Interior LED Lighting changeover

joanfenn · August 16, 2012, 09:28 AM

Finally did all the lights on the interior with new LED lights. There were 22 of them so that took an hour to do. Nice bright white lights and will help with not having to worry about leaving a light on too long. We noticed that there were a couple of the lenses that looked a bit cooked from the old style lights but we put those in spots where they are not to noticable. That is off the bucket list now. The only other thing that we will have to look into on the MH will be either a new compressor or new air bags for the rear shocks. It seems to take a little longer to inflate now. Other than that we will be taking it out for the weekend just for a run. Have been using the trailer more this summer so the old girl is feeling a little neglected. (MH I mean) The wax job is holding up great considering it is just floor wax. After a few months of heat and rain it is still nice and shiny. I will be curious to see how well it looks after the winter. But at least I know it won't be a big job to rewax in the spring. Looking forward to getting away for a couple of days.

Oz · August 16, 2012, 05:28 PM

That's awesome, Joan! I really hated those automotive type interior light bulbs. The heat they gave off was terrible. I didn't have the cash to buy LEDs but, I did scarf a few florescent lights from the Magic Junkyard and those were a major improvement.

It's a shame how much the cost of gas has caused many of us to use our vintage motor homes less but, as long as we're still using them, their legacy lives on!

joanfenn · August 16, 2012, 07:34 PM

Yes, it makes quite a difference with the nice white light and knowing that the power consumption is cut way down. The best place to buy these lights are at trucker supply stores. You get twice as many diodes for half the price of what the RV stores are charging.

GONMAD · August 17, 2012, 12:31 PM

If you're going with LEDs consider doing the stock running lights as well. They usually pull about 4 to 9 amps when everything is on. The LEDs pull a fraction of that..example; when I went to LED turn signal lights I also had to install a relay that doesn't rely on impedance to flash but has a timer. the new lights will not make the stock flasher trip.
Just a suggestion tho & it's easier on the alternator too. Hope this helps. C YA! GONMAD

moonlitcoyote · August 17, 2012, 01:20 PM

where do you find the LED lights for the interior and do they just plug in like the normal bulbs or do you have to change something?

joanfenn · August 17, 2012, 01:38 PM

These I picked up a place called Lesco Distributors here in Edmonton. They could be in the States also but other truck supply stores must carry them. These ones come with three different adapters and have 36 diodes so the light is quite bright. If you get some make sure that it is the bright white not the yellowish or pinkie white.

joanfenn · August 17, 2012, 01:42 PM

Hello GONMAD: That is on the bucket list also but am waiting for the right ones to come up here in Canada so we don't have to spend an arm and a leg on them. Maybe next year.

moonlitcoyote · August 17, 2012, 01:43 PM

wow, that is so not what I was expecting to see, thank you VERY much for the pics. That helped me a ton. If I had seen those in the store I would have assumed they were the wrong kind.

joanfenn · August 17, 2012, 01:55 PM

I think that they call them "biscuits". They have an adhesive back on them so you just replace the old bulb and stick these to to inside of the fixture replace the shade and there you go.

ClydesdaleKevin · August 18, 2012, 07:05 AM

You can get the LED marker lights pretty cheap on eBay...think I paid 7 bucks each for the whole assembly when I replaced all the marker lights on the Itasca with LEDs. The rear tail light assemblies in LEDs were a lot more expensive, but you could get individual LED bulbs for those, which are also getting more affordable on eBay. Those are plug and play bulbs without biscuits and adapters, just go right in the sockets.

And yep, when I replaced all the driving lights with LEDs, the signal relay wouldn't work...not enough amps drawn for the thermal switch...had to switch it over to electronic.

We are going to replace some of the most used bulbs in the RV with LEDS, including some of the florescent bulbs (which are 30 bucks for each bulb, 2 per fixture...but they are also plug and play except rewiring to bypass the ballast). Otherwise most of the lamps in our rig are in those brass funnel type reading lights, so we'll have to go with the plug and play bulbs for those as well...which are expensive, so we'll just the most used ones for now, and gradually replace them a few at a time as we can afford it.

The type you bought seem ideal if they are affordable enough for the more common plastic fixtures with the clear white plastic covers.

Kev

wrolandhyattjr · August 20, 2012, 11:26 AM

joanfenn:

I bought those lights you had pictured directly from China. I paid $2.60 each, I think, including shipping, which was free. The trouble was that the metal adapter base I got was not the 1156 size - it was smaller. Yours looks that way too. How did you install yours? Or, were your base adapters larger than they look?

Roland Hyatt

joanfenn · August 20, 2012, 01:15 PM

Hi there. Mine just slipped right in when I was replacing the old bulbs. The only problem we had was that we found one of the fixtures had the polarity reversed but hubby switched the wires and it works great.

gadgetman · August 20, 2012, 07:14 PM

some don't come with the 1156 socket adaptor. You can make them out of an old bulb. flatten the solder on the bulb tip and drill it out. now solder in a wire and one to the case. You can use the wire from one of the adaptors they send you.

oooo yea this is all after you busted the glass off the bulb

Alaskan Itasca · August 21, 2012, 08:52 PM

I hadnt thought of drillng out the bulb base soldering in the old bulb base was proving a challenge.

I found the tape on the bulbs didn't stick very long before the heat shrunk the tape and caused it not to stick any more. I got silicone glue and just glued them in. being silicone i can peel it off if i need to remove the bulb and it can handle the heat the LED bulb gives off

moonlitcoyote · August 21, 2012, 11:59 PM

can you show us pics of what you did Alaskan?

Alaskan Itasca · August 29, 2012, 07:39 PM

Here is what I did.

They work great. I got the daylight bulbs which are more blue/white than yellow. I don't much care for yellow light.

moonlitcoyote · August 29, 2012, 09:11 PM

I checked a local RV store and also auto parts stores but so far have not come up with any "bisuit" type LED's. Once I get a few other repairs done, I will check online. One thing tho is that when I pulled 2 bulbs out of one of my lights, they were 2 different bulbs, I cant really read the numbers on them but one looks like it says 1147 or 1141. Does anyone know for certain which bulbs I "should" have?

joanfenn · August 29, 2012, 09:24 PM

Hi there. I checked the bulbs that I replaced and I had some 1141's that I replaced with the new led's. Check out the big rig suppliers, that is where I got mine from. Lesco distributors here in Edmonton, could be other outlets in the States.

Alaskan Itasca · August 29, 2012, 10:44 PM

if you go the build your own bulb route you just smash the bulb and reuse the base.

My local rv store has all sorts of LED bulbs with all sorts of bases, but they cost as much for one bulb as I paid to convert my whole RV with the Ebay bulbs.

moonlitcoyote · August 29, 2012, 11:45 PM

I'll probably go with making my own, like you did but I need to make sure all my lights have the right bases.

Oz · August 30, 2012, 01:40 AM

Quote from: moonlitcoyote on August 29, 2012, 09:11 PM
when I pulled 2 bulbs out of one of my lights, they were 2 different bulbs,... but one looks like it says 1147 or 1141. Does anyone know for certain which bulbs I "should" have?

If I recall correctly, 1147 are monofilament rear tail light bulbs. I've found both used in interior lights in the Magic Junkyard. I got a whole bag of them as replacements for both interior and tail light use. But, they sure do throw heat!

We used to have a link here to a site with a mish-mash of DYI projects of all sorts. The one linked to how to make your own LED lights out of automotive lights which just plugged in to the old sockets. But, that site went bye-bye.

However, I found this awesome tutorial with photos for making a slightly different version of the same thing.

http://www.thediyworld.com/How-To-Make-A-12-V-LED-Light-Bulb.php

gadgetman · August 30, 2012, 02:24 PM

You can buy those led panel lights with the adapter sockets from the net straight from china, takes a while !! for 2.50 each !! cant build them for that price considering the time it takes. If you do pay close attention to the sockets they provide. Some dont give you the 1156 socket.