Hi All, I've been trying to get some information on my 1985 Carver 3607. My boat has two 110V 75W lights located under the bed in the aft cabin, one on the rear port side and one on the rear starboard side. Both are protected with a wire cage the same as found on trouble lamps. My problem is that I cannot locate the switch to activate these lights. I have asked other Carver owners for help locating on another forum but apparently I have the only 3607 with any 110V lighting. Are there any other 3607 owners out there that have lights under the aft cabin bed and if so where is the light switch located?
110 V lights They are called "sex" lights, when you have satisfied your lover in bed. the lights come on and blink like crazy.....enjoy...
I'm having trouble picturing this. Are they inside the box or outside for foot lighting. This may sound simplistic, but many problems like this are. Have you checked the bulbs and did you have the A/C power turned on while checking? Are these your only 110 lights? Are you sure they are 110V fixtures? If they are inside the box for working in there they could be turned on with the engine room light. Can you be more descriptive or a post a pic?
Yes the lights are inside the box where the hot water heater, water holding tanks and sanitary holding tank are located and the bed sits on top of and would be for lighting while working that area. They are full size 75Watt 110 volt lights, not the little 12 volt lights located outside the box as night lights. One would think the light switch would be located in close proximity to the lights but I cannot find a switch to activate them. Both the 110V wiring to the hot water heater and these lights exit the box under the bed to port going toward the wife's vanity supplying 110V outlets there then to the head also supplying a 110V outlet and a 110V fluorescent light fixture above the sink basin in the head. From there the wiring runs into the engine compartment and finds it's way to the main breaker panel where I can kill power to the aforementioned outlets and I assume the lights in question. I just can't locate where the switch to these lights is located, should be obvious but I can't find it. Any body else have a 3607 with these lights inside the box under the bed?
Lighting First, check the bulbs, second, there may be a spring operated switch that activates when you access the opening ? might be jammed..there may be a sw. internal to the fixture itself ?
Currently the light circuit at the socket shows no voltage which would be the case if the "phantom" switch were in the off position as it should be when the lights are not in use. No automatic switch's that I can tell, access is through several little removable covers under the bed. I was just hoping someone else out there had a 3607 with the same lighting set up that could clue me in. Mine sure looks like a factory install but now I'm beginning to wonder. Boats been winterized and put away for the winter so I guess I'll look more in the spring. Thanks for taking the time to help me analyze the situation, it is appreciated.
More likely than not these lights were not factory installed. lights in the area you described are rare. Best bet is to look for an unlabeled breaker(spare) on the panel or a switch in a strange place or just follow the wiring back to where it is coming from. My question would really be why is there so much lighting in a place that doesnt need it. water heaters and tanks dont need daily maintenance.
It would be nice to have lighting when winterizing/de-winterizing the boat every year as this is where you have to drain/bypass the hot water heater and pump the pink stuff throughout the boat from along with check steering system and holding tank levels, but a portable floodlight works OK too. I guess just because they are there it would be nice to know, but certainly not a big deal.
Check for DC voltage at the socket. It sounds like a typical DC voltage light assembly which they used on a lot of boats around that time. They do make 12 volt light bulbs that look exactly like your typical 120 volt household lightbulb.
I would go to Grainger and buy a cheap cable tracer. Follow the cable if you can. If you cant find it, find a 110v receptical close by and tie it into that locate the switch were ever you like.
You know I'm not sure that the hot water heater is on a separate circuit than the receptacle plug ins and lights, just assumed they were. When changing out the hot water tank I killed power at that dedicated breaker but all the other outlets and lighting in question have only been turned off by throwing the main 110 breaker so never checked to see if the dedicated hot water breaker would also kill the other outlets, I'll have to check that out. But somewhere there has to be a point in the wiring circuit that splits off to feed these lights and that would almost certainly be at the vanity. I do also have an air conditioning unit in the aft cabin but that is on a completely different set of breakers in the breaker panel box and not a player in this issue. I could also try tracing the circuit by checking continuity to narrow down the location of any switch/circuit break.
Check the braker/electrical panel and turn on any open circuits or spares. They may have been an addition and were left unlabeled. You can also contact an electrician (they work for free ) and they can put in a circuit tester to determine if (1) it's live, (2) it's 12v or 110v, and (3) they can trace it back to the panel and determine which circuit it's on. They just use an audible alarm when the circuit is identified.
Lights under Aft cabin bed I have a 1986 Carver 3607. The lights under your bed, in the aft head, in the engine and forward holding tank area are heat lights for the winter. My 3607 has 200w bulbs. They are controlled by a thermostat in the engine room above the genset. You can set what temp you want them to come on. When you need them for light, just turn up the temp setting until they come on. Don't forget to turn it back down when you are finished. I keep mine set on 40 degrees.
Hicker2, thanks for your reply. I was wondering if the lights might be for freeze protection. My engine room thermostat is located center aft above the engines and I always assumed it worked both engine heaters as well as the generator but never dreamed it was also for the lights under the aft cabin bed, cool- I would have never figured that one out. This must be a fairly rare option for Carvers as I've been asking this same question on another rather large Carver forum and they have mostly been treating me as some sort of idiot who couldn't find a light switch and none had ever heard of lights like these, at least you've verified otherwise for me. Thank you so much!
Hiker2, I just re-read your post and need to clarify something. All the heaters in my boat(one for each engine, one for generator, one for aft cabin head and one under stairs leading down to the galley) are not light bulbs but rather element type heaters about 2'x6"x3" in size with the one in the head and galley containing thermostatic controls at the heater. Are yours all light bulbs? Do they look like an after-market installation? One thing about the two heaters with thermostats built in, when I've tried to operate them they seemed to work only full on or full off without any thermostatic control at all so I've never used them since I've had the boat. Maybe they are also controlled somehow from the engine room thermostat?
heater lights The lights really look like they came from manufacturer. They all have protective covers over them to keep from getting broken. Doesn't look like after market installation. Maybe there was more than one kind of heater available.
