Has anyone upgraded the interior lights from tungsten to LED? I'm thinking about having it done and was wondering if there were any drawbacks.
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Has anyone upgraded the interior lights from tungsten to LED? I'm thinking about having it done and was wondering if there were any drawbacks.
James have you done the outside yet?
Millenium did my coach last year. They give off a whiter light. All seems well so far.
I have a friend who did it to his coach; he loves them. They are a little expensive considering there are about 40 inside the average coach. My buddy loves to have it cold inside his coach and that is one of the reasons he went with LEDs. They don't get hot like the little halogen bulbs do.
And like tpr said, they give off a whiter light.
What is the cost to do the inside and the outside average?
I have recently changed all the inside halogen bulbs to LED. My fixtures on all but 5 bulbs were the sideways pinning G-4 bulb and I found them at of all places Lowes. It is a a rectangular bulb that has 3 rows of 4 led pucks, they have great light output no heat and have seen large drop on the amp gauge they are even dimable. Cost was 8 dollars and change and use your lowes card and get an additional 5%. Took several stores to rangle up the numbers needed but well worth the trouble, they are in the light bulb aisle in the LED section. The other 5 were a little toughfer same 2 pin G-4 style but a straight push in bulb that has been harder to find and much more costly but they are out there. This was done changing bulbs not fixtures which is pretty pricey with so many light in the coach. Bill
At Liberty they said the price to change the outside lights to LED 200.00 ea, they have to change the fixture, thought that sounded a bit high at 16-20 lights!, Bill where did you end up finding the straight push in bulbs?
Bill does your system use a dimmer for the lights? I have been warned that the current LED's will not work with voltage based dimmers, which I believe is what Marathon uses in our coach?
Ray, a couple years ago Ben Cummins updated our lighting system with a Spider control board that has the abbility to dim each light from any and every switch. I never use the feature on pourpose but it does work. Ben said low voltage was a death sentence for LED bulbs but the package claims dimable and they will. Bill
Gary, I tried 3 bulbs in the bedroom that I found at Home Depot that worked but I not overly thrilled and they were more expensive about 13.75 I think,. Have a buddy in Florence Al that has done a lot of homework and changed most if not all of his inside bulbs in his 01 XLII Liberty dealing with the Asian sources on Ebay at great priceing and I have gotten a couple from him and I like much better. He is planning on being in MB next week and I will try to find out more. I have gotten two different bulbs from him 1 was an 18 puck straight push in and the other a 15 puck that was slightly shorter. In some fixtures it gives the look of little chandliers kinda neet, will keep you postede. Bill
Thanks look forward to hearing from you, Liberty said they had to change the lens and the mounting plate in order to get leds on the outside guess that is why the high price!
Thanks to everyone for the info. We'll probably have Marathon install them this week.
I have been looking at marinebeam.com as they have "constant current" bulbs that protect against the wide range of voltages in RVs and boats. They make T5 bulbs that pop right in to the 12V flourescent fixtures. You just disconnect the old (often broken) ballast.
We have done a handful of these with great results. They are dimmable, providing the right LED is used. Pricing is all over the map since most of the different bulb types, sizes, sockets, shapes, and so on are new to the market. Fortunately though the prices are going down, not up, and that doesn't happen very often.... We do ceiling LEDs for 18 bucks each installed on any make or model coach.
My opinion would be for amperage and longevity alone it is worth it....
Safe and well-lit travels,
Pat Sprenger
Coach Pro LLC
I'm doing mine now. I use these lights: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110856235473...84.m1439.l2649 The price is right $15 for 10! Do get the "warm white" ones. In a stare and compare I can't tell the difference in color between these and the originals. I've had to reverse the wiring on most lamp modules because LEDs are polarity sensitive. I did have one LED break where the module leads solder to the circuit board. Overall I'm pleased, but have only done a few so far. These ONLY dim one level instead of the 6 or so levels the halogens dimmed.
Before I start prying, how do you get the little pucks open (or down) the proper way?
To remove the lens on most round recessed ceiling lights I have seen, it is a push and twist clock-wise arrangement. After the lens is removed there the fixture itself will be help in by small screws, typically into the plywood ceiling. For bulb replacement only the lens will have to come off... If you have halogen bulbs now, make darn sure they have been off and have cooled before touching them.
Best,
Pat Sprenger
Coach Pro LLC
Thanks Pat, some of these are so corroded they don't come apart easy .. but I did find one that opened eventually, so now i know how to get them apart - when they want to come apart that is ..Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach Pro LLC