No Front Clearance Lights

[craigrandle]

When I bought my 1987 Travelmaster class c MH, the previous owners had repaired water leaks in the front cabover section of the MH. I noticed that after the purchase, there are no front clearance lights, wires or openings perturbing to the outside, so the light(s) could be installed. What is the best way to access this area to see if wiring does exist, as these lights are required by law, to be installed, and in working order. I don't even know it there is an existing wiring harness, either. I want to do this myself and not pay an exorbitant price for this job. I would appreciate any assistance, thank you.

[craigrandle]

Thanks, everyone. I finally got the front clearance lights installed and wired, had a few troubles with blowing fuse after fuse after fuse........ I finally found that the positive was shorting out on the frame, however perseverance prevailed and all are now working.....whew Now I'm legal :B

[beachcomber_1]

You might be able to use a LED strip, only need one hole, last forever, no sockets to corrode.

[Mich_F]

craigrandle wrote:
Well, I'm please to report after removeing material from the cabover ceiling I found two wires that had been tucked away, I attached a circuit tester to the wires and turned on the headlight switch and wallah, I had a very pleasant surprise. I had power to the wires. I just saved myself a lot of money and time,, now off to the store and buy clearance lights and material to repair the cabover ceiling and I',m done. I found I'll need to replace the cabover flooring also but I'll replace that with marine grade plywood. Thank you everyone and thank you Brian for your great suggestions. :B

PS: Now do I simple wire all five clearance lights together in a line to the main wiring. :h

It makes sense that you'd find wires up there somewhere. It wouldn't have made any sense for anyone to have pulled all the wiring out. It's one thing to not replace the clearance lights after making a repair, but something else again to remove all the wiring.

[Bobbo]

craigrandle wrote:
Now do I simple wire all five clearance lights together in a line to the main wiring. :h

Wire them in parallel, all the hots tied together and all the grounds tied together.

[Cobra21]

Craig,
Boy did you get lucky! I'm surprised they left the wiring there and didn't hook up some lights. Your wiring diagram will look like
5 H's stacked 1 on top the other with the lights being the cross members. That way when 1 bulb burns out it doesn't kill the rest
of them. Wire them and test by taking a bulb out before you put the paneling back in. I'm very happy for you!

Have a Great Weekend, Brian

[craigrandle]

Well, I'm please to report after removeing material from the cabover ceiling I found two wires that had been tucked away, I attached a circuit tester to the wires and turned on the headlight switch and wallah, I had a very pleasant surprise. I had power to the wires. I just saved myself a lot of money and time,, now off to the store and buy clearance lights and material to repair the cabover ceiling and I',m done. I found I'll need to replace the cabover flooring also but I'll replace that with marine grade plywood. Thank you everyone and thank you Brian for your great suggestions. :B

PS: Now do I simple wire all five clearance lights together in a line to the main wiring. :h

[Cobra21]

Craig, Since you took the paneling off, I would bring the new wiring down the drivers side. Should go down the corner area behind the drivers seat kind of where the cab meets the camper. Then you may be able to run it under the carpet to get up under the dash with it. Tie it into a brown wire by light switch, and you should be good to go.

Brian

[craigrandle]

Brian, I wish I would have thought of that. I went ahead and pulled out the paneling and foam insulation, in the front cabover. I wasn't able to locate any existing wiring for the clearance lights, however I did find that there had been a water leak, so it's just as well that I did this, even though, I will now have to do a complete remodel, up there. I can now install the clearance lights, but where will I run the wiring to, so that I can get power up there. Not electrical savory.

[Cobra21]

Here is what I would do. Get the 5 new clearance lights, amber.
Fasten them on where they should be. Use some of the flat style
electrical finished conduit for running on the outside of walls.
Paint it to match the motorhome. Run the wires over to the drivers side of motorhome in this conduit. Also run a piece of conduit over
to passenger side (no wires in this one). You will end up with conduit between each light and also both sides to give you a straight
line of conduit. Now on the drivers side, pull off that vinyl trim
on the outside edge and run the wiring all the way down to the bottom
of the rig. From underneath the MH bring up in under dash and hook
up to a light wire (usually brown) and also hook up the ground wire.
Now put the vinyl molding or trim back on and you my friend are good
to go.

Or... Drill holes all the way through to the upper bunk. Use good sealant before attaching the lights. Do some fancy conduit or trim
work to get the wires down where needed.

Good Luck, Brian

[wittmeba]

If there is any sign of previous lights, you might want to verify there is power in the wiring. The previous owner may have removed them after discovering the power didnt work.

[schlep1967]

Probably quickest and easiest route is hereDrill a hole and fish a wire down to the existing wires (probably on the frame).