LED conversion

[Albertslad]

Whilst having some work done on our van I’d like to change our interior lights to LEDs, but I’d like to limit the impact on the finishes. ( I’d actually like to have the carpet removed from walls and ceiling, but that may be a step too far this year. We don’t have carpet on the floor, so it’s a bit on an anomaly)

Can I just replace the guts of the fitting so that this is the case (no pun intended).

I’m not keen on strings of LEDs all over the place, and intense point sources will cause me migraine problems.

Some dimming might be good.

Can anyone recommend a helpful source of info and fittings please?

Regards

 

Photo of existing fluorescent lights attached (I Hope)

[Robinhood]

...I'm assuming you've still got the diffuser that fits over the tubes?

 

The conventional way of converting these units to LED is to remove the tubes and remove or bypass the inverter* and insert self-adhesive LED strips wired directly to the 12V supply.

 

It's really only viable/neat if you have the diffuser to refit.

 

The following page gives some detail (the twin strip looks like your best fit):

 

https://www.atenlighting.co.uk/caravan-motorhome-lighting/fluorescent-replacement

 

(Other suppliers are available, but I've had good experience with Aten and their products)

 

*your current fluorescents are designed to run at high voltages, and the unit will contain an inverter, probably at the switch end, to step-up from 12V. If you don't remove/bypass it, the high voltage will kill 12V LEDs. Bypassing/removing it should be easy if the whole unit is unscrewed.

 

 

[Albertslad]

Thank you RH, and yes I do have the diffusers.

 

Thanks also to Keith for resolving my image import issue

[John52]

I use these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233309948319

You can cut them to length

They were one metre, but too bright so I cut them down to 30-40cm

If you wire them the wrong way round they won't work, but it doesn't damage them

If you use a dimmer you need a special 12v one for LEDs, and you need to wire both terminals through it

(not just one as you could with a conventional dimmer)

These are fine for indoors - You can pay a bit more for fully waterproof ones to use outdoors - Best not use them indoors though because they are covered in clear plastic for the waterproofing which soon degrades to yellow in daylight. (which is why they are supplied in foil bags to keep out the light)

[laimeduck]

Robinhood - 2022-06-16 4:36 PM

 

...I'm assuming you've still got the diffuser that fits over the tubes?

 

The conventional way of converting these units to LED is to remove the tubes and remove or bypass the inverter* and insert self-adhesive LED strips wired directly to the 12V supply.

 

 

I did this 3 or 4 years ago with self adhesive stips of led, cut to the length of the existing tubes I then by passed the inverter, soldered wire to the Led strips, and Stuck the LED strips to the old tubes, 2 strips per tube. And reinstalled the tubes into their now inert holders. Nice and neat.! I used a small "chocolate box" connector to connect the strips to the existing 12V supply. As John says they will only work if +ve wired to +ve but no damage if you get it wrong. Pop the diffuser back on and Bob's your Aunty!

If I recall with the LED strips I used you had to cut them in multiples of 3 LEDs but it was clearly marked.

Jeremy

[Albertslad]

Sounds as though this is the sort of job that it’s good to be able to do yourself, to be able to play about with the length of strip appropriate for different lighting levels. Still, it’ll be another job ticked off the list.

Looking forward to getting jobs sorted so that, all being well we can use “The Tunnel” for our first continental trip since 2018.