So I recently got a switch from mariner sails and the people up there walked me through making sure I wired it correctly. (they are awesome)

I followed all the instructions to the T ( I think haha) and the switch is turning my lights off and on now.

HOWEVER, they are definitely not as bright as they were 5 minutes before when I just touched the open wires to the battery to test them (does have fuse installed).

what could be the cause of this? If the lights were working at 100% brightness before installing switch, id say they are close to 35-40% brightness output.

any suggestions would be great.

If you are some what knowledgeable in this area, I can shoot you a photo or short video if you PM your #.

I just want to make sure im getting 100% out of my equipment. thanks!

1. Check battery voltage
2. check connections make sure you got good clean solid connections
3. check your switch ohm it out if you can make sure it doesn't have to much resistance.
4. reverse polarity or switch the wires and see if that makes a difference.
Good luck.

I am by no means an expert. But may check to make sure the switch is big enuff voltage/amp wise. That could have nothing to do with it but its worth a shot

I called mariner sails and he said it should be fine for my purpose. I work until 10pm tonight but tomorrow I'll post a short video or more pics for help. I'm located in lake Dallas Corinth area if someone in that area knows a thing or 2. I'll try to reimburse however I can.

Thanks all for your help.

Sniperhunter gave an excellent troubleshooting procedure. Only some type of added resistance could cause the dimming of the light.

do you think it could be a fuse? idk much about electrics so can fuses cause not enough power to turn the lights on completely. What size fuse do yall use for your lights?

Unless you have bad connections at the fuse, that shouldn't give you any issues. A fuse either works or it don't, the amp ratings are designed for the circuit its protecting. The fuse holder itself could cause issues if it has poor connections. You could start at the battery "+" terminal work your way through the circuit and systematically check and bypass any switches or fuses in the circuit and see if you find the problem. What kind of lights are, what brand and model? Its possible the lights themselves have failed Have seen that scenario 100 times.

I dont think the lights have failed. Tomorrow im going to unplug everything and redo the wiring again. I have the switch im ,y kayak (had to drill a hole) so ots now going anywhere.

Ill do a youtube video and maybe so,eone can show me or tell me how im messing up. Ima visual learner so it takes me long to read it and be able to do whats needed.

Pics (even drawn ones help lol)

The only time I experience less brightness when showing a full charge on charger is when battery has a bad cell. I run my battery until it dies most days between the lights and fishfinder. I'm lucky to get a year out of a 7.2 ah battery. Will be much easier to test battery than to rewire.

I have a spare battery so I'll try that tonight after work. But it was working just fine before with the battery it's using now 5 minutes before I installed the switch.

I just had to manually plug and plug for them to come on.

Given past experience with audio and DC current type installs. You are correct in that resistance and/or a voltage drop of some type would generate the behavior your seeing.

1) bad connection somewhere - in my experience with various (non-kayak) custom installs - 90% of the time this is the fault. In this case make sure all your connections are making solid contact. 1 oxidized or bad connection in the loop would cause the behavior

2) bad wire - make sure you are using the right guage and if in doubt... replace! (wire is cheap at least the type you need for this kind of install... it's not some wicked expensive audio snake )

Poor man's test methods!
1) grab a multi-meter - then test resistance of each leg of cabling in sequence moving out from the battery. if you see a sudden spike you know the connection prior is causing the issue.

I am sorry guys. I know this sounds like easy stuff for most of yall but I am just clueless. I will take a look tonight again and try everything suggested. I am a visual learner so when I have to just read instructions it might take a day or 2 or sometimes a few weeks haha.

I will keep yall posted

Switch

Here is the switch I purchased.

Your link doesnt work for me.

Get a multimeter, they are worth the little money they cost. Watch vids on youtube on continuity testing, ohm testing and resistance testing for dc. Sounds complicated but it is not. Also watch basic principles of a dc circuit. Unless you understand the basic, no one is going to be able to help you much, besides it will benefit you in the future.

Check all connections, including ground to battery. Connections should be clean and well spliced. Check battey voltage should be 12.6 or 12.8 volts, if it is lower you have no amperage.

Isolate the wiring from the switch, if brightness comes back then it's your switch. The switch could be acting as a bottle neck, not allowing the proper amperage draw that the lights need to run run at full brightness.

If switch is not the culprit perform a
continuity test, this require a volt meter and watching youtube tutorial for 5 mins, but its a quick way to find a problem.

Since LED draw so little amperage I doubt this will be your problem, but its good to have a basic idea. Wire it needs to be made up of multiple strands of copper, the more the better. Using solid wire provides less surface area for the amperage, since dc electricy flows around the outer surface of the wire, not through the wire. So the lower the gauge, the more strands, the more surface for amperage that can be carried further away from the battery.

I think it is the switch also. I'm going to return it and get a different one cause yes without the switch the lights work 100%

I'm on my way to get soldering stuff so clean up my connections for when I take it to mariner sails. The guys up there r awesome. They will answer anything u need and even walk u through it! If u think about it, that could lose them $$ in. Some sense, but I'll always shop at a place that is willing to just help people out like that do.

We can't check amp rating of switch because the vendor does not show its rating on their website. Switch http://shop.mariner-sails.com/Supernova-Switch-and-Waterproof-Boot-SN-SWITCH-BT-KYK.htm

We don't know how much current your LED lights pull either.But if switch distributor has provided you with a correct switch, it is much more likely you simply have made a bad wire crimp at the switch connections or used too small of wire.

But no need for solder.......often argued topic,but over time a good crimp is fine and more reliable than soldered connections in a moving vehicle or a kayak.

I'm having more trouble now.

Rewired and solder my connects, checked all the fuses to see if that would be it and my lights r still now at bright

The fuse I had installed said 10 on it but someone told me to get a 5 size and still no bright LED lights. If I plug straight into the battery with fuse they r as bright as needed.

Really stuck and frustrated at this point. Any help, drawing, phone call or a PM would be appreciated. Trying to get before dark Saturday morning and I want these LEDS to work

I have it going from 12v battery ----a fuse on positive side then the positive on Led strip and negative just going straight to the 12v negative output. (That's for max brightness)

I'd like to have to same thing but with a switch. Just doesn't seem like it's pulling a lot of juice cause they super dim.
Please help

Wild guess and suggestion time.....

With the switch installed and lights dim, move the toggle switch back and forth agressively 25 times or more to attempt to wipe and clean the internal electrical contact surfaces. Tug a bit on the two wires of the switch to confirm they are firmly attached and they do not easily become detached from their connnections which are hidden under the black sealant.

If the lights remain dim with switch ON, replace the switch.

If anyone is up and wants to call over real quick on how I'm doing this give me a holler. 9403660298. I'm get frustrated on this wiring and just burnt the [censored] out of me haha

I'm going to replace switch. Tried everything but I'll take it to mariner sails first and if they can see my mistake then great. If not ok get a new switch and in the parking lot

Got it working. Thanks to lance on dfw kayak fisherman and all the staff at mariner sails.

New switch?

you got us all interested.. we now want to know what the issue was

I took the switch back to Mariner Sail and they checked it out for me and said it was working just fine but gave me a new one and test it in front of me as well to ensure it would work. I cut all new wire and soldered like crazy to ensure good connections. So to be honest with you I don't know what it was that was causing the issue.

I will say that when I put the "Switch" in the off position, that's when the light would come on but dimmer and when I put the "switch" back on the on position they would turn off. SO it could have been some internal thing or it could be that I'm an idiot when it comes to electricity.

now that things are up are running on that, I will be rewiring my fish finder battery cords (completely separate from my LEDS)so that I can put it in the Hobie battery holder.