Red Pilot Light above Power cord reel

[Mikwallace]

There’s a Red 1/2” diameter “Pilot” light above the power cord reel compartment. See picture. It’s been driving me nuts trying to figure out what a previous owner had done. Well today I chased wires and came to a conclusion.

First of all the light is burned out. There was four other lights just like it in a box in a closet so I got them out. 3 of them didn’t work either; however, one did. So I connected it and turned on the toggle switch inside the power cord reel compartment. The light came ON.

I removed the mattress in the master stateroom and removed the panel at the head of the bed to gain access to the area of water heater and power cord reel motor. The toggle switch wires were wired to the power cord reel controller Batt + and -.

The only conclusion I can come up with is a previous owner wired the switch and light so when the switch is ON, it means the Battery switch under the salon steps is either position 1, 2 or both. Maybe it was just a quick way to tell from the dock that the 12v battery system is on? Unfortunately there wasn’t a fuse inline with either the switch or light, meaning the only protection was from the 12v panel circuit breaker for the cable reel.

Another mystery solved!

I’ve not figured out how or what to do about it but I’m not crazy about the way it’s wired.

If you guys know of a purpose for this light or a modification to add using what s there please advise! Else I’ll probably remove the wires and plug the hole.

IMG_2772.jpeg

[g36]

Not seen that one on a 405/406 oem from carver but sounds cool.

[Viper]

It's typical to put switches on or near the transom for underwater lights. The indicator serves to let you know the lights are on during the day when it's not so obvious they're turned on. Do you have underwater lights?

[bud37]

So the switch is on the inside and the light is outside and the light is the only load the switch is connected to. Is that correct ?

[Mikwallace]

Source of the post It's typical to put switches on or near the transom for underwater lights. The indicator serves to let you know the lights are on during the day when it's not so obvious they're turned on. Do you have underwater lights?

That’s a good idea, but we don’t have underwater lights.

[Mikwallace]

Source of the post So the switch is on the inside and the light is outside and the light is the only load the switch is connected to. Is that correct ?

Yes, the switch is inside the compartment where the power cord access is. Not inside the hull where the actual power cord reel is located. And the light is mounted on the outside of that compartment. I stuck my head through the access hole behind the master stateroom bed headboard to look where the actual power cord reel is located and there’s nothing else on the switch but the light and the battery 12vdc+ on the power cord reel controller is what the switch is wired to.

My guess it served as an indicator to show the 12vdc system was “operational”?

[Viper]

That's a strange one but if what you're saying is right, someone went through a lot of trouble for something that's unnecessary IMO. It'll only tell you if that particular circuit is turned on, not the 12 volt system overall. Even if you just wanted to know whether that circuit was on or not, why hook up a switch to it? That would just defeat the purpose because now you have to turn the switch on to find out if the circuit is powered up or not, just doesn't make sense. Sounds more to me like they were drawing power from that source to run something that has since been disconnected/removed but who knows what a previous owner was thinking.

Do you have a hull/bilge drain on the transom?

What is the access plate for that is beside the dockside water hookup? That's not factory.

[bud37]

Source of the post My guess it served as an indicator to show the 12vdc system was “operational”?

Yup, it may just be that....perhaps PO just wanted to know if the reel was powered from the breaker like you said, who knows.
Also people used to put up fake alarm system indicator lights, but they were usually small led's etc that would not draw a lot of power if left on for long periods....now that is a stretch..
The only other wild guess I may have would be at some point there was a dinghy lift or there were lights, any of these have may been removed.....but why leave the light you may ask.

You seem to have a very good candidate for "What the Heck is This" award of the year......

[g36]

Source of the post

What is the access plate for that is beside the dockside water hookup? That's not factory.

Viper the screw in access plate is factory on these 405/406 boats. I have these on my 405 too. Theres one in the same place on the port side too. When opened you have some access to the hull exhaust fittings on both sides of the boat. And to the dock water fitting on stbd side. I'm not saying there's much room but at least they made it available.

I also installed my underwater light switch in the electrical compartment above the inlet connections there. It's pretty convenient mostly my wife uses it for night fishing

[Viper]

Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing the access ports on other boats. Don't know that you need it to access the plumbing of the water inlet but it can't hurt.

If there's a drain plug, maybe there used to be an underwater light drain plug before that started leaking and they simply removed it rather than replace it with another one. They can be a pain when you're actually trying to drain the bilge. Most don't have a rotating connection so that you're not twisting the wires when removing or installing the assembly, and those that do I've found to be a failure point.