Helia 44: 12v Lighting Port Side Problems

[sailnext67713]

We came back to our new to us 2015 Helia 44 after it sat for a month to the LED lighting in the port hull not working anymore. It was working just fine when we left last month.

All 12v lights in the aft berth/head and forward head are all stopped working anymore, however oddly enough the forward berth lights are still working.

Here are the things I've tried:

1. Confirmed the fuse is fine and there is power to the port light circuit in the distribution box on the port side.
2. Confirmed the DC switch for the hull lights on the DC panel indeed has power, starboard side is fine as both are controlled from the same switch.
3. Back fed each impacted section with an alternative 12v source and each section of lighting is working just fine from the switch on. I did this to the aft berth, head, and forward head.

I've spent a few days now just trying to trace the leads to feeding each switch to the lights, but I'm not having a whole lot of luck! Anybody seen this before with the Helia or been into the 12v wiring on that side to give me some hints on where to look next?

Thanks!

[Scubaseas]

check the ground circuit?

[sailnext67713]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

check the ground circuit?

I should have mentioned it, when I back fed each area I grounded my alternative power supply at the DC panel itself. With each section working I guess I made an assumption the ground must be working.

[Scubaseas]

+ to - with something in between makes it work and keeps the smoke in the wire. Ground side is often the problem. Usually a bad connection someplace. Start measuring resistance between fixture ground and engine block. If you lost all the aft my bet would be a bad connection on a ground terminal strip or junction block.

An DVOM. long jumper wires and a tone generator circuit tester would all be nice tools to have to locate the problem.