# Hella anchor light troubleshooting



## Amartinez (Nov 5, 2021)

Hello everyone I am hoping someone can help me out. I’ve got an older hella folding anchor light pn 157 I believe… on my poling platform rigged to a on off on switch. The anchor light stopped working the other day and I can’t figure out what is wrong with it. I tried taking the top off but wanted to see if anyone is familiar with them and if I am missing a part. It doesn’t look like the bulb is burnt out but I may look for a replacement to test .

please let me know if you have any advice as I am a little lost here. I don’t want to buy a new one until I know for fact that this one is toast!


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

From your photos it looks like you have some corrosion which if on the parts that plug in can cause the light to fail. Some times electrical cleaner may help and other times will need physical cleaning. Wire brush, emery cloth or light sandpaper. The male part of an electrical device is easy to clean while the place it plugs into can be harder to clean and may be easily damaged in the process.

If cleaning doesn't help then testing with a multimeter will pinpoint where the failure is.
For basic tests the cheap multimeters will work OK.
youtube has tutorials on testing for continuity and voltage.
Basic test in your situation would be to test the bulb for continuity.
Test the light socket is getting voltage.
Test switches for continuity.
Youtube has some tutorials on multimeter basics.

And just for fun... sometimes testing DC electricity will give a false reading, 
such as showing continuity in a circuit but the device (or light) fails to turn on because somewhere the circuit fails under load.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

My money is on the bulb holder. But I would go ahead and replace the bulb while I had everything apart.


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## Amartinez (Nov 5, 2021)

Thanks to MRO and the previous owner of my skiff I was able to fix it with a wire brush and some vinegar in the terminals. The corrosion was preventing the light from working. Hopefully this can help someone out in the future.

Thanks guys


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

Look into "dielectric grease".

Once electric parts corrode and have been cleaned, tend to corrode again.


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## CaptDanS (Oct 26, 2017)

Go to Harbor Freight and buy the cheap multimeter...it works wonders.


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## thunderhead (Nov 14, 2016)

I had the same issue with an older Hella anchor light mounted on my platform. Water got into the light and it rusted/corroded the wiring. Apparently those older lights were not watertight or designed to be flipped down on a poling platform such that water would catch in the housing. Once I finally got a hold of someone at Hella (which wasn't easy) they took care of it and replaced it with the newer sealed model.


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