Ceiling Lights

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Pompette

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I need to replace a couple of recessed ceiling lights on the boat and have been scouring the internet for suitable replacements.
As expected, all new variants seem to be LED whereas the existing are halogen.
First question is, will LED lights work with the existing wiring setup as I've read on one LED manufacturers site that the lights need connecting in parallel to work and I've no idea what my existing set up is.
Secondly, some lighting packs show the lights returning to a central 'hub' which is then connected to a 12V source. Would it be possible just to cut off the connectors and wire into my existing circuit using space connectors?
Other option is to find a like for like replacement but due to the age of the boat (late 80's) not sure this is practical plus I can't find a manufacturer's name on the light. Just says Made In Italy
 
Can you not just change the bulbs? You have to be careful as some LED bulbs are bulkier than the halogen equivalent.

I would be wary of fitting a unit with a built in LED as it may fail and you might not get a replacment to fit the existing hole.
Marine bulbs often have a voltage rating of 10V to 30V and so would be fine if the engine or charger is running at 14V. Not all domestic LED bulbs will tolerate running at more than 12V.
LED lights can be wired directly into the existing wiring without any changes.
You could try Boatlamps for bulbs as they guarantee that the electronics inside the bulb will not cause interference on the VHF radio.
If you want complete light fittings there are lots to choose from : Interior lights
 
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Do they run from the boats 12v battery or just on the shore mains supply? If the fittings are 12v, then most standard boat/caravan fittings will work using existing wiring. Many 12v LED bulbs are direct replacement for existing bayonet or screw in 12 v filamentt bulbs.

LEDs themselves require only a couple of volts or so depending on how high powered they are, so most 12v bulbs or fittings have onoard circuitry to reduce the voltage to the required level for the LED. I would guess the manufaturer requiring a hub source is cutting corners by having a single voltage dropper control source with indpenendent wiring to the fittinhs, which seems incredibly clumsy to me, involving the installer in a shedload of extra wiring! Only makes sense for a mains installation in my view!

Connecting LEDs in series is one way of getting round the need for a voltage regulator chip, sometimes used in a fitting with several LEDs. Main problem is of course one off - all off, like cheap old style Christmas tree lights, which worked this way! You will also be limited to a specific number of bulbs in the circuit: i.e 4 x3volt LEDs per hub Standard boat/caravan fittings should all be possible to connect directly to your 12v supply, and will drain significantly less power from your battery than 12v halogens.
 
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1 Lights normally wired in parallel, so Yes. If they were in series, if one blew then the rest would also go out.
2 The hub you mention is probably a mains to 12v DC converter, if so you can wire them straight to your 12v light circuit BUT remember that when the battery is charging the voltage is around 14v.
My LED lights (Lidl under cupboard unit) have had no problems with higher voltage, they have been in several years. Some people have reported problems.
 
oldharry said:
Do they run from the boats 12v battery or just on the shore mains supply? If the fittings are 12v, then most standard boat/caravan fittings will work using existing wiring. Many 12v LED bulbs are direct replacement for existing bayonet or screw in 12 v filamentt bulbs.

LEDs themselves require only a couple of volts or so depending on how high powered they are, so most 12v bulbs or fittings have onoard circuitry to reduce the voltage to the required level for the LED. I would guess the manufaturer requiring a hub source is cutting corners by having a single voltage dropper control source with indpenendent wiring to the fittinhs, which seems incredibly clumsy to me, involving the installer in a shedload of extra wiring! Only makes sense for a mains installation in my view!

Connecting LEDs in parallel is one way of getting round the need for a voltage regulator chip, sometimes used in a fitting with several LEDs. Main problem is of course one off - all off, like cheap old style Christmas tree lights, which worked this way! You will also be limited to a specific number of bulbs in the circuit: i.e 4 x3volt LEDs per hub Standard boat/caravan fittings should all be possible to connect directly to your 12v supply, and will drain significantly less power from your battery than 12v halogens.
Click to expand...

Lights run off boat's 12V system so I was hoping for a straight swap which it seems I should be able to do. It was just the comment about connecting in parallel that was throwing me.
Thanks for the reply
 
andsarkit said:
Can you not just change the bulbs? You have to be careful as some LED bulbs are bulkier than the halogen equivalent.

I would be wary of fitting a unit with a built in LED as it may fail and you might not get a replacment to fit the existing hole.
Marine bulbs often have a voltage rating of 10V to 30V and so would be fine if the engine or charger is running at 14V. Not all domestic LED bulbs will tolerate running at more than 12V.
LED lights can be wired directly into the existing wiring without any changes.
You could try Boatlamps for bulbs as they guarantee that the electronics inside the bulb will not cause interference on the VHF radio.
If you want complete light fittings there are lots to choose from : Interior lights
Click to expand...

The lights still work but the metal 'spring' band across the back of light that holds it in place has corroded on to of the lights so they just fall out. Have looked at ways of trying to get them to stay in but nothing successful yet.
 
Fifteen years ago I put Ebay LEDs in four 12v 10w overhead "ceiling lights" in the saloon. About ten years ago I replaced the whole fittings with another Ebay purchase of 12v LED warm white equivalent complete fittings. I bought six to replace 4, they fitted perfectly and I still have the two spares. Brighter than either the original 10w halogens or the retro-fit bulbs I originally fitted.

If your boat was fitted with 12v halogens then they were very defnitely connected in parallel.
 
Replace with LEDs.

I did mine last winter replacing fluorescent tubes, halogen bulbs and others. Straightforward. I used Boatlamps.

Only complication is fluorescent tubes but you can and I did buy a replacement with fittings rather than reuse the old fittings which required rewiring to bypass the ballast thingy.
 
I'm not familiar with the current VAT and import duty implications, but I bought these: Mini Faretto Led Da Incasso Touch Dimmer Controllo Carcassa Bianca 4000K DC12V DC24V 3W Foro 55mm

They're available with surrounds in black, white or two kinds of nickel / chrome, and in two or three different colour temperatures. The seller has his WhatsApp somewhere on his site and I found that the best way to contact him - he was helpful in changing the order after I placed it for a spec I couldn't find on his site.

I haven't fitted them properly yet because unfortunately the holes are smaller than my existing ones (I couldn't find any that were a drop in replacement) but I have tested them and they ran just fine off my boat's 12v supply. These are the kind that you just touch them to switch them on or dim them.

I also had these bookmarked: Touch Dimmable LED White Downlight
 
oldharry said:
Connecting LEDs in parallel is one way of getting round the need for a voltage regulator chip, sometimes used in a fitting with several LEDs. Main problem is of course one off - all off, like cheap old style Christmas tree lights, which worked this way! You will also be limited to a specific number of bulbs in the circuit: i.e 4 x3volt LEDs per hub Standard boat/caravan fittings should all be possible to connect directly to your 12v supply, and will drain significantly less power from your battery than 12v halogens.
Click to expand...
Where OH has written parallel, read Series. It makes a difference!
 
If you are replacing whole units and not just the bulb remember to check the clearance above to ensure that the new ones fit in. I've just replaced all 10 fittings on mine and all was good with all of them apart from one where the clearance above was too shallow to fit the new one. I ended up spray paining the old fitting white (from gold) to match with the new ones, looks perfect :) .
 
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