Running Lights trippping off!

I checked front and back fixtures and wires including chasing all access points per the manual and can find no problems. If the port bow gets soaked, they trip in less then 2 minutes. If I turn them back on they trip immediately. I tried soaking just the port bow at the dock and they tripped. I think the problem is where the wire exits the port side of the bow pulpit and runs between the hull and anchor locker. I see I'll need to remove all the screws to pull out the locker to inspect the wire. My concern is the drain in the bottom of the locker itself. If anyone has any suggestions on this procedure, I'd sure appreciate the input. I even siliconed the light fixtures and entry points into the bow pulpit.

I found a trick to get the drain hose in the hole that worked great.

I bought a 3-4 ft long wooden dowel from Home Depot. The diameter fit snuggly into the hose. I lowered the anchor locker back into place making sure the wooden dowel went through the drain hole in the bow. Worked perfectly. I made sure to put lots of caulking around hole and onto end of hose. When finished, I got into the dinghy and pulled the dowel out of the hose.

Not a bad job, removing the anchor locker and bow pulpit, just took me a while.

BTW- You are correct in assuming the wire through the pulpit is the culprit. Seems this is a fairly common occurrence.

Good Luck

Removing the anchor locker and the drain hose is not a huge task, but I found I could see the wires to the bow lights by contorting myself into the bow area of our E30+ and looking up beside the anchor locker pan--ie. you may not need to remove the anchor locker to get access to the wires. If the anchor locker isn't leaking into the bow below, I would try to check all the wiring as much as possible before removing it.

However, if you do have to remove the anchor locker, on my boat there were screws every six inches or so, accessible from the deck with the anchor locker lid open. I removed these, and using a 1 inch putty knife and 1 inch chisel I carefully pried the anchor locker lip loose. Be careful and take time, as the lip is a bit fragile and brittle. I also pounded on it a bit from below (inside the boat) to try to raise it and weaken the bond--ie. the combination of pressure from underneath and prying loose under the lip of the anchor locker from on top got it free.

The hose to the anchor locker drain was held on by two small clamps, easy to remove once the anchor locker is loose, though I might even have removed them from below before getting the anchor locker out--it was easy to remove at least one of the clamps to free the anchor locker, before reaching in to get the other one.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Frank

Clarify Removal Please.

Thanks for the feedback on the locker. You inserted a dowel thru the hose to line it up when reinstalling the anchor locker. Was this dowel inserted from the outside to hold the hose erect so the locker would align and drop onto it? I'm trying to visualize this before I begin this task. It sounds like you inserted it from the inside but extracted it from the outside. I know that can't be right. Also, thanks for telling me this is a common problem. I'm visualizing a clump of spare wire jammed between the locker and hull.

It took me less than two hours to remove the anchor locker on my 32-3. The best tool was a flat-bladed screwdriver that I heated up and bent the last quarter inch or so at a right angle, this allowed me to cut the sealant under the lip and pry it up. The next best tool was a chisel to scrape the remaining sealant off.

To replace the hose (that's where my leak was) I bought a 5 ft section of hose to thread through the hole then cut off the excess after applying sealant to it.

I also put in to 4 inch access plates.

Mike Pick

OK, let me try to clarify. With the anchor locker out and on the foredeck I put the dowel into the drain hose. I then caulked the lip that holds the anchor locker and around the hose (I found you can't use too much caulk). I picked the anchor locker up and started lowering into place making sure I guided the dowel through the hole as I lowered the anchor locker back into place. The dowel ended up sticking down in the water when I finished. That's when I got into my dinghy and went around to the bow and pulled the dowel out. Might want to put a little more caulking around the outside of the hose. Hope this explanation is better.

After reading the cross-reference...

Numerous entries regarding bow lights here. Sounds like the problem may be at the connection of the aft. port bow pulpit deck fitting. I intend to try this first. There was a nice photo of that stainless connection showing leakage and damaged wires. This sounds like the culprit because if I blast water on the port bow it causes an immediate short. I'll go down during the week and check it out and will report back. Thank you for all the feedback. I've been on this sight since 4/2000.