Merle Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Like many of the older type motor homes we have ceiling lights with U shaped flourescent tubes in them the switches of which I'm finding are useless. Having replaced all the other downlighters in the van I would like to replace the tubes, probably retaining the existing opaque covers, and also replacing the rocker switches. Can any one please advise whether I could simply remove all of the existing wiring back to the positive and negative feeds, ie take out all ballasts, starters or whatever, and then simply wire in an led via a new switch. Sorry in advance if this has been covered before. Merle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Merle - 2012-12-29 7:55 PM Like many of the older type motor homes we have ceiling lights with U shaped flourescent tubes in them the switches of which I'm finding are useless. Having replaced all the other downlighters in the van I would like to replace the tubes, probably retaining the existing opaque covers, and also replacing the rocker switches. Can any one please advise whether I could simply remove all of the existing wiring back to the positive and negative feeds, ie take out all ballasts, starters or whatever, and then simply wire in an led via a new switch. Sorry in advance if this has been covered before. Merle The quick answer is yes. I have replaced all of our flourescent overhead locker uplighters with LED lighting tapes. Could not beleive how easy it was and what a difference it makes. You will need a fine soldering iron if you use LEDs in tape form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Yes you will have to remove all the inverters chokes etc and just leave an on off switch for the 12 volt supply then you can choose a 12v led or array of leds and just connect them to the output from the switch. I have used some of these from eBay they have a double sided sticky pad to stick them on. The results are very good. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36-LED-SMD-Car-Interior-Room-Dome-Door-Warm-White-Light-/140654998364?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20bfb0f35c Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Hi, Thanks for the answer. I have no problem re the fine soldering iron, it was the removal of the flourescent 'running gear' I couldn't get my head around. Changing all the other lights with LED's has proved very successful, though initially done to conserve battery when off mains the light quality is much improved, I used bright white in the kitchen area and soft white over the seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks for the link, they look just right. Did you actually order from Hong Kong or find a UK supplier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Merle - 2012-12-29 8:38 PM Thanks for the link, they look just right. Did you actually order from Hong Kong or find a UK supplier? Hong Kong i always do you have to wait about 3 weeks for delivery but apart from this no problems ever. Dont order more than £15 worth of stuff on one order or you have to pay import duty and vat. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks for the tip Dr Dave, being a tight old so and so it's nice to keep taxes to a minimum :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Try this for a UK source, no soldering required just connect direct to switch. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WHITE-24-LED-Bulb-Strip-Light-Flexible-Multi-Use-12-volt-/221170325086?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item337ec7565e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Be careful with these LEDs. The ones that are advertised as being 12 volt, may well be 12 volt items. The effect of this being that they will have a short life in a typical 'van, where the '12 volt' side of things is usually about 13.8 volts. You must either ensure that your supply is a regulated 12 volts, or make sure that your LEDs come with a built-in regulator and bridge rectifier (so that they are not polarity sensitive). The ones being advertised may well be OK, but it is as well to check before buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 spospe - 2012-12-29 11:37 PM Be careful with these LEDs. The ones that are advertised as being 12 volt, may well be 12 volt items. The effect of this being that they will have a short life in a typical 'van, where the '12 volt' side of things is usually about 13.8 volts. You must either ensure that your supply is a regulated 12 volts, or make sure that your LEDs come with a built-in regulator and bridge rectifier (so that they are not polarity sensitive). The ones being advertised may well be OK, but it is as well to check before buying. That is quite true however it also goes for many of the adhesive strip type Leds including the ones from Ikea that have been discussed on the forum before. I have done tests on these Leds including one test leaving them on for over 24 hours with no issues, however as a belt and braces excersise i do include two silicone diodes (1 amp rating) in series with the Leds with a 1 amp wire ended fuse. The diodes have a voltage drop of about 0.7v so 1.4 volts in total this reduces the voltage to the leds and reduces the current drawn by a few milliamps so the Leds are not run much over their rating. this method of voltage reduction has the advantage of no additional current burden as would be incurred with a traditional voltage regulator circuit which i know is only milliamps but every little helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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