Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

LED replacement bulbs for interior G4-base Halogen cabin lights

I installed replacement LED lights that use much less power compared with the Halogen G4-base bulbs that came with my boat, and are brighter. I recommend this change to others, as there is no weight penalty and the money spent on LEDs to reduce power draw is much less than it would take in solar/batteries to increase amp-hour capacity.

I don’t think a dimmer can be used with these.

I bought the lights from various eBay suppliers, and due to the transient nature of eBay sellers I'm not linking to specific ads, because this post is likely to survive any particular listing. I dealt with US-based LED Wholesalers, Inc., and Hong Kong-based whats_up_sun with good results from both. If you're not sure of the type or supplier I suggest you buy one of each type to test, then buy more if you want.

Enter the following search words on eBay : warm white led g4 smd.

I used three types of bulbs using SMD (surface mount devices) LEDs:(nl)The first type I used are small cylindrical arrangements. Key words (leave out quotes): “15-SMD warm white LED G4 ”. The main cabin of a Dragonfly 1200 requires these for the swiveling ceiling spotlights. I had to enlarge the center opening of the reflector, and that took about 1-minute per reflector using a Dremel tool with steel burr grinding bit. Wear eye protection. These bulbs are also used for wall sconces and other fixtures that didn't need to be modified.

The second type are small round disks with side-pins. Key words (leave out quotes): "G4 6 SMD LED Warm white LED". These are used in non-movable flush-mount ceiling fixtures that have the bulb-socket at one side, such as above a galley or under shelf.

The third type are small round disks with rear-pins. These are available with 6 SMD and 10 SMD configurations. Key words (leave out quotes): "G4 Rear Pins 10 SMD LED Warm White". I used the 10 SMD models for more light. These are used in the movable reading lights in the V-berth, and the goose-neck chart light. The 6 SMD lights are brighter than the halogens, and the 10 SMD bulbs are very bright.(nl)

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