Jabsco 60080 Series Marine 146SL Remote Control Marine Halogen Searchlight, 175000 CP, Joystick Control
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I purchased this after 6 months of waiting and watching for a price drop. I actually just needed the switch controller to fix the one I had on my boat. The price of the whole kit dropped below the cost of the switch by itself. I would've rather gone LED but the price on those is excessive given the tech is not really that new. So, I figured I'd just go with what I've got and do a work around.
Come to find out after replacing the switch one of the motors in the old one wasn't working. Good thing I purchased everything, I thought. So, I tied the boat up so the bow pulpit was hanging over the dock so I could work from the dock. Then, come to find out (not Jabsco's fault) that the unit is bolted through the deck. And Bonus! there's no way to access the area under the deck because the light was bolted onto the deck before they married it to the hull at the factory. Smucks! I had to bust the old unit off the deck and snap the bolts that wouldn't come free. Now, I'm left with a cut wiring harness because the light pig tail is located in this inaccessible void in the pulpit as well. Plus, I still have to figure out how to bolt the new one in place. Shooting screws into the deck was not going to work because the holes were too big and it's sloppy to boot.
Here's my solution to this problem if you end up in the same predicament. There are websites online that will laser cut generic shapes in stainless steel plate. Ordering is easily done in a graphics based online form. Search metals cut 4 you. Order a 1/8" polished SS doughnut shape that is one inch larger than the base of the light with a 1" center hole. Add holes for the light screws using the supplied diagram. Bed and screw the plate to the deck. Either by screwing the circumference down in a nice pattern or screwing the plate down around the inside hole so that they're hidden. Splice your harness in (included the connector) in case you have to remove the unit later. Then screw the light down to the plate. It'll be rock solid and looks really good.
I'm knocking two stars off because Jabsco's mounting solution (screws on the outer perimeter of the base) is poor thinking. They hard to access because the head of the light is larger than the base. Including a mounting plate or bracket that can be bedded down would be far better and could hide the screws. Two, the price for such a basic piece of equipment makes me nuts. At least for the price they could update the sealed halogen bulb to a LED bulb. Third, the housing can and does yellow over time.
If you'd like to update the unit to LED it is possible. Here's the trick: the bulb inside this unit is a standard size physically but not a standard high/low headlight sealed beam. It's a discontinued fog light bulb with only two prongs on the back but is the same size as the standard high/low beam. Search online for a sealed beam headlight to LED retrofit using the physical size of the spotlight's lens. You'll find that the retrofit has three prongs. Not to worry, one of the prongs is the ground. The other two will be either low beam or high beam. You can hook one or the other up depending on which you like. You might be able to hook both up to the same positive but the wiring in the light might not be able to handle it (fire hazard!). I would check the amp draw of both against the old halogen before doing any of this. Cheap electrical components inside LED retrofits can use the same amount of amperage as the halogen through making excess heat.
Cheers Mike form the lifesaport blog
