steaming light connector ???? Positive or negative??

[BNG]

I'm putting together an anchor light that I will be hoisting up the backstay using the main halyard. I was planning on using the steaming light connector to plug in. The plug has a big and small pin. Which is the positive or negative?

Thanks
Brian

[Sumner]

Take a Volt/Ohm meter and put it on DC voltage and momentarily touch the two test leads to the plugs. If the meter starts to go the wrong way on the scale or reads a negative voltage then swap the test leads. If it now reads 12 volts or more the red one is on the positive and the black is on the negative,

Sum

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[Catigale]

...and I will point out that since the Macs are wired by elves, you can't rely on others' responses on this one...

[BNG]

Good point.

[Russ]

Why is the polarity important? Is it an LED? Some LEDs are not polarity specific. I've got a couple that don't seem to care.

I used the polarity trick to use the same pair of wires to run my steaming and anchor light. I hooked up a DPDT switch at the panel to reverse the polarity.

--Rus

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

...and I will point out that since the Macs are wired by elves, you can't rely on others' responses on this one...

Hey, just hook up the wires, turn on the juice...if the fuze blows...reverse the wires. Then, and very importantly, dont forget to replace the fuse.


Electrician, sorta

What was that aweful remark about being unable to rely on others' responses...watch it Pilgrim !

[BNG]

When I temporally connected the wires to a 9 volt batterry just for the fun of it, the light would only work red to positve and of course black to neg. Its not a led light, thats whats so confusing. I will be down at the boat this Wednesday and try it out.

Thanks
Brian

[Catigale]

Thats strange Brian. A non-LED bulb has no polarity requirements so your 9V test should have worked both ways. Did you make connections or just touch wires? Ill guess if you just touched, you had a bad connection.

Another possible explanation is someone has wired it with a diode to use the two wires to power two loads trick...