Community Forums

NorCal Hal · 02-04-2010, 02:02 PM

I would like to replace the undercabinet approximately 2" diameter quartz halogen spotlights with low voltage, low temperature LED's. I have seen the LED replacements for sale at FMCA and other rallies.

The LED's sell for around $ 20 each and with eleven required they are a little pricey. Does anyone have the part numbers or names of either the current Q-H that I want to replace or the P/N or model for the replacement LED's and has anyone found a good supplier / source for the LED's?

Thanks

Harold

brucemcdou · 02-04-2010, 02:23 PM

Harold - a number of us have replaced the two-pin halogen "puck" lights you describe with LEDs, as well as other lights in the coach. The following thread from the Monaco forum has some useful information including links to vendors and particular lights used: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/led-...hts-61194.html

We replaced all our lights about a year ago, and have been very happy with the light quality and the low battery drain. Make sure you only buy "warm white" bulbs if you want to duplicate the warmth of the halogen or incandescent bulbs. If you just want a lot of light, the "white" or "super white" bulbs are OK, but we find the light too "blue" for our taste. Not all bulbs come in "warm white," so keep looking if you don't see it at one vendor.

Good luck!

Jim A · 02-04-2010, 05:10 PM

I replaced the halogen bulbs in my puck lights with G4.RV3-H LED lights from Prudentrver.com. They are even more pricey than the ones you noted. I looked at the thread on the Monaco forum above, and most of those seem to be rated at around 120 lumens. The ones I got are rated at 180 lumens. The light is better than the 10 watt G4 halogen bulbs that came with the lights, and much cooler and lower battery draw. They can be dimmed with the existing dimmer, but not too low, maybe down to 25% or so.

I got the cool white LED's and they are not blue. I preferred them over the soft white. I also bought a similar cheaper product and it was definitely too blue and less light than these. Probably anywhere else other than Prudentrver.com I would not buy the cool white.

LED Lamps Replace Hot Incandescent and Halogen Bulbs in RV and Boat Interior Lighting Fixtures.

For me, they were pricey but worth the money. But I only had 7 to buy. I also bought a number of his zipLED ZL3 LightSticks for some of the other 12v fixtures and the outside scare lights. Again, these cool white LED's are not blue, but definitely white, not soft white.

TRAKKER · 02-04-2010, 07:06 PM

My 2007 also has a gang of the round halogen lights, mostly 20 watt, and no fluorescents. Not only do they draw many amps but there was no place to sit and read. We were both using forehead LED lights to read by. I installed a number of fluorescent fixtures over our favorite reading seats and replaced the round fixture over the table. I may go with LEDs when they are reasonably priced. My problem is how to completely remove one of those halogen light fixtures. I bunged up the retaining ears and can't even put the glass back on. Incidentally that glass can be very difficult to remove. I successfully used a rubber jar top remover. Greasing the glass slots when replacing may help. So has anybody managed to remove a fixture and where do I get replacements? Incidentally, here in Los Angeles they are replacing the street lights with LEDs and they are great. The traffic lights are already replaced.

takepride · 02-04-2010, 10:40 PM

I just replaced the 16 puck-light bulbs in my coach with warm LEDs from Light Blasters (www.lightblasters.com). He was at Quartzsite and has been for several years. His LEDs are American made and the quality and materials difference is immediately obvious.

Most warm LED replacements have 6 LEDs, all warm. His has 9 LEDs, six warm and three cool. It better recreates natural light and is easier to read by. They are also much brighter and withstand dimming better. I paid about $30 each, but that was down $10 from last year.

The same foreign-made lights were $24 and about half the weight.

I had a chance to speak to the Engineer (and owner), Kelly, for a while. I learned more about LEDs, their qualities and what to look for than I learned in hours of reading on the Internet. Call him, (480-898-0081), he loves to talk LED.

I have purchased from him before and was very happy. He designs everything himself and often manufactures or assembles them at his place in Mesa, AZ.

Jim A · 02-05-2010, 10:23 AM

That link goes to the same website and products that I referenced. My cool white LED's were just the opposite, 6 cool LED's and 3 warm LED's. When they are dimmed, you can see the difference in color.

takepride · 02-05-2010, 11:08 AM

Jim:

While talking to Kelly (the lighting engineer) he explained that his lights are all designed with color correction in mind. He has bright white, normal, warm and yellow. When I purchased mine, I told him I like the warm yellow glow of the incandescents. He was concerned that reading was difficult in yellow and said that the warm would recreate sunlight better. Also, since there are more LEDs, they would be brighter. With my dimmer, I ought to have a better range of brightness, since the high end is higher (lumens) now.

Sounds like you bought the normal lighting. Most of the other vendors only offer bright white (blue) or yellow (calling them warm). His explanations made sense and the lighting couldn't be better.

Since according to the various postings, my incandescents were probably my biggest draw, I am looking forward to extending my battery time. I've never been one for sitting in the dark (except by the campfire), nor do I like bright lights, especially fluorescents.