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Old 05-10-2012, 08:10 AM   #1
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Fluorescent lightfittings in the ceiling

Can anyone tell me wether the awful fluorescent lightfittings in the ceiling of a Monaco is connected to 12V or to 110V.

I want to replace these with 12V LEDs, but a friend is suggesting that they may be hooked up to 110V. I belive that the lightfittings are working when inverter is off and not connected to shorepower, and therefor they must be 12V.
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Old 05-10-2012, 11:04 AM   #2
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12 Volt

You are right, they are 12 volt.
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Old 05-10-2012, 02:05 PM   #3
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manxadian is right; They are 12vdc.

LED lighting (expensive as it is) makes a good replacement for spot lighting ... such as you may have directly over your sofa or in your bed's headboard. Getting LEDs to illuminate the expanse of your living room/kitchen is yet another level of expense. The current florescent lighting puts out a lot of lumens for the power that they draw. So cost and lumens will guide you.
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Old 05-10-2012, 11:20 PM   #4
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Yes they are 12v, ... but they have an internal ballast that needs to be bypassed if you install LED's. Don't wire the LED strips directly to the wires coming from the ballast, .. simple bypass it.
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Old 05-10-2012, 11:50 PM   #5
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No genset, no shore power, no 110 in use? Must be 12 v.
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Old 05-11-2012, 08:15 AM   #6
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I changed all of my overhead fluorescent fixtures to LED. Just remove the tubes, cut the wire to the ballast and connect the LED strips to the 12V wire and ground. I used 5000K LED strips that come in a 16' reel of 5050 SMD for @$20/reel. 3 strips per fixture. They are brighter than the fluorescent and pull @150mA per fixture. The only non LED lighting in my coach is the 120V lights in the microwave.
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Old 05-11-2012, 01:28 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Wold View Post
I changed all of my overhead fluorescent fixtures to LED. Just remove the tubes, cut the wire to the ballast and connect the LED strips to the 12V wire and ground. I used 5000K LED strips that come in a 16' reel of 5050 SMD for @$20/reel. 3 strips per fixture. They are brighter than the fluorescent and pull @150mA per fixture. The only non LED lighting in my coach is the 120V lights in the microwave.
Richard,

Where did you find such a bargain? The prices I can find on those strips in 16ft lengths is around $100. per roll. I am now replacing the flourescents in my coach as the bulbs fail piecemeal and paying about $9 per strip for rigid strips. As it is the tubes that fail are the under counter in the kitchen and the bathroom/bedroom area. We never use the ones in the living area.

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Old 05-11-2012, 01:32 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Corkey View Post
Yes they are 12v, ... but they have an internal ballast that needs to be bypassed if you install LED's. Don't wire the LED strips directly to the wires coming from the ballast, .. simple bypass it.
They work the same way as 110v fixtures except that they have a little inverter in the electronic pkg that makes a/c to power the ballast assy to light off the tubes. When I convert mine I strip all the "junk" out of the fixture and just wire it straight into the 12v.
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Old 05-11-2012, 07:46 PM   #9
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Where did you purchase these led's?
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Old 05-12-2012, 05:39 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Wold View Post
I changed all of my overhead fluorescent fixtures to LED. Just remove the tubes, cut the wire to the ballast and connect the LED strips to the 12V wire and ground. I used 5000K LED strips that come in a 16' reel of 5050 SMD for @$20/reel. 3 strips per fixture. They are brighter than the fluorescent and pull @150mA per fixture. The only non LED lighting in my coach is the 120V lights in the microwave.
That's a spectacular price! What was your source? The best prices I've seen run about $50 for a 16' reel (3528SMD Warm White Super Bright Flexible LED Light Strip 16 Ft Reel)
That'd be around $10 to convert each fixture.

Also, by the foot. the prices run higher: about $8 to $10 per individual ft (LED Strip Light - SMD 5050 Flexible LED Strip Light with 18 LEDs)
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Old 05-12-2012, 06:12 AM   #11
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I would guess Ebay, That is where I bought all of my LED's for my coach. G4 halogen replacements was $2.08 delivered to my door. 16ft. LED strip lights was $12.00 in any color with the 3M tape on the back. I'm in the process now of cutting the amber strip lights and retro fitting my side and marker lights for pennies each.
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Old 05-12-2012, 06:16 AM   #12
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Please post some pictures of your project. I would love to do the same thing in my coach.
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Old 05-12-2012, 07:22 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Wold View Post
I changed all of my overhead fluorescent fixtures to LED. Just remove the tubes, cut the wire to the ballast and connect the LED strips to the 12V wire and ground. I used 5000K LED strips that come in a 16' reel of 5050 SMD for @$20/reel. 3 strips per fixture. They are brighter than the fluorescent and pull @150mA per fixture. The only non LED lighting in my coach is the 120V lights in the microwave.
did you have to use resistors? do they get hot? I was ready until I read this http://www.irv2.com/forums/f64/led-l...re-120180.html
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Old 10-01-2012, 08:07 AM   #14
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I have now started to replace the most hated florescent light fitting.

This is what I did:

  1. I made up a baseplate in a good quality plywood, took the edges of with a router, and spray painted the base multiple times until I got an acceptable finish. The plywood base needs to be the same size as the original in order to cover the base plate of the old lights.
  2. I then bought LED puck lights from IKEA.
  3. I had expected to find a balast behind the old light fittings, but there wasn't any. Balast must be build into the ones I have. I connected the new ligts up to the existing 12VDC, inserting and in-line fuse holder with a 250MA fuse.
  4. I reused the fixing holes in the old light base frame - hence the visible stainless steel screws. I could have chosen a screw with a white painted head, but I feel the stainless look is "more honest". There is a screw there so why not see it.

The light is so much nicer now, and since "she who must be obeyed" has approved the installation, I will change them all.

This is what it looks like:


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