Any electricians in the house?

[greenhornet73]

I am pre- wiring my t top to install on my center console and just hit a bump.  I connected my 2 low draw LED stern lights with 16 gauge wire and pigtailed them to my LED spotlight at the bow end that is on 14 gauge wire to create one circuit on a toggle switch.  Anyways, once I finished the splicing I connected it to my little portable 12v battery and only the spotlight worked.  When I disconnected just the spotlight using the quick disconnects I had wired in, the stern lights turned on. Is the reason because of the 2 different wires used or is the spotlight drawing too many amps leaving the others dry?  I have more 14 gauge wire I could rewire the stern lights with if need be but not sure if that would be a solution?  Any advice would be really appreciated so I can be up and running as soon as I can do the t top install.

[lost a lure]

Switch the positive and negative on the back lights or the spotlight

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

 

 

 

 

[greenhornet73]

Wow that would be awesome if that’s all it takes.  I’ll try it when I get home and let you know. Thanks!

[lrg355]

Definitely not the wire. LED'S must be wired in the proper polarity to work. An LED is basically a one way flow control valve for electrons. You can think of it as a ball check valve in a hydraulic system. In the case of an LED, electrons will move thru in one direction but if wired backwards they will not flow and therefore, no lighting. Electron flow in one direction and inhibit in the other is the basic property and purpose for a diode. A LED happens to be a Light Emitting Diode.
.

Sent from my SM-J737V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[greenhornet73]

If connected to power separately all the lights work but connected in- line just the spotlight works.  Before I left the house this morning I reversed the quick connects for the spotlight, positive to negative, and the spotlight turned off but the sterns turned on.  Later I will try reversing the pigtails to the stern lights instead and see if that works. Glad to hear I may not have to run new wire through the t top frame all over again. I’ll post later how I make out. Thanks so much.

[lrg355]

Sent a PM

Sent from my SM-J737V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[lost a lure]

You say "inline". Did you connect all the lights in series or parallel?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[greenhornet73]

I ran them parallel I believe since I used butt connectors to connect the spotlight wires and stern lights to the main power wires. So 2 wires crimped in one end and the main on the other end. Did one like that for the positive and one for the negative.

[greenhornet73]

To clarify my madness, I connected the two stern lights at that end so one set of wires ran to the butt connectors to the spotlight and main line 

[kayaker919]

Make sure your "little portable 12v battery" is up to the task by checking the voltage with the spotlight attached. If the spot is a regular incandescent it will light even at low voltage, where your LED lights may not.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[greenhornet73]

All 3 lights are LED and all light up if individually connected to power but when all are connected, just the spotlight runs. If i disconnect it, the 2 stern lights light up

[greenhornet73]

Could hooking it up to my boat’s “house“ battery provide the juice to make it all work?

[greenhornet73]

Should have tried that and in the first place to at least rule that out but didn’t feel like lugging it down to the basement

Edited April 1, 2020 by greenhornet73
Misspell

[greenhornet73]

So I lugged the 60 lb battery down to the basement and crossed my fingers as I tightened the terminals down and all the lights came on! Thank you so much guys for working this out for me.  Now if you could all just pray for some warmer days we will all benefit from it and I can finish my boat projects and get out on the water