Courtesy lightning

cls10105

Does anyone know how many courtesy lights they are in a 2002 342. The lights closest to the floor..thanks

reneechris14

8 in the head liner
2 in the bathroom
2 in the arch
3 in the cockpit
1 on the transom 
1 on top of the arch for anchoring 
Is this a trick question are you watching me walk around and count the lights.

cls10105

@reneechris14..lol just the cockpit.. i thought more than 3...ty sir ordering blue led bulbs wasn't sure how many 

reneechris14

I would get 4 put one buy the sub/ captains seat.

cls10105

Good idea...thanks again man

Liberty44140

My cockpit has 3

cls10105

@reneechris14 i ended up getting 2 extra lights. What is the best way to cut into the fiberglass without damaging and to keep up with the wires for the lights.

reneechris14

I would tape the area then drill. It like a 1/2 hole so should go easy. The wires run from light to light so i would crimp off of one light to run back to new light. Thats how i did my cup holds.

reneechris14

Positive and negitive are sensitive on LEDS 

Stodge

There is a light in the cabin that comes on with the cockpit lights in the cockpit.  So there are 4.  

cls10105

@reneechris14 are the lights in the pic your cup holders. They look nice

cls10105

And this is probably a stupid question but what gauge wire should i get. I was thinking about just cutting in to the original wire and adding my 2 lights but i may need to do what you said 

Stodge

I added LED strip light up under the ledge of the wet bar in the cockpit.  I tied it into the light near the cockpit fridge.  I want to say I used #18.  It's pretty low current being LED.

cls10105

@Stodge, thanks man 

MarkB

For LED ... low amps man ... I'd say 18 gauge should work and 14 gauge is definitely overkill in my opinion.

reneechris14

Yes you can see the cockpit light by the icemaker 

LaRea

@MarkB is right - 18 AWG wire is what I used, and it worked fine ... nice and even lighting.  Consider soldering the connections instead of using crimp connectors.  The leads on the lights are probably 20 or even 22, which is hard to work with.  Crimps on small-gauge wire might not last as long.

And if you don't have a good wire stripper, this job might be your excuse to buy one.  

cls10105

I am putting the lights tomorrow and working on that stinking ice maker again. If goes well I NEED the SS cup holders. And a full tank gas...lol

cls10105

I ended up putting 2 up by the capt seat. What do you guys think..too much.

cls10105

Well it seems it must be a hit with all these positive comments...well thats great i wasn't sure about the one by the speaker but you guys have spoken and i agree. Thanks

reneechris14

I like the one down low. The one by the speaker aahh.

cls10105

Yeah. I think i goofed on that one...dangit, fill it in with toothpaste. Or just live with it. stinking beer making decisions for me oh that will look good all that blue

raybo3

IMO I would think that the one near the speaker would cause glare at night and could be distracting. 

MarkB

LaRea said:

@MarkB is right - 18 AWG wire is what I used, and it worked fine ... nice and even lighting.  Consider soldering the connections instead of using crimp connectors.  The leads on the lights are probably 20 or even 22, which is hard to work with.  Crimps on small-gauge wire might not last as long.

And if you don't have a good wire stripper, this job might be your excuse to buy one.  

If the gauge is too small, sometimes I double back the wire (bend it over itself, and feed into the crimp. I hated working with a solder gun so close to the appointments ... asking for trouble.  They have these nice butt crimps now that have an insulation material that is heat shrink ... which is cool. You crimp and then heat shrink to water tight, but it also makes everything that much stronger of a connection ... got them at Home Depot.

rasbury

I haven't had the urge on this one to add anything...I have the one on the platform. 3 I think on the deck and the one at the bottom of the stairs. At the marina I figured if I needed any more light than that, it would be a lot more so I have a small desk type lamp I can plug in.....they do look nice!

LaRea

I bought my stereo gear from an installer who does a ton of LED installations.  He claims that soldering is more reliable and lasts longer than crimps for the small stuff, so that's what I did.  It took a while ... I had about 16 fixtures that were all 4-wire LEDs.  

GMSLITHO

I only use the courtesy light when docked or at anchor.never underway 

MojosBoat

I installed LED strip light under the counter of the wet bar on my 342. I used a switch that I installed uner the lid to the trash can area.

Stodge

I have the same thing, but I powered it off the other cockpit lights.

cls10105

@MojosBoat, man i like that looks nice

MojosBoat

@Stodge, I thought about that but I wanted them separate. Previous owner had already installed blue LED cup holders and Blue Led under the swim platform and had switches under the lid to the trash can. I just piggy backed off what was there and added a new switch. Same switch I used on my LED for the pull out bar.