Flip up anchor light repair

[Dale Nelson]

Looking to upgrade the existing light to LED , or replace the factory flip up anchor light on the poling platform.

[HoneyB]

Kinda hard to say because I do not know exactly what light you have but I would say just get on line and see what you can find. If your light housing is good just search for replacement led bulb 

[Dale Nelson]

Sorry, it’s a Hella marine, I found a few. The contacts are done- terrible design when the light is in the down position the lens fills with water. Not sure if their  new version has the same design flaw.  I might experiment with turning it into LED and seal the lens

[HoneyB]

Ohh you mean the pole flips up .. I see now. Yeah man get you an led bulb and go to work on sealing the light 

[FLDXT]

New version is better, haven't had any issue with mine. I tried extensively to modify the old one to no avail. 

[jason p]

I drilled a small hole in the top of mine (so it drains when flipped down) still works after 8.5 years.

[hurricane]

Best to keep it in the up position, it won't get water in that way. There is an LED bulb that fits it, I bought one on Amazon, or Ebay. Do a search for "31mm Festoon LED bulb". Im pretty sure its 31mm, might double check that before you buy.

[polliwog]

The only reason to put the light down is when you're poling.  I will be looking into a LED for mine.  My light is 20yrs old and still works.  If you keep your boat outside I wouldn't drill a hole in the top, if water gets in it will go straight to the electrical fixture instead of filling the plastic cover which won't hurt the electrical parts.  It takes a bunch of water to fill the plastic globe.  It is a bad design BTW.   

[Dale Nelson]

I keep my boat in a pole barn with a light cover on it, that I why mine stays in the down position 99% of the time, it mainly gets water in it when being washed or rained on when docked. It gets a surprising amount of water in the lens. I’m a little late for drilling a hole in the top.

[wthree3]

4 hours ago, jason p said:

I drilled a small hole in the top of mine (so it drains when flipped down) still works after 8.5 years.

This, mine also good for the last 8 years.

[Flats Man]

I bought a new Hella and put an LED bulb in it a few years ago, works great. I keep mine sideways to keep water out unless I'm poling or flipping up the VHF antenna, it gets in the way of the antenna in the sideways position. 

[blewbyu]

Hella Marine, maker of these lights advises not to use LED festoon bulbs as a replacement. They are not CG certified for correct brightness and lumen output. I bought their approved replacement. Keep it upright always.....no water inside.

[hurricane]

I get it there has to be and they have to meet standards, and they will only recommend the CG approved equipment. Makes total sense from business perspective. I can tell you the bulb I put in is brighter and projects much better than the original incandescent bulb.  Of course that doesn't mean its right, but Im comfortable with it and feel safer with the light now than with old bulb.

[Dale Nelson]

I’m midway into turning my old light into a LED light- I will update with pictures. I love the challenge 

[Dale Nelson]

Rebuild complete, new 9 Diode LED- new socket all of the old light gutted- sealed and new bezel seal= under $5.00, I already had the bulb.

[Nauti]

Bringing this back from the dead...has anyone found a sealed LED Anchor Light that works in this application?  I have the same flip up Hella and the inside connection is coming apart and I just don't trust it to work 100%.  I don't do a lot of night fishing (but plan to do more) so mine stays down and out of the way most of the time.  I drilled the drain hole a long time ago and that has keep it dry.  I may have to do something like above, or just do some soldering inside to improve the connections if I can't find a replacement.

[waterman7474]

On a somewhat related note, I have a flip up light of a different design but it uses these blade bulbs.  It has two but I don't know what bulb this is and I would really like to replace them with LED as well. 

[Tails Up]

Hella makes a flip up led version.  I just replaced both on my Redfisher and my HPX.  Did not have a problem with the bulbs on the old ones, it was always the plastic that held the metal bulb mount. I have both boats covered and typical would get a year.  Hoping the new ones last

[Convertible13]

I bought another Hella flip up light a year ago and it’s already shot. I’ve thought about putting a light pole in the back of my MA 21 like bass boats use. With the light on the console, it screws up my night vision because it’s glaring right in front left of me. 

[jim33042]

 

  

 I had the same version of hella flip up as shown in Dale’s pictures above, none of them lasted more than three years.  I run often after sunset and the fold up style light created a problem with front deck glare in the same mounting position as in Dale’s picture.  Last time looking for yet another replacement (after same light overloaded fuse and I had to drive home with no lights) I came across the sealed Naviled 360 with a flush mount and installed it in the location of Dale’s puck style gps antenna - Before replacing my gps unit, I previously had a similar antenna there and was use to not stepping on it.  With the far aft and starboard placement on the platform, the entire deck of my  18’ boat is inside the shadow of the platform.  Having the 360 degree visibility safety factor and zero deck glare, made a happy outcome of my ‘let’s try it and see what happens’ purchase/ placement decision.  The sealed unit also has a 5 year warranty.

https://www.hellamarine.com/en/products/navigation-lamps/all-round-white-anchor/2-nm-naviled-360-compact-all-round-white-navigation-lamps.html