Catalina 350 International Association

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding replacing the ceiling light fixtures in the cabin? The surface mount ones that are about 4" in diameter and 1.5" deep with the little toggle switch on the side. I don't want to just replace the bulb with an LED bulb. We have one where the housing is cracked and simply hangs from only one screw and we need to replace the entire fixture. Most of the new fixtures seem to use LED bulbs, but I don't know enough about LED lights to know what is needed to be somewhat compatible with the other lights in the cabin. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Agree, these are difficult fittings and I too would be grateful for info. There should be no problem with compatibility with led lights if only one can work out how to replace them in these fittings. I have only been able to put leds into the light fittings on the saloon sides (they work well) but have been unable to fix or replace the switch on one of these fittings in the fwd cabin. Info on disassembly or replacement fittings would be appreciated.

Richard Jenkins
Nancy Scott #439

I just replaced a few of mine that had bad switches and cracked housings. I used these from Defender;

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?pa ... id=1165895

They are larger than the original so you'll need to drill one or two small holes, but they are two wire hook-up and will fit in all but one or two areas.

They are nicely bright and consume 1.7 watts, a bargain for the brightness. I replaced a couple fixtures that were still working with these, and then used those fixtures where these didn't fit perfectly. Then I used these led bulb replacements in the original fixtures, and they are quite bright enough.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1469897

Good Luck,

OK, I give up. How do you take the light fixture apart in order to replace the bulb? I took one down and learned that I could pry the black ball-like insert out of the plastic frame, but I still don't see how to get to the bulb to replace it with LED or an original bulb.

Any help would be appreciated.

I share the frustration. My cabin deckhead lights remain to be understood and the bulkhead ones seem to have toggle switches that can't be repaired or changed. It seems a shame to have to change the fittings; expensive to change all of them and unmatched if only the defective ones are changed. I would be delighted if someone has an answer.

Richard Jenkins, Nancy Scott Hull No 439

If we are talking about the same cabin lights, the black ring unscrews and releases (be careful not to drop it) the opaque flat glass cover and that gives you access to change the bulb. I haven't taken the whole fitting off the ceiling for a while, but mine have two small screws holding them onto the inner liner and once off, the toggle switch should be accessible from the rear to be replaced.

I will try to attach photos to make sure we are talking about same fitting, you can see the flat disc LED in mine, with LEDs facing downwards (naturally).

Many thanks. That's most helpful for the cabin deckhead lights, especially the photo of the led. I will try again with mine and hopefully with more success than when I tried to separate the black plastic rings! The toggle switch I was having problems with is the potted one incorporated in the light fittings on the saloon and cabin bulkheads. Any ideas on these would be welcome too.

Richard Jenkins Nancy Scott Hull No 439

Hi:
I shared your confusion and frustration for a while when I was replacing the incandescent bulbs with leds. The secret is in the black ring - it comes apart. There are two rings there that snap together and hold the circle of glass in place. No need to wrestle the black ring out. To pull them apart you have to find the seam and use something sharp (I think I used my Swill Army Knife blade) to pop them apart. Then the circular glass falls out and you have access to the bulb. If my memory hasn't faded too much, it is a type G4 bulb/led with the pins on the side. The bulbs in the other type of fixture in the head and v-berth are also G4 but with pins on the back.
Radio shack used to carry a replacement switch but I don't know the number as RS no longer exists in Canada but I'm sure you could find a similar one online from DigiKey. Soldering the wires to the switch above your head is tricky.
Peter Richards
Imagine, C350 #402

I took one down that was damaged and moved a good one from the "aft garage" to the cabin that I am using to try to figure out how to get them apart. I was successful in getting the black ball-like insert to pop out of the housing (see photo). What I am still unclear about is whether the black ball 'unscrews' as Russ noted, or whether it 'pops apart'. I can't see how it could either unscrew or pop apart without removing the entire fixture from the ceiling.

OK, I finally got it apart. The trick is the small bezel on the black ball pops off. Now that I know how it comes apart, you could remove the bezel while the fixture is still in place. Here is a disassembled view for all of posterity:

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I know this is a rehash of what others have said. I was able to pop the bezel off with the fixture in place and place LEDs in. I shined a strong light on the black moving part of the fixture and I could see a slight crease and I put a fingernail in and held top portion and rotated bottom. Popped right apart. I did drop a few lenses and none of them broke.
I bought from Amazon. LE 3W G4 LED Bulbs, 40W Halogen Bulbs Equivalent, 12 V AC/DC, 280lm, 120° Beam Angle, Warm White, 3000K, G4 Bulb, Bi-Pin Light Bulbs, LED Light Bulbs, Pack of 6 Units
Sold by: NEON MART
$14.99. That price is for all 6. The price of leds has really dropped.
In order to get these into the fixture:
there was a trick to getting these in. As someone else said. I cut half the pins off and used a slim knife blade to wedge them in. This bulb is a very tight fit. So tight that some may not like it.
That leaves me one short. Now I need to find a led for the oval bulkhead lights. I think I have 8 of these. I saw some on defender, but they were $10 apiece.

Hi. I replaced all of my lights with LEDs. My boat is now at Fisherman's Wharf Marina in Venice. If you want to stop by I can show you what I did. I am still working in Gainesville, but come down on Fridays and Saturdays.

dave

John & Mary Jane
I replaced the bulkhead mounted cabin lights with 2 LED types so I could compare them. On Amazon I bought Weanas 4x G4 base 48 led 3 watt 12 vdc warm white. I also bought LE 2.5 watt G4 led 20 w halogan equivalent 12vdc warm white. Both types are relatively inexpensive, give a bright but not too bright light that is easy on the eyes. The LE lights are a little more attractive looking bulb. I hope this is helpful.
Rick
Sea Breeze