Flourescent Lights in RV

This weekend I replaced all my fluorescent with LED strips that you buy by the foot. Cut them to lenght and stick them inside the fixture.

Thanks everyone for the info. Seems like LED's may be the way to go.

I replaced my fluorescent bulbs by buying bulbs by the case. on line. One fixture did not work so I sent it back to the manufacturer and they sent me a new fixture for $20.00, good deal for a 10 year old fixture.

Bulbs are the same, fixture (Ballast) is different.

on the 12 volt fixtures the "Ballast" is really an inverter that kicks the voltage up to what the lamp needs and limits current.

on the 120 volt it's just a current limiter.

Just replaced fluorescent bulbs wit LED light strips in three ceiling fixtures. In the past I had to replace ballast units and during this refit, I found another ballast burned. See MY BLOG

tmmar wrote:
I have fluorescent light fixtures in my coach. The bulbs are 18" long. The 2 fixtures in my bedroom area some times don't light fully like the bulbs are going. Some time they work fine. Does anyone know if there is a 'starter' in these fixtures to light the bulbs? Is there a special bulb needed when I replace the bulbs?
Thanks.

Bulbs are all the same, but replacing them may not correct the problem. They have a ballast for 12vdc operation, but no starters.

X2 and a no brainier

lanerd wrote:
Good time to replace with LED. I do this everytime any of my lights fail. Too expensive to do it all at once, but one at a time and you hardly can tell the difference in the lighting.

Ron

There is not a starter. You can buy 18" bulbs at HD or on Ebay. Here's a previous post on changing over to LED.

Hi,

Ours are the same way. Changing bulbs didn't help, so it must be the ballast. I'm considering replacing them with these LED replacements. I'm not endorsing this site as I haven't tried their product yet. These DO NOT USE the existing ballast and it must be by-passed or removed. The video on the link explains the process.

I also know there are cheaper alternatives, but you have to be careful with the voltage. The bulbs I linked to have a built-in voltage regulator (they are designed for 12V or 24V systems). From what I've read, some that are designed for "12V only" have a shortened life during the higher voltage battery charging cycles of our inverters. There are several posts on here of people who have replaced their fluorescent bulbs with some sort of LED system.

~Rick

Good time to replace with LED. I do this everytime any of my lights fail. Too expensive to do it all at once, but one at a time and you hardly can tell the difference in the lighting.

Ron