Forum Discussion

monkey44's avatar
monkey44
Nomad II
Jul 01, 2013

Light shorts fuse?

Here's a very odd wiring issue ... lighting ... Will try to explain without photos.

Light # 1 .... this is a 'metal cone shaped reading light' - above the bed. You can aim it, but it gets hot (burned fingers moving it) and it's also burned out the bulbs several times - I think it's the cone retains heat and it gets too hot inside the cone. It has a turn-button on top to turn it on.

It burned out again, and when I pulled it off, found one black wire and one white wire. Accidentally touched them together and blew a fuse. Lost a few lights on the same circuit. Replaced fuse (15a) All lights came on again.

Decided to junk this light - don't like it for all above reasons.

Light # 2 So, removed the square ceiling light - and was going to install it in the same spot. Removed ceiling light, found one black wire and one white wire. And this light has the typical ceiling light switch - a slide sideways switch.

Took the ceiling light, wired black to black and white to white in place of the cone reading lamp - turned on switch, blew same fuse .... and lost a couple other lights on the circuit. Removed ceiling light and wire-nuts each line to keep apart for now.

Replaced fuse -- all lights work fine ... but of course, the reading light is now absent -

So, what happened? Are the switched ceiling lights wired differently? Did some one cross over wires from black to white somehow? the black to black was in the original cone lamp - so I just did black to black again.

So, color me confused... :(

I'm posting this up in RV.net too - but thought you might find it interesting ... or ???

7 Replies

  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Jul 02, 2013
    Lights are the same, here is the problem

    With what is called a Bayonet style socket such as the 1141, 1156 1883 lamps there is a non-conductive disc, plastic or fiber material, which holds the center contact (Usually a black wire, but no reason it needs to be)

    This disc breaks down due to heat and time and lets the center conductor move about .. touching the springs that press it against the bottom of the lamp and help to hold the lamp in the socket.. And blowing the fuse.

    I have found replacement center discs (A pilot store but I've not been back to see if it's a stock item, it was on the clearance table) Auto parts stores can get 'em.. Most auto part stores do stock replacements for the 1157 type socket (Two center contacts, dual element lamp)

    On one of my sockets I had no spares handy so I cut one out of glass epoxy circuit board... Now that one likely won't fail.
  • nbounder's avatar
    nbounder
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    My Suncruiser has 2 bedroom lights and one reading light that get hotyter than all he**. Try to re-direct them and you toast your fingers . . . .and I mean REAL TOAST. I exchanged same for LEDs & guess what DW now can't read 'cause it 'taint bright enough. So, now, re-aim the lights, re-install the old bulbs, and told her to monitor the lamp temperature. Will that work? Only time will tell.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Jul 02, 2013
    Actually, it doesn't matter whether you connect black to black etc or black to white etc when wiring incandescent lights. It would, however, matter if you had LED lighting.
  • monkey44's avatar
    monkey44
    Nomad II
    Jul 02, 2013
    ScottG wrote:
    It sounds like you have the two wires going directly across the switch.


    Which means the ceiling light is shorting itself - because I wire-nut the white to white and black to black.

    The ceiling light was working fine before all this - but they're cheap and could short across.

    But, the fact that black to black and white to white would be everywhere in the camper, right. It wouldn't be black to black some and white to black others? Which makes no sense, except when I took off the old one, it was black to black too - as was the ceiling light.

    So, if all this is true (which it is) the short must be coming across the ceiling light fixture switch.

    I'm buying a new reading fixture tomorrow, regardless, but was very puzzled why the working light shorted ... no reason for it that I can see. But am not electrician either, nor did I build this camper and wire it, so who knows what is inside. :h
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Jul 01, 2013
    It sounds like you have the two wires going directly across the switch.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2013
    Assuming both lights are 12v lights and the ceiling light was working before you removed it from the ceiling, there is no reason that the ceiling light should blow a fuse. Maybe something happened to the ceiling light in the removal process.

    One way to reduce the heat in the reading light is to convert it to LEDs.

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,294 PostsLatest Activity: Aug 01, 2025