Compartment Lighting

[PDR John]

The cheesy little factory lights used to light up our basement compartments works OK, as long as you have a flash light handy. It sure would be nice if they came on when you opened the door as well. And forget about seeing in a battery compartment, even worse is trying to see in a fuse box.

The it all most works light.



Here is how I set about to change things:

The main supplies needed; rolls of LED lights and door popper switches.

I used these door switches: Universal Car Door Pin Switch x 12 Bonnet Alarm Light Hood | eBay

The LED rolls I got from many different places (ebay, amazon etc).

For example: 5M Waterproof 3528 5050 5630 LED Flexible Strip Light Tape Roll Warm Cool White | eBay

Shop around, there are literally 100s of types.

I started by cleaning the basement ceiling off with alcohol, then stringing the lights in place.

Some could run above rails:



Others had to go around:



I did this down each side of the basement. In the last compartment on the passenger side, I ran it the across as well.

In the wet bay and battery compartments I used water proof strips.



To hold the door poppers in place I used simple 2" L brackets. For the main compartments I was able to fasten them straight into the metal frame work, completing the ground.



In the wet bay I took the factory ground wire and attached it to the popper.



REMEMBER: The white wire is negative and the black is positive for all the lights.

I hooked all positives from the lights to the positives on the factory harness. All negatives from the lights went to switches only.

So off the LED roll the red wire is hooked to the coaches black wire and the LED roll black wire goes to the spade terminal on the door popper.

Everything is still on the master switch located by the passenger seat. When the master switch is off, no lights will turn on. When the switch is on the lights are off untill a compartment door is opened.

On the drivers side, in the main compartment, any door opened will light that whole side. On the passenger side, the whole passenger side and mid-coach are lit.

Each battery compartment is by itself. Same with the wet bay and cord storage bay. I even did the compartment under the drivers window.






Each battery compartment is hooked straight to the batteries in that compartment. I added a inline 5 amp fuse for these lights. These are not on the master switch. I want to be able to see a fuse if I need to change one.

[PDR John]

Our coach as a larger pantry, which when full can be rather dark at the back. With the LED strips working so well in the basement I thought I'd do the same in there.

Was a bit more work then I thought. Plus I forgot my camera that day, so you only get after pics.

I ran one strip down each side, just behind the lip. I didn't want the light to blind you when the door opened, but to have to whole cabinet fill with light.

I pulled positive power from the light switch on the bedroom wall (for the dresser area). However there was no grounds any where close. For that I had to remove the refrigerator and tie into the table light wiring.

Results:

For the door switch I knew the ones used in the basement didn't have the right look. So I went to the local auto parts store and dug through their catalog to find one I liked.

I have no idea what it fit before, but it fits my pantry now.

The bracket was something I bent up and painted just for this job.



Then came time for the entrance steps. The porch light just doesn't always provide good light on the steps.

I have corrected this issue.

I had a small strip of multicolored water proof LED strip left over from a project at the stick-n-brick. DW said she thought the blue would look good at the steps.

I cleaned the bottom of the bottom step with acetone and drilled a small hole through the brace. Then I glued both ends dome with silicon glue.



I had to run the steps in and out several times to make sure the wiring wouldn't bind.



The factory wiring for the light at the base of the inside steps is right at the mount for the outside steps, easy tie in. Just replaced the factory splice with my own, adding the new light wiring.



It looked so neat I had to run a strip of color changing down the side of the coach.

Like this only minus the power supply:Amazon.com: SUPERNIGHT(TM) 16.4 Ft 5050 Waterproof 300leds,RGB Color Changing Kit with LED Flexible Strip+44key Controller+IR Remote box and 12 Volt 5 Amp Power Supply: Home Improvement

They're all 12 volt DC anyway.

I cleaned the underside with acetone and stuck the whole roll down the side. Gluing both ends with silicon glue.



To get the wires through the floor I drilled a small hole in the forward most compartment. So the wires would run straight up to the controller. I got power from the 12 volt basement freezer circuit.



Because these run off a remote it has an IR receiver that I glued in the door frame.



Just point the remote at the door gap and voila.





I can make them change colors, flash and dim them.

[Romeo]

Good ideas, Thanks John.

["007"]

All John's mod's in QT's # 3.

[GaryKD]

Nicely done. This project is now on my list of improvements for the coach.

[JohnT]

John,
Great idea on the door switches. I installed the LED's in the basement awhile ago and had them tied into the main switch. All the lights are on when I turn the Master Switch on.

I like your idea of the separate door switches. I take it you wired all the door switches in parrallel? Open any door and the LED's turn on. I gave that some thought too but decided the wire harness would be large. Your idea of separate switches may lead me to rewire and have each switch turn on the LED's for that bay only. Just a thought.

[PDR John]

Thanks all.

The strip have connection points every 3", for some of the switches it was easier to run the ground from the switch straight to the light strip.

Otherwise, yes, each side of the main storage is run in parallel.

[Dutch Star Don]

Nice job.....My Monaco had the automatic light in the water bay and really liked that.

[mikelm48]

Nice work John. I guess you are the LED expert now. I should have talked to you about converting my fluorescents to LED.

[The Okie]

When you want to come to Oklahoma and visit. We can do mine while your here. Looks nice like everything else you do. Great work.

[slabman]

I added several more conventional 12v lights in basement areas where needed, equipped with LED bulbs, but intend to convert to LED strips this winter. One caveat...those strips under the coach may not last too long. I installed several strips under my tiki hut in FL (no water could hit them) and they didn't make it through the summer rains/humidity. And yes...they were "water resistant" strips.

I had LED rope lights under the last coach and they worked well. That's probably a better way to go, in my opinion.

[PDR John]

Thanks all, time will tell how long they last.


The first snow trip should test them nicely.

[PanJH]

Looks good ! I also did a strip underneath ( hooked to a timer and dimmer, incase I forget to turn them off when I go inside) and then one on the underside of the entertainment door to give a bit of light for grilling. In the entertainment center I also put a couple LED spotlights to aim at the grill ( I guess you can tell I grill a lot a night )
I like the idea of the step lights... it will be on my list. I am also going to put some on the awning tube , planning on making a brush/commutator setup so I don't have to plug them in.
Watch the strips you put on... as an initial test and to see it I liked them , I put some out by our pool.... it was only a day or so before they drooped down due to the poor adhesive tape on the back and the high humidity here. For subsequent installations at home and on the coach, I applied a strip of 3M VHB auto trim tape, they have held up real well for a year now.
It's unbelievable how cheap these LED strips are and fun to play with

[Bill Hunt]

John, looks good, what appointment times are available for you to do our coach at Hoots III.... ?
Bill & Sandy