120v only lights in slide- convert to 12v?
Our 2005 Cougar 304BHS living room/dining slide ONLY has 120v lighting, one over the table and one over the couch. Boondock = no lights (!) I have a few questions about "fixing" it. 1. 120v only...
Forum Discussion
Yes, there is a 120v outlet in the slideout.
I was pretty sure the 120v lights only worked when the slide was out...but...thinking back, not sure if the 120v was hooked up when I tried it. I will confirm it.
I guess I just don't see the benefit of having 120v-only lighting in that area? Maybe because pre-LED, they were trying to limit the 12v draw on the converters? But that wouldn't be any problem now.
We can get good light and good color with LEDs that use 1/10th the power of incandescents.
Is there any downside to just converting this all to 12v lighting? I'd pull the 120v and maybe add an outlet or something.
If I went with the inverter idea, I could pull the wiring off the lights and put in an outlet, then use 120v to 12v power supply to use the standard house under cabinet LEDs. Yes, a bit wasteful to go from 12v to 120v back to 12v, but when connected to shore power, it would be fine...and deal with the potential "over 12v" problems for the bulbs.
I read some time ago where people were using standard 120v fixtures and running then with 12v bulbs (CFL, LED bulbs, etc)
I've even considered removing the light socket all together and installing a LED panel inside the fixture instead.
It just really seems like an odd setup...
Surely someone else has dealt with this issue before?
I was pretty sure the 120v lights only worked when the slide was out...but...thinking back, not sure if the 120v was hooked up when I tried it. I will confirm it.
I guess I just don't see the benefit of having 120v-only lighting in that area? Maybe because pre-LED, they were trying to limit the 12v draw on the converters? But that wouldn't be any problem now.
We can get good light and good color with LEDs that use 1/10th the power of incandescents.
Is there any downside to just converting this all to 12v lighting? I'd pull the 120v and maybe add an outlet or something.
If I went with the inverter idea, I could pull the wiring off the lights and put in an outlet, then use 120v to 12v power supply to use the standard house under cabinet LEDs. Yes, a bit wasteful to go from 12v to 120v back to 12v, but when connected to shore power, it would be fine...and deal with the potential "over 12v" problems for the bulbs.
I read some time ago where people were using standard 120v fixtures and running then with 12v bulbs (CFL, LED bulbs, etc)
I've even considered removing the light socket all together and installing a LED panel inside the fixture instead.
It just really seems like an odd setup...
Surely someone else has dealt with this issue before?
