Cliffy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I would like to change the bulbs on the over bed lights on my Autotrail Tracker, They are not the spot light on a stalk style light they are a boss light with the bulb set at an angle behind a glass lens. The problem I have is I can turn the front of the housing about a half turn and it drops down about two millimeters but I can not remove it to access the bulb. I do not want to force it as there may be a clip of some kind that I cant see or maybe a special tool is needed. Can anyone give advise on how to get the bulb out without damaging the housing. I have asked this before on this forum but I have not managed to acheive a result. Any advice would be most welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hi Cliff, They sound exactly the same as those on our 2004 Cheyenne! Are they dull gold in colour? You remove them by twisting them anti-clockwise as far as they will go and then a bit further and they will unlatch and drop out like a bayonet fixing. I found out the hard way and broke a lug on one of ours last week when trying to replace the bulbs with LED's but managed all the rest without incident. Keith. Edit, Just noticed year of both is a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Keith Yes they are a light gold colour. I will certainly try turning it further but the Traker is in storage at present so it may be a while before I get to do it. I would also like to fit LED bulbs. Have you any advice on where to sourse suitable LED Units. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I bought 10 LED side mount LED's from Aten Lighting at the NEC show and they are brilliant. They are rated at 2.2W but give out 60% more light than the old 10W halogen. If you want some slightly less powerful then get the 6 LED version which are rated at 1.5W and the same output as the halogen. But, get Warm White as plain white are very harsh! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Thanks for that I will give them a try. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Keithl - 2011-10-31 10:06 PM I bought 10 LED side mount LED's from Aten Lighting at the NEC show and they are brilliant. They are rated at 2.2W but give out 60% more light than the old 10W halogen. If you want some slightly less powerful then get the 6 LED version which are rated at 1.5W and the same output as the halogen. But, get Warm White as plain white are very harsh! Keith. A general point really... Replacing G4 halogen bulbs with side-pin LED bulbs needs a degree of care to ensure that the replacements will fit into the light-units. The 6-LED bulb Keith mentions has a 23mm diameter while the 10-LED version's diameter is 32mm (Aten Lighting also markets a 15-LED side-pin bulb with a 44mm diameter). While it's plain that the 10-LED version will fit into the Auto-Trail light units (and, logically, the 6-LED bulb should go in even more comfortably), it's quite likely that the 15-LED bulb would not. As the beam-angle produced by this type of LED bulb will differ from that of the original side-mounted G4 halogen bulb, I suggest that people always opt for the highest output LED bulb that will fit into the light-unit. I echo Keith's advice that 'warm-white' LED bulbs should always be chosen, not 'cool white' bulbs that produce a hideous bluish-tinged light that may be OK in Gordon Ramsay's high-tech stainless-steel kitchen (or at a Halloween party), but will be badly out of place in a motorhome's cosy living quarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 I seem to remember reading on this forum a few months back that LED bulbs need something like a ballance coil or something like that, otherwise they don't last very long. Am I talking rubbish or is there something extra that I need to make sure comes with the LEDs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 You shouldn't need anything additional if simply replacing halogen bulbs for internal lighting. It is sometimes necessary to add a load resistance in circuit if you are replacing "road" lights with LEDs, and you have bulb-failure sensing in your vehicle (as LED lights may not provide enough resistance to be "sensed"). My own advice (and I know others may disgree) would be to buy LED bulbs which are specified as being capable of taking voltages well above 12V, as your charging system will certainly go higher than this when you are on hook-up. I have (like Keith above) found Aten a very good supplier, with no problems with any of the replacements I have bought (and are generally capable of taking up to 30V). Derek has already given you the gist of decent advice, but be aware that the depth (rather than diameter) of the units you wish to place the bulbs in may be quite restricted, and may limit you to the smaller diameter replacements (which are still very good). Having a plethora of lights in my 'van which are individually switched, I have replaced sufficient to provide a decent level of light (on their own circuit(s)) when running without hook-up, whilst leaving others alone and using them only when on hook-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesFrance Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I just ordered some 12 volt halogen bulbs from Amazon as I have an account and it is so easy with one click ordering. I noticed that they also have a good range of LEDs also, but I have not compared prices with other suppliers. Might be worth you having a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Personally I find the "hideous blue" leds brilliant for reading by and working by. If the lamps are used for ambient lighting then I'd agree with going for the warm white. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Dave Newell - 2011-11-07 4:53 PM Personally I find the "hideous blue" leds brilliant for reading by and working by. If the lamps are used for ambient lighting then I'd agree with going for the warm white. D. My understanding is that a preference for 'cool white' LED lighting over 'warm white' is a sure sign that, in a person's ancestral blood-line, there's been prehistoric hanky-panky between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal species. A Homo Sapiens ancestry will cause a person to naturally prefer the type of light that approximates to the hot bright sunlight found in the African Continent from which the species originated. A Neanderthal ancestry will produce a strong preference for the icy-blue light caused by sunlight reflecting from the snow and glaciers of the Ice Ages when the Neanderthal species flourished. The more a person prefers 'cool white' to 'warm white', the higher the person's quotient of Neanderthal genes. Another good indication of Neanderthal ancestry is unusually large feet (or so I'm told!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Derek Uzzell - 2011-11-08 8:38 AM Dave Newell - 2011-11-07 4:53 PM Personally I find the "hideous blue" leds brilliant for reading by and working by. If the lamps are used for ambient lighting then I'd agree with going for the warm white. D. My understanding is that a preference for 'cool white' LED lighting over 'warm white' is a sure sign that, in a person's ancestral blood-line, there's been prehistoric hanky-panky between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal species. A Homo Sapiens ancestry will cause a person to naturally prefer the type of light that approximates to the hot bright sunlight found in the African Continent from which the species originated. A Neanderthal ancestry will produce a strong preference for the icy-blue light caused by sunlight reflecting from the snow and glaciers of the Ice Ages when the Neanderthal species flourished. The more a person prefers 'cool white' to 'warm white', the higher the person's quotient of Neanderthal genes. Another good indication of Neanderthal ancestry is unusually large feet (or so I'm told!) So what you're saying Derek, in a roundabout way, is that Dave has large feet :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Keithl - 2011-11-08 9:32 AM So what you're saying Derek, in a roundabout way, is that Dave has large feet :D :D :D I've no information about Dave's foot size or the dimensions of any other part of his anatomy. Perhaps Dave will reveal his shoe-size, as this might confirm my suggestion that there's a Neanderthal light-preference and big feet link. For all I know it could just be twaddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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