jenkothewanderer Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I have a Hymer B584 which has a tall bank of lights, 3 of the the lights are not working so I thought I would change the bulbs. However on removing the fitting I notice the lights are a series of small light capsules on a copper wire, in effect a rope light. Has anyone bought a replacement rope light or effectively purchased light capsules and made a repair. It looks an expensive replacement going through the normal channels. Hymer UK etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Jenko! Sorry I am a bit late in replying but have only just seen your question. I too have a Hymer B584 (2003) but cannot think of which bank of lights that you are referring to........ What year is yours? Betsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Just taken the cover off of mine it is just as you say & to make matters worse the plastic tube they are mounted in is either hot glued or siliconed in place along it's entire length.. If you can get the tube out without damaging the reflector it's glued too, it may be possible to extract the copper wires with the bulbs attached & solder replacement bulbs in place but it doesn't look too hopeful, the difficult bit will be getting it back together without the wires shorting. If happens on mine I would either not bother with a repair as the only times it gets switched on is when we knock the switch by accident or I would look at making a replacement using LED's, if you go for the LED option don't forget you will need a resistor in series with each LED. One advantage of LED's is the power consumption would be cut from 1.7 amps to between 0.3 -0.6 amps dependant on type of LED & current you run them at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 jenkothewanderer - 2009-08-23 11:43 AM I have a Hymer B584 which has a tall bank of lights, 3 of the the lights are not working so I thought I would change the bulbs. However on removing the fitting I notice the lights are a series of small light capsules on a copper wire, in effect a rope light. Has anyone bought a replacement rope light or effectively purchased light capsules and made a repair. It looks an expensive replacement going through the normal channels. Hymer UK etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jenko Hello Jenko / KeithIf you give me time, I will scan the correct pages from the Hymer catalogue, which will show you the correct lights that you require & also their correct part numbers so you can order correctly.I'll post this on this site by no later than tomorrow night.They will be in German but will give you the idea & most important the correct part numbers. If you need help with translation then just contact me.Hope it will be of help to you all.RegardsThai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Hi Betsy my Hymer is July 2004, the bank of lights is at the side of the main wardrobe and runs from floor to ceiling. It is mainly a cosmetic/special effect light but creates a nice ambience at night. Hope this helps. Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Hi lennyhb my lights are accessible the clear plastic track comes apart and exposes the copper wire rails with small filament bulbs attached to the rails. I could either purchase new bulbs and solder them to the copper rails or I have considered fitting a rope light with led's which as you say will reduce the current used. Still pondering? Thanks for your reply Jenko Ps. As far as I can see it is only the shellac/varnish on the copper rails that stops them shorting out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Hi Thai Bry thanks for your reply if you could supply the correct part no's that would be great, thanks for your trouble. I have a feeling though that the genuine part could be expensive but here is hoping. Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 jenkothewanderer - 2009-08-27 4:52 PM Hi lennyhb my lights are accessible the clear plastic track comes apart and exposes the copper wire rails with small filament bulbs attached to the rails. I could either purchase new bulbs and solder them to the copper rails or I have considered fitting a rope light with led's which as you say will reduce the current used. Still pondering? Thanks for your reply Jenko Ps. As far as I can see it is only the shellac/varnish on the copper rails that stops them shorting out. Sounds a bit easier than mine which are in a clear plastic 12mm dia tube, mine is floor to ceiling 2 metres long. The wire is probably enamelled copper wire the type used in transformers it has an insulation rating of 1 - 2 kilo volts. You will be able to solder them but will need a good quality soldering iron with a bit temperature of 400 deg C., that will melt the insulation or can scrape it off with a Stanley knife, or you may be able to solder to the crimp connectors they have used. These LED strips may be of interest and at the price could be worth trying. Click here for Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 jenkothewanderer - 2009-08-27 4:55 PM Hi Thai Bry thanks for your reply if you could supply the correct part no's that would be great, thanks for your trouble. I have a feeling though that the genuine part could be expensive but here is hoping. Jenko Hi Jenko/KeithI'll try & attach the pdf of the lights for you all.If it doesn't work, I now have your e-mail address(Jenko) & will forward to you.RegardsThaiIt didn't work , was told of a server problem, so will e-mail it to you. If anyone else would like this as a pdf then contact me via my e-mail address.Prices shown are as 2005 prices as per the Hymer magazine.Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Thanks for the link, certainly a possibility. Have you had your van from new, it almost sounds as if your van has the plastic rope light (sealed unit) which could have been modified or Hymer have replaced my type of unit. Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Thai Bry - 2009-08-27 6:34 PMRegardsThaiIt didn't work , was told of a server problem, You get that message if your file size if way too large, had me wondering what was going on the first time I trried to up load.Max file size is 100k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger20 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I have seen the rope lights at the Autotrail factory (they are just mood lighting above the lockers and don't give out a lot of light). They are just what you imagine - some sort of LEDs which come on a long translucent thick rope (about 10-12mm?)which the factory cut to length. From memory each cut length was then pushed into a dedicated terminal with wires attached to link it into the circuit. As far as I recall they just made electrical connection with the rope by having brass prongs which pushed into the rope which had 2 continuous wires running along. If yours are similar to this arrangement it might be worth investigating this connection with the rope first in case the joint has worked loose. I would not have thought they were glued together but if they are it might only be a touch just to hold them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Thanks Roger20 the lights you describe are not like mine but principally do the same job and sound worth investigating. Thanks for your trouble. Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 lennyhb - 2009-08-27 8:26 PM Thai Bry - 2009-08-27 6:34 PM RegardsThaiIt didn't work , was told of a server problem, You get that message if your file size if way too large, had me wondering what was going on the first time I trried to up load. Max file size is 100k. No, I think it was the fact that I'm trying to upload a PDF file.Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 jenkothewanderer - 2009-08-27 4:55 PM Hi Thai Bry thanks for your reply if you could supply the correct part no's that would be great, thanks for your trouble. I have a feeling though that the genuine part could be expensive but here is hoping. Jenko Is it like the ones on the left in the picture of our van?Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hi again Thai, yes your light fitting is the same as ours although I must say the light from your bulbs seems more defined and larger than ours unless the camera is playing tricks. Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hi JenkoNo tricks, the sad thing is that I do not have the latest catalogue which would give me the part number, so I could forward on to you.Might be slightly different lights as our van is just 2 years old, and may have different rope light to yours.My only other suggestion would be to contact Hambilton Engineering in Preston for some advice. I say this as Peter Hambilton was originally at Maddisons, way before it became Hymer UK then Brownhills.Heres the link:-http://www.friendlyhippo.co.uk/hymerdirect/Sorry I can't be of any further help to you on this matter,as my Hymer parts catalogue is as at 2005.If you think that I can be of any further help on anything else, then you only have to ask or e-mail me.RegardsThai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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