Champstar Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hopefully somone can help me with this problem. I have just lost half of my 12v lights in the motorhome specifically the bathroom, overcab and the main roof light at the rear lounge. the bathroom lights dimmed and flickered then died. I still have my kitchen and rear lounge lights as well as my door light. Do you think that a fuse has gone or something more sinister? Everything else 12v seems to be working except for the aforementioned. It is a bit dark to try and scrabble about for the fuse box as it is right behind the drivers seat. hope somone might be able to shed some light on this (no pun intended (lol) (lol) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Prime suspect would be a fuse so it's torch in hand and go delving ! Second suspect - if it is a fuse - is why - so if it blows again - or it is not blown in the first place - there may be a more difficult to find reason? In which case take all the affected bulbs out and see if it still blows and if not replace them one by one until it does blow again - then you have yer culprit and can take it apart and sort it out. Either that or take all the lights apart and check the wiring for loose wires or short circuits before checking the fuses? Does anything else run off that fuse or is it just lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Just checked the fuses..all ok. Then proceeded to remove all the bulbs in sequence..eventually when I figured out how to get the covers off :-( :-( Looks like a loose connection in one of the bathroom lights...not sure how to get at it to make it secure? Any ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Champstar - 2009-03-26 7:19 PM I have just lost half of my 12v lights in the motorhome specifically the bathroom, overcab and the main roof light at the rear lounge. the bathroom lights dimmed and flickered then died. I assume from the above that it might be the bathroom lights at fault - one of the bulbs may have keeled over and taken the fuse out with it - change the fuse and see if one of these bulbs has died first, in which case you've got your answer - we often find at home that if a bulb blows it flicks the switch in the main fuse box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks to Tracker and Mel B for your advice...what seems to be the problem is the connection of the bulb in one of the bathroom light to the holder...everthing works ok when this bulb is removed but when in place the lights intermittantly flicker. To me this sounds like a loose connection but the unit is sealed so I cannot get a closer look...any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 to update on my problem...life is full of them at the moment. I removed what I thought was the suspect bulb. We went away for a few days but the flickering is now aparent on all the lights that failed...the flicker seem to loose power and die....after about fifteen mins can switch them back on...but flickering seems to be intermittant....can get by without theses lights by using LED spots but would like to find out what is wrong. Now back home and hooked up van...tried the aforementioned lights and now they died but also took out the fridge!!! which was on 230v!! Lights are out..ok....but if I try to switch them on the fridge clicks and the 230v indicator light goes out...but does not trip the rcd. Now I am totally puzzled...has anyone any ideas to what the problem might be and if so potential solutions. We need the van on the road as it is the only escape from all the s*** that life is throwing at us at home :'( :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kedavi Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Just a guess - is your fridge one that has an auto changeover to switch between gas / 12vdc / 230vac? If so, it may depend on a permanent 12vdc supply to operate the control system. If 230vac is available it will choose this as first priority, but it may depend on having a 12vdc supply there at all times for the control system. It sounds like you have an intermittent 12vdc connection somewhere which is taking out the circuits you describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 kedavi could well be correct. Perhaps the supply to the lights is "daisy chained" from one light to the next and also to the fridge electronics. Perhaps the bad connection is at the back of the bathroom light. The heat generated by bulbs makes insulation go brittle and copper to get oxidized. You need to take this fitting out and inspect it in detail. Sorry I cannot tell you how as I cannot see it. If its like the 10 watt quartz lamps in my own MH then you twist the chrome bezel until its a bit loose then ping it off with a small screw driver. After that the plastic clips can be eased back so that the glass falls out. Also the fixing screws are now visible. Undoo the screws to lower the fitting and check the wiring on the back. But thats if its like mine - which I just replaced with LEDs. Ring up the dealers workshop in the morning. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thanks Kedavi the fridge is a manual selection model. Clive thanks for your input I will try and have a look at the bathroom light fittings? Do you think changing 10w halogen capsules over to leds will be better and what about those 20w halogen spots!!!!! ebay here I come 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thought I had found the problem...the rear light above the lounge has a 20w halogen in it..on removing the bulb the fitting started to crumble a bit...so I have not put the bulb back.....next I moved the bulb from on of the bathroom lights to the one where I had removed the bulb....hey presto I had light.....tried the other bulb back into the bathroom light so that there would be two 10w halogens...flicker then died :'( So methinks that I am now totally confused as I cant have any more than 10w of light power used on this circut without the lights diying and the fridge switching off when on 230v. I am away for a stiff drink :$ ;-) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kedavi Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 It may be worth checking that the bulbs are not exceeding the maximum wattage rating of the fittings. If the fittings are disintegrating they may have become brittle having been slow-cooked over time if the bulbs are too hot for the fittings. A 20w halogen bulb can get very hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Champstar An informative article on low-energy lighting (and authored by Clive) was published in MMM March 2009 (page 175). I doubt that replacing your motorhome's present light bulbs with LED equivalents would help with your current problems, but, if you plan to do this in future, you'll need to be careful to choose appropriate products. My Hobby's original halogen bulbs included a mixture of 10W and 5W G4 capsules and 20W MR16 'spots'. These have all been replaced by LED equivalents purchased from Ultraleds (www.ultraleds.co.uk). Motorhome interior lights employing the G4 capsule are often pretty compact, so it's essential to check the dimensions of LED equivalents. I've used Ultraleds' 23mm-diameter UG46ACWW bulb (£6.84) that can (just) be shoe-horned into my Hobby's smallest light-units and still allows the light-units' reflectors and glass protective shields to be retained. This LED bulb's light-output is roughly that of a 10W G4 halogen capsule. My LED bulbs have been obtained from Ultraleds as much as anything because the company's website provides sufficient information for me to make a reasonable value judgement as to whether a particular LED bulb will suit my needs. Before I purchase an LED bulb, besides its dimensions, I want to know its beam-angle, output and colour, as all of these factors will influence the effect it has in my motorhome. When quite a few halogen bulbs were to be replaced and there has been a choice of LED bulbs, but no certainty which would be best, I've obtained a single sample of each candidate before committing to buying 'in bulk'. There's no point in buying a dozen expensive LED bulbs, each of which should last for the rest of your life, when all of them fall short of your expectations. As far as cost is concerned, I've found Ultraleds' prices generally to be cheaper than those of other specialist LED-bulb suppliers. (There's a fair bit of LED-lighting discussion in earlier forum threads.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Myself and a friend have over this weekend tried to find the problem of the lights.....did we see the light? well not really. What we found that the lights are all on the same connector to the charger..on a 15amp fuse which was ok.....this also seems to be wired to the fridge control panel...as both 230v and gas would not work..when this fuse was pulled out. The problem is that 12v is not travelling to the double switch for the bathroom and overcab lights when it is turned on...there is an intermittant reading of some voltage which drops to nothing. Do you think that the charger is getting ready to pack up. We tried connecting the switch direct from the battery through a fused wire..got nowhere but this seemed to spark some life in to the lights as the single lamp switched on in the overcab came on....we then switched on the rear light over the lounge which lit and then died...back to square one :-( We have dissconnected the all the wires from the charger..looked for loose connections to that ..found none...connected everything back up..hey presto..lights....then shortly after... no lights again. we had taken both bulbs out of the bathroom...when one was replaced...the overcab light worked but not the bathroom....then no lights again.....could it be a bad connection in one of the bathroom spots...I cannot see...as it is a sealed unit. Thanks to all for your help and advice....can I now ask again? Please some more help or advice please.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Champstar Have you done any work or fitted anything which could have damage a cable within the framework of your walls, have you moved anything or removed a screw from anything. Is there a 12v socket or any other electrical fitting between the charger and the double switch which may have a bad connection ? is the charger working ie is there 12v at the charger. Alf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Alf I have checked that the charger is working....over 14v at the battery when on hook up......It might be a bad connection but where..we looked all weekend and found nothing....I am being drawn to the light fittings in the bathroom as this is where the problem first arose...although I cannot see the conections as when I getting the fitting out of the ceiling it is a closed unit with pop rivets.....may be that I will have to replace the light units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Graeme reading your post again is there, 2 reds and 2 blacks at the light if so, cut the reds and put in a connecter and repeat with the blacks check everything if ok you can connect your new light to these connectors Alf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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