Hi, I think some of you will be interested in how I converted my RV lights to LED.
I initially tried 12 volt LED bulbs about 5 years go, and they were not satisfactory: they were expensive, didn't put out much light, and failed within a few hours due to over-heating problems. But now the technology has advanced significantly, and the current state-of-the-art multi-LED panels are truly amazing. I have converted every light in my Class C (even including the porch light, the range hood light, and the cab dome light) by retrofitting the existing fixtures with this technology. Basically I replaced each standard bayonet based incandescent bulb with a panel containing 48 SMD LEDs, arranged in a 6x8 array. These panels are available on eBay for less than $3 each including shipping -- you can find them by searching for "48 SMD White LED Light Panel".
The photo shows a typical light fixture after conversion. I just removed the incandescent bulbs and stuck the LED panels to the fixture. The panels come with double-backed foam tape on the back so they will self-stick, but I found the adhesive doesn't hold in the long-run, so I added a few dabs of silicone adhesive to the corners of the panels.
Many of the newer RV light fixtures use #921 wedge base bulbs, and the LED panels mentioned above come with an adapter for those so wiring is simple. Most older RV light fixtures (such as mine) use #1156 bayonet base bulbs, and there is no adapter included with the LED panels for those. So I cut the wedge base adapter off the wiring for the LED panels, and just soldered the wires to the appropriate places on the light fixture's bayonet bulb sockets.
How do these LED retrofitted lights work out? After about 8 months of use, I can say without reserve that they are FANTASTIC. Each panel puts out WAY MORE LIGHT than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, and they only use one-sixth the power (as measured with my digital amp meter: LED panel = .25A; incandescent bulb = 1.5A). Their published life is 20,000 hours and up. I have installed about 50 of these LED panels between my rig and my friends' rigs, and so far zero failures.
I even converted one of my florescent fixtures to this technology. I removed the twin 16 watt florescent tubes and the ballast, and pasted in 6 LED panels in their place (I added a toggle switch so I can use the LED panels 3 or 6 at a time). That light is great -- instant on, no flickering, and way more light than before.
Best wishes.....
PS: (Added on 3Apr12 edit) Check out the Red LED light I added on April Fools Day - details on Page 9 of this thread:
I initially tried 12 volt LED bulbs about 5 years go, and they were not satisfactory: they were expensive, didn't put out much light, and failed within a few hours due to over-heating problems. But now the technology has advanced significantly, and the current state-of-the-art multi-LED panels are truly amazing. I have converted every light in my Class C (even including the porch light, the range hood light, and the cab dome light) by retrofitting the existing fixtures with this technology. Basically I replaced each standard bayonet based incandescent bulb with a panel containing 48 SMD LEDs, arranged in a 6x8 array. These panels are available on eBay for less than $3 each including shipping -- you can find them by searching for "48 SMD White LED Light Panel".
The photo shows a typical light fixture after conversion. I just removed the incandescent bulbs and stuck the LED panels to the fixture. The panels come with double-backed foam tape on the back so they will self-stick, but I found the adhesive doesn't hold in the long-run, so I added a few dabs of silicone adhesive to the corners of the panels.
Many of the newer RV light fixtures use #921 wedge base bulbs, and the LED panels mentioned above come with an adapter for those so wiring is simple. Most older RV light fixtures (such as mine) use #1156 bayonet base bulbs, and there is no adapter included with the LED panels for those. So I cut the wedge base adapter off the wiring for the LED panels, and just soldered the wires to the appropriate places on the light fixture's bayonet bulb sockets.
How do these LED retrofitted lights work out? After about 8 months of use, I can say without reserve that they are FANTASTIC. Each panel puts out WAY MORE LIGHT than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, and they only use one-sixth the power (as measured with my digital amp meter: LED panel = .25A; incandescent bulb = 1.5A). Their published life is 20,000 hours and up. I have installed about 50 of these LED panels between my rig and my friends' rigs, and so far zero failures.
I even converted one of my florescent fixtures to this technology. I removed the twin 16 watt florescent tubes and the ballast, and pasted in 6 LED panels in their place (I added a toggle switch so I can use the LED panels 3 or 6 at a time). That light is great -- instant on, no flickering, and way more light than before.
Best wishes.....
PS: (Added on 3Apr12 edit) Check out the Red LED light I added on April Fools Day - details on Page 9 of this thread:
Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum limit of 640px maximum width to avoid scrolling.
Thanks for this thread. I bought a dozen of the 48 smd led's for my Sunline. They're pretty bright and I'm pleased with the low power usage.
Dog Trainer wrote:
Now I need to replace the 1141 bulbs in the reading lights on each side of the bed. Any sugestions there.
Just get on eBay and search for: (1141,1156,ba15s) led
That will find all LED items that have either 1141 or 1156 or ba15s in the title.
