Community Forums

Alpine Road Warrior · 02-04-2009, 02:59 PM

I am changing my interior lights over to LED's and have two of the large lens in the ceiling that I can't get off. Anyone have any ideas how to get them off short of breakage?

Rick Coleman · 02-04-2009, 03:13 PM

Warrior- I did mine last weekend. If you are talking about the "puck" lights, I found that wearing rubber gloves gives you the leverage you need while twisting the fixture to get it to come loose. If it isn't the puck lights, I haven't done any others yet. Good Luck.

EngineerMike · 02-04-2009, 05:19 PM

I see by your "public profile" you have an 08 (which you can state in your "signature" so you don't have to remember to spell it out when you need year specific feedback), we have the same type of fixtures. The glass lenses turn CCW. A couple of mine don't want to move without a goodly amount of force.

Where are you getting your LED bubs, & how much do-ray-me? After you get them replaced, can you give us a report on quality of light?

Rick Coleman · 02-05-2009, 02:31 PM

Mike- I bought mine online at the Prudent RVer Store (prudentrver.com) at the recommendation of Jim A. Sam Penny is a pleasure to deal with.
They ain't cheap- the LED replacement for the puck lights (G4.RV3-H) cost $34.98 each. I got the cwc, or cool white and I really like the light. They also offer a soft white, but I wanted more light.

I also ordered a ZLX 12 volt connector base (pack of 5) to replace the BA15 bulbs (like the porch light) to which you add the ZL3 LED LightSticks.(pack of 10). All this was another $125., but the light is amazing. This last group can be dispersed over several lights.

Hopefully Jim A. will jump in on this thread, because he REALLY knows what he is talking about, and I couldn't even order without discussing it with him. If he doesn't, PM me and I will shoot you his phone #.

Prudent RVer has an excellent website which will probably answer most, if not all your questions.

Alpine Road Warrior · 02-05-2009, 03:10 PM

EMike here is the scoop on the LED lights.
When we were at Quartzsite I bought two LED bulbs from Neutek out of Mesa, AZ. I bought the the small LED and the Large LED at $25 and $30. Then after I got home I went on line and found Super Bright LEDS from St. Louis, MO. I compaired the two LEDS and found the small bulb was not much different but with the large bulb there was a big difference in brightness. The price was $11.95 for the G4 HP6 Cool White LED and $14.95 for the G4 WHP10 Cool White LED Bulb plus fright. What a big difference in pricing. I did not realize how yellow the Halogen bulbs were. Beside the price being better the lights are much cooler and use a lot less power...we are totally satified.

I did not replace the lights above the dinning table or above the mirrors in bath area, that will be next.
Rubber gloves didn't work, any other suggestions? Maybe channel locks!!!

Jim A · 02-05-2009, 03:25 PM

I bought the LED lights that Rick documented, and love the light from them. I was never happy with the light from the lights under the cabinets over the sofa. I didn't find it enough light to read by. With the lights from prudentrver.com, the light is sufficient to read by. And much lower amperage draw. I also bought a similar light from another source, and didn't like the light quality. It was too bluish for my taste.

Since I put the ZL3 Lightsticks in the porch light, I have had numerous people comment on how much brighter they are.

I also put 8 of them in the fixture above the mirror in the vanity area. I also replaced the florescent light in that area with 12 of the ZL3 lightsticks. As I said in a posting somewhere else, the florescent replacements are pricey. But if I win the lottery I will replace all of my florescent lights. Some day I might anyway. I can live with the florescents, but not the halogens or incandescents.

But alas, I don't have the ceiling halogens that the later coaches have. So I can't offer any advice on replacing those. I would be careful, as I believe those might be 20 watt, not the 10 watt G4's in the puck lights under the cabinets. The LED's in that application might not put out as much light. But the LED lights are MUCH cooler!!! I can touch them any time. I could not touch the puck light fixture after the halogens were on for more than about 2 nanoseconds.