Nav Lights

[fishingmich]

This may be a stupid question, but when you mount the nav lights in the boat, how do I know which wire goes to neg and which one goes to pos?

 

[bAcKpAiN]

I don't think it matters.

 

[Ryno409]

I've always used the wire with the lettering on it as the hot wire, and grounded the other.

 

[rusty.hook]

Most of the time the wires are the same color, so I run one to the positive/red and the other negative/black to my battery only, I do not ground to the boat and I use red and black wires. I use a terminal block that has positive on one side and negative on the other side with wires from the battery. I use my trolling motor battery for my navigation lights, GPS and fish finder, because i don't want to take a chance on running down the big motor starting battery.

 

[rusty.hook]

Below is a diagram of a simple pull pull switch for navigation lights
Pull once, all lights are on, pull again and only the anchor/white light is on. You can either run your wires direct to the battery or to a terminal block. Most switches are marked.
NOTE: click on drawing, and it will enlarge the view.

 

[rusty.hook]

The drawing below is for center console navigation lights when the red is on one side and the green is on the other side. Again they can be wired direct to battery or to a terminal block, fuse added.
NOTE: Click on drawing to enlarge drawing.

 

[bailey86]

unless they are led lights it shouldn't matter which way you wire them. Led is a lighted diedo and what a diedo does is keep voltage from flowing the wrong way

 

[rusty.hook]

unless they are led lights it shouldn't matter which way you wire them. Led is a lighted diedo and what a diedo does is keep voltage from flowing the wrong way

Below is what I said above in my post: Posted: 23 May 2011, 08:52.
Most of the time the wires are the same color, so I run one to the positive/red and the other negative/black to my battery only, I do not ground to the boat and I use red and black wires.

 

[Captain Ahab]

unless they are led lights it shouldn't matter which way you wire them. Led is a lighted diedo and what a diedo does is keep voltage from flowing the wrong way

I found that out very recently when I hooked up one in reverse - man, I was about to freak out and then realized - DUH - that is a LED