Anchor light LED bulb Grounding issue

[Scrimma]

Hi all. My existing anchor light LED has failed (gone very dim) after years of service. I went to my local Chandlery and grabbed a replacement. Back up the mast and installed it, but alas it would not work. Tried reversing polarity, but no luck. Came back down and tried it direct to a 12v battery. It works! I checked voltages etc at masthead and all is as it should be.
It turns out my existing LED bulb is grounded to the electrical contact pin under the base of the bulb, whereas the new ones are grounded to the casing of the bulb (much like an automotive style where the sleeve it sits in is the negative.)
I have no clue why this is different and it means I cannot not use any of the bulbs in my local Chandlery, who has no idea of the difference or how to source the correct bulb for my standard masthead light/tri colour.
Had anyone came across this issue and if so, how did you go about fixing it/sourcing the correct bulb?

[Scrimma]

Here's an image of the existing. The 2 connection on the bottom are +/-, where's the new (but same looking) bulbs from Chandlery are only one of those + and the other nothing, but the casing is the negative.

[jamhass]

It is important to get an LED that is spec'd for your specific tricolor fixture. It's not just the proper base, but the colors of the LED bulb need to match the lens color quite accurately or little light will get out. Simple "white" LEDs do not work properly behind colored lenses. Most of the national chandleries (WM, Defender, etc) will have proper replacement LEDs. Not cheap, but necessary.

Good luck.

[CharlieJ]

Try Dr. LED: http://https://www.doctorled.com/#na...ghts-LED-bulbs. It appears that he has what you need.

[Secondshift]

+1 on Dr LED. Pricey but worth it for us.

https://www.doctorled.com/#navigation-lights-LED-bulbs

Regards

Perhaps just my machine but I couldn't open CharlieJ's link.

[Scrimma]

Originally Posted by jamhass

It is important to get an LED that is spec'd for your specific tricolor fixture. It's not just the proper base, but the colors of the LED bulb need to match the lens color quite accurately or little light will get out. Simple "white" LEDs do not work properly behind colored lenses. Most of the national chandleries (WM, Defender, etc) will have proper replacement LEDs. Not cheap, but necessary.

Good luck.

Interesting. Thanks for that info!

[Scrimma]

Originally Posted by CharlieJ

Try Dr. LED: http://https://www.doctorled.com/#na...ghts-LED-bulbs. It appears that he has what you need.

Thank you! I will take a look. I managed to find a guy yesterday that custom makes those bulbs for whatever configuration needed. AU$20 per bulb delivered. Thought that was a pretty decent deal!

[Mike Banks]

I always run twi wires to everything--I never i use housings or the vessel hull as a return path for electrons. Two wires means fewer problems.

[Flatswing]

Yep -u bought the wrong replacement. For an isolated anchor light the color temp is not important unlike tricolor or P/S Behind colored lenses.
FYI another excellent source for LED’s is Marinebeam - Charleston, SC. Marinebeam & Dr. LED both sell quality replacements that don’t require correct polarity, tolerate lower voltages well & don’t interfere with VHF/AIS ( Possibly important with masthead antennas/anchor lights)