Replace on-off light switches in RV - any cheaper choices

phemens wrote:
Was looking to replace the grungy looking white on-off switches for the 12v lights in the 5er. I see the JR Products 12225 SPST black switches, but cripes they are expensive! $20 each on Amazon.ca. Any cheaper alternatives?

Can you perchance pop the bezel off and clean them with a damp rag? White def. does show dirt/grunge. I installed 10 or so black switches in our TT and always look great.

Don't buy stuff on Amazon.ca! They're often a HUGE ripoff compared to Amazon.com. The JR Products 12225 is a good example and is available on Amazon.ca here for $58 Can versus $13 USD on Amazon.com here.[/ur]

If you can find a pack of 5 switches, the cost will be a lot less. There are 3 manufacturers/distributors of RV switches I know of - Sigma, RV Designer & JR Products, several styles also and flush or raised faceplates/bezels. Black can be a lot harder to find and may cost more. Try a local RV dealer or independent RV shop. A pack of 5 switches, less bezel, is available like at HannahRV.com for $29. But buying the bezels separately probably costs a lot more and don't seem to be available in a 5-pack.

Obviously need to check prices including shipping but some vendors make you go through several pages of a slow checkout process to one step away from paying before they give you a shipping cost and waste your time. Annoying!

If you buy items off the internet in the US, get it mailed and don't use a courier as they really drive up the shipping cost. If you are close enough to the US border, could open up a "mailbox" account on the US side and go pick packages up. They'll even accept things like sofas and engines. We use a mailbox service across the border and buy all sorts of stuff off the internet and have saved a ton of $$ in 10+ years. We also have Nexus which helps a lot.

Prices between RV 12 volt switches and residential 120VAC switches don't seem to make sense and may be due to volume and distribution differences and costs to obtain UL/CSA listing. The JR Products 12225 switch has both a 12 VDC & 125/250 VAC rating. I can't imagine there'd be a problem using a residential 120 volt switch for the minimal amount of current for RV LED lights. I installed 4 Pass & Seymour "Signature Series" switches like in the pic below to control some 120 volt loads. Look much nicer than a regular residential decorator style and has a nice feel to it. 120 volt switches are deeper and won't fit in all walls/cabinets.

phemens wrote:
PHEW! I would hate to think that anyone thinks that anyone would dare overthink anything on this forum, especially something as important as a light switch ;)
Seriously though, the twists and turns and things I learn in these threads is invaluable!

I learn a lot from these threads also because I didn't know that much about electricity to begin with. So two years ago when my water heater kept blowing fuses due to a shorted wire somewhere from the stove top switch to the water heater, I could not trace the wire so I installed a 120v switch back in the bed room. I was able to install a wire from the 12v fuse box to the water heater itself through the switch. It has been working fine for the last 2 years. I figured the 12v fuse would blow if there was some how an excess amount of current.

My problem with the paddle switches that had to replace the Cole Hersee is they were switched OFF but when I slid the lever forward on the battery disconnect I would find odd lights burning and the switches did not shut them off. Another manifestation of living where the salt laden humidity never requires more than a sheet at dawn on a bed. When I started misting the rose bushes in the morning they took off growing like they had a rocket strapped to them. Salt on the leaves. Ugh.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Hah! You want something complicated?

Condense the complete shopping habits of the DW in a 100 words or less.

You'll be at it for weeks.

You can't condense unstable matter, this can be dangerous.

If contacts of light switch become welded together with horrible 2A current...

There should be an all-house switch and/or a breaker for such emergencies, installed in an accessible location. M.orons on RV factories like skipping an all-house switch, installing all-trailer fuse (not a breaker), and place it conveniently under the frame where you could crawl if you can. That fuse is sitting in a sheet metal box like the one used in INTERIOR residential electrical, bolted to the frame 12-13" from the ground. I bypassed it and installed DC breaker in the storage hatch.

Wow, talk about overthinking things. Pull any one of your 12vdc switches out and look at the back/side. I guarantee that they are rated in AC, not DC. There is no appreciable difference in the contacts of a household 120VAC switch and an automotive rocker switch, other than perhaps the size (household switch contacts will be larger).

The only way a DC current will "weld" contacts together is if the current is higher than the contacts are rated for; AC or DC makes no difference. 6A at 120VAC is equivalent to 60A at 12vdc.

Personally, I think household switches in an RV (along with the requisite cover plate) would be extremely ugly, but to each his own.

Hah! You want something complicated?

Condense the complete shopping habits of the DW in a 100 words or less.

You'll be at it for weeks.

Pick and choose what you need. Better to have a surplus of data rather than a shortage...

PHEW! I would hate to think that anyone thinks that anyone would dare overthink anything on this forum, especially something as important as a light switch ;)
Seriously though, the twists and turns and things I learn in these threads is invaluable!

Almot wrote:
When I replaced old 18W bulbs with LED of equivalent brightness, the current dropped to 0.4A per bulb. To turn 3 double domes like in RV will require 2.4A total. Residential switch is rated 15A. How bad can be in-rush current, to worry about this?

The inrush current, per se, is not the big problem really. It only flows after the switch closes, and is not much different for AC and DC. It's breaking the connection and interrupting the current that is hardest on a switch, and DC is inherently harder to interrupt than AC. It's not just the magnitude of the current (though that does play a significant role), it's how soon the arcing breaks down.

That is, of course, separate from the overall current ratings that may at least partly be driven by the size of the contacts in the switch. Exceeding the maximum, particularly for a relatively long span of time (more than a brief instant, say), could cause trouble due to heating and maybe be a fire hazard. That's a separate issue from the type of electric supply.

As a practical matter, switches rated for AC only will usually work pretty well for modest DC loads--maybe not to their full rated lifespan, but still acceptably well for many uses. When the worst case for a switch failure is that either you're left in the dark in the kitchen or else you can't get any dark in the kitchen, one needn't have any real scruples about using the wrong variety of switch. If it fails eventually, replace it again and carry on. If the switches keep on failing with any frequency, use a different sort of switch. There's no need to overthink things here.

Hieroglyphics?



This is a DC to DC relay. Means the control (switch) circuit uses a DC signal and the load side is also direct current. This device DEMANDS the use of a suitable HEAT SINK.

PHOTO
Near side is CONTROL terminals side. + and - may be confusing

Far side is LOAD terminals side. + and - may be confusing

PROS
The control current consumed is tiny.

CONS
The relay + heat sink is very large size. Four packs of cigarettes stacked one atop another

Cheap Chinese relays cannot possibly pass rated current reliably. The relay shown may be reliable at 10 amperes load BUT NOT FOR MOTORS, incandescent light bulbs, or components that have large capacitors.