Favorite LED light strips?
 

I am going to install some LED lighting in various places, most notably in the tops of the rod boxes... Wondering if anyone has a favorite brand, or go for the pretty cheap ones on Amazon?

Going with Blue for now... I think they would look best. Going to look for the lightest blue I can find.

So on Amazon...

Idea 1

Idea 2

#1 will work as those are 12 volts, but #2 will not work. The ones that are cuttable every 3 feet or so are 120 volts and are meant to be used for home lighting. I tried them and they will not work on 12 volts DC.

Remember too fuse them correctly. They draw very little voltage but can still be dangerous if not fused correctly. When I install some LED's on a previous boat I didn't think such a small draw could cause problems but it certainly can.
I had to go back and add the correct fuses.

good to know, thanks for the tip! I wouldn't of bothered with a fuse to be honest...

ALL circuits should be fused. A fuse is cheap insurance vs a fire on the water. And when dealing with an electrolisis enriched enviroment, it's mandatory.

Thank you, sir.

On the subject of Voltage. Remember that LED's are Light Emitting DIODES. They will only pass current in one direction. Think of it as a one way valve for electricity, much like a check valve works for hydraulics. They will not light if the current is flowing in the wrong direction. So if your brand new installation doesn't work, try reversing the positive and negative wires before you take it back to the store.
If anyone wants a really nice description of what a diode is and how it works read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode

To add to this, if they don't light up, shut em off immidiately as feeding them backwards for to long can ruin them.

I haven't posted a pic but I lit my boxes at the end of last year. I got some white LEDs from PepBoys Auto parts. Not even a strip just 2 singles per box. Plenty of light! On a dpdt switch with my cuddy interior (same leds). Rigged the switch for boxes only or both cuddy&boxes. 6 LED units , 16awg wire, on a 3 amp fuse.

Also added a garboard drain plug underwater LED....Very cool got it on ebay. Firewater brand 1200 lumens..
Rigged that with my overhead deck flood LED, switched underwater or both.

Hey there... I just found some nice size single lights, like you mentioned. If I want to tie them into my spare switch on the dashboard, do I have to run from the battery to that switch and then back, or just from the switch back to the lights?

I have never even checked to see if there are cuddy lights, or for that matter if there are any lights hooked up to a switch!!! I guess I'll have to.

That depends on alot...

Is there a fuse panel with a +12v and Neg bus under the dash?

In some way.... you will need +12v from battery thru a fuse to the switch, then to all of the LED's +wires and a connection of all LED Neg wires to the Neg battery.

Do not connect LEDs in series( in + out - into+ out - ...etc) Connect them in parallel. they all must have (from switch)+12v on their + wire and All must connect their - wire in some way to the Negative battery (aka Ground or Common)