim. With that I'd assume that your 24v bulb would light fine, but would probably burn out fairly soon from being overloaded. Hopefully someone else can chime in about it being different with LED or about any possible fire hazard.
  3. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    4 of your lights are on an a/c to d/c converter which converts the ac power to dc so essentially you still use dc lightbulbs
  4. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    But that still leaves the 2nd set of 24v bulbs (that are in the 120v sockets and not on the converter) drawing 120v.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    No, they are all 24 volt bulbs. 2 get power from the house batteries. The other 4 get power from the ac to dc newmar converter. It runs off of 120volts ac but outputs 24 volts DC, much like a battery charger.
  6. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    "When I turn off the generator or shore power 4 of the lights will go out. The two on battery power remain on.
    In seems like 4 of the bulbs should be 120v and two 24v. When I put in the new Led lights they were all up 24v and yet they are all working."

    One of us is misreading this. I read this as he has (6) sockets. Two are 120v and (4) are 24v, but he has 24v LEDs in all (6) sockets now, including the 120v ones.

    CskipR, did two of the sockets previously have 120v bulbs, or were they all 24v. The system on the Hatt is as I described, 120v & 32v sockets. Separate lines, separate switches, same fixture. I never tried a 32v bulb in a 120v line. so I can only guess at the result. I did put a 120v bulb in a 32v socket.
  7. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    They are the exact same fixtures with the exact same 2 pin plugin. Unfortunately I don't have the bulbs (will double check) that I removed but I think Capt J is correct. That makes sense to me although I don't know where this ac to dc converter is located.
  8. about time

    about time Member

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    did you chose warm white, or cool white. Just curious
  9. timvail

    timvail Senior Member

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    2 years ago we changed all of the interier lights on our Chris to led. most operated off the battery bank, hence 12 volt. Serveral other lights wer 120 volt. So those led i purchased were 120 volt. The 120 work off shore power or genny of course. The 12 volt work of course off the 12 volt battery bank.
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    There are no 120 volt ceiling lights on a Cabo.

    The 4 that went out when he lost power are DC lights but fed by a Newmar AC to DC converter, so the AC power, powers the converter which then sends DC power to the actual light fixtures. Many manufacturers do this because the voltage is more regulated and the lights don't dim or oscillate when a heavy DC load kicks on. Ac to DC converters were usually located in the space behind the circuit breaker panel many times. On A flybridge boat depending on size they may be located in the attic area.
  11. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Yep, the OP's mention that 4 should be 120v had me confused as I'm working a boat with both 120v & 32v.
  12. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    The warm white was almost a perfect match for the 20w xeron bulbs that were removed.
  13. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    Capt J,
    Do you remember where is the converter is located? May I assume that one converter does all the salon and two berths wherever it is located?
    Thanks, Skip
  14. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    It depends on the boats. Sometimes they use a small converter in each room, in access panels in a closet for instance

    Your electrical panel should have a breaker for lights

    The downside of running lights of AC with a converter is when a heavy load starts on the generator like a big air compressor you get a bit if surge... Personally I prefer having all the lights on DC although on larger boats you had to run heavier wires back in pre LED days

    Indeed warm white LEDs are petty close to regular halogens. Cool while looks likes ---- in my opinion
  15. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I think they used 1 converter, but I am not certain. Check either behind your circuit breaker panel, or in the attic area of your boat. On the express versions they were usually mounted in the area behind the circuit breaker panel I think. They could also be mounted on the fwd engine room bulkhead, but Cabo didn't usually put them there.