Even when R.E.D. was brand new right off the production line four years ago the mast light sometimes worked, sometimes not. For so many legitimate reasons, when something goes wrong we tend to blame it on dealer issues but this time it turned out to be a factory issue.
Frail Connections
No wonder the light worked poorly. When disconnecting it fell apart in Francois’ hands.
Corrosion
Corrosion is a fact of life especially when exposed to salt water environments but this was a good lesson to routinely check connections, although this was not a water-tight connection and subject to infiltration.
New Piece
Fortunately this was an easy and inexpensive repair
Easy Fix
All installed, super sealed with butyl tape and ready to test. Did Francois connect positive with positve and negative with negative?
Mast Up
Yes! Connection made and now our mast light works consistently.
Mast Down
Safely capped when we unstep the mast.
An $18 piece, a bit of butyl tape to seal equals a whole lot of piece of mind.
The day I installed the replacement part, it pour rain during the night, not a drop of water was inside the cabin. I am a truly believer of Butyl Tape.
What are those other two connections with the white flanges?
Hey Barb, One is for the radar, the other is for the coax cable for the marine radio which never really worked well (couldn’t get consistent weather report at the very least) so during this year’s trip we bought a better quality one.