Forum Discussion

aparashis's avatar
aparashis
Explorer
Aug 08, 2018

Interior dome light

Hi, my interior dome light (the one that is hooked up to the switch by the door) is getting too hot and has melted the light socket. We have already change one light and the second one is now starting to do that. Does that mean too much power is getting to the light? If yes how do we correct that? If not any other ideas on what it could be?

There is a second light also running off of the switch but it is fine.

Any help is appreciated.


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  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Two suggestions.
    1: there are many lights that fit the same socket. A common issue is the 1141 (Bayonet type) and and the 1156.. the 1156 will melt a 1141 fixture as it is 1.5 times the power (roughly.. I am rounding shamlessely).

    2: LED's Way less heat. often more light.. ECO-Led can be found (About 20 bucks a pop) at most RV dealers. you can get cheaper ones on E-bay or Amazon but.. Better may be hard to find. I like COOL white. Most like Warm White.
  • Yep; tens of millions of fried fixtures.

    Older cars, look at the ivory colored dome lamp lens with the brow crispy critter spot in the middle.

    Tip for LEDs.

    Assume nothing when making an unknown purchase. The Chinese lie like hell.

    Intensity, color, radiated electronic noise and durability should be established evaluated and approved before plunging into a mass purchase.

    I tried eleven vendors before selecting SHARP as my 20-30-50-100 watt LED chip supplier.

    It may help to realize that few if any interior lamp bulbs can survive the vf (heat) of a > 2.5 watt emitter (chip)
  • aparashis wrote:
    Thanks for the help, we will be switching over to LED.


    Yep i did the same on my porch light (one over the steps on outside). That solved my toasted fixture problem a few years ago. :C
  • I see from your post you're talking about dome lights. You can ignore any comments about refrigerators or appliances. They obviously don't apply. No sense posting more info when some people won't even read the info you do provide.

    You likely have incandescent lamps, using 921 bulbs, as those seem to be the most commonly used/available. The bulbs get quite hot, and draw quite a bit of power. Both combine to cause the issue you're having. As has been suggested, look into getting LED replacements, either for the bulbs or the fixtures. They don't get nearly as hot, and draw much less power - two birds, one stone.
  • That happened to one of my fixtures that was used frequently with incandescent bulbs. Keep in mind that the bulbs in an RV work off the 12V battery and to provide enough light (lumens) they draw lots of amps and get really hot.
    Best to replace the fixture and use led's IF their light output is sufficient for that use.
  • Sorry. missed the dome part. But, when you have lights melting, it is because you are using the WRONG replacement bulb. You can get the correct bulb or go LED. Doug
  • aparashis wrote:
    Hi, my interior dome light (the one that is hooked up to the switch by the door) is getting too hot and has melted the light socket. We have already change one light and the second one is now starting to do that. Does that mean too much power is getting to the light? If yes how do we correct that? If not any other ideas on what it could be?

    There is a second light also running off of the switch but it is fine.



    It means that the bulb made a poor connection in the socket. It is a common problem with cheap RV light fixtures. I am guessing that it is an incandescent bulb, not an LED. LED bulbs draw much less power and make much less heat, consider changing to them and replace that lamp socket at a minimum.

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