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Old 10-01-2012, 08:05 AM   #1
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Grab handle LED lighting now works!

The grab-handle lighting has never worked on my MH since we bought it a few months ago. I just assumed that the Windsor handle was not supposed to be lighted. Friday I decided to find out for sure. I removed the handle and there was the LED at the top! I called Monaco parts
and found out that there is a replacement LED kit available from them
(part # S01806678) at a cost of $9.92 plus shipping. That would probably run around $15.00 with shipping. I hate to sound cheap, but I thought I could replace that little LED for a lot less than that, so off I go to Radio Shack. They had the perfect replacement, their part # 276-0017 at only $2.19 for a package of two! It is exactly the same size as the original and extremely bright, rated at 7000 MCD. Only other thing I needed was the resistor to drop the voltage from 13 VDC down to the recommended 3.3 to 3.6 volts. That took some experimenting to determine the right value. The original resistor was 150 ohms but the voltage was too high with it. I finally found that a 270 ohm resistor (Radio Shack # 271-1112, $1.19 for package of 5) put the voltage on the LED at 3.5 Volts, just right! I finished the project just about dark, and that thing is bright!

For those who might want to do this, I will mention a couple of things. First, the LED is in the top mounting bracket, but don't take that bracket off! The leads are really short to the LED and you wouldn't have the slack you need to cut and splice the wires. Remove the bottom bracket and the top end of the handle will slide out of the top bracket. You will then see the LED in it's reflector. Mine was a little bit of a problem to get out since there is not much room between the LED holder and the inside of the bracket. Be careful not to scratch the reflector in getting it out! After it is out you can cut the wires within about an inch of the LED holder, leaving as much wire as possible sticking out of the bracket. After you get the LED & resistor replaced and ready to re-install, you can solder three or four inches of extra wire (keep it small!) to the back of the LED holder. This extra wire can then be pushed back up into the bracket. The LED holder fits into a short recess area on top of the grab bar. I used a piece of duct tape to hold it in place.

You will need a low-wattage soldering iron to replace the LED and resistor on the small circuit board. I would not use anything above 30 watts. I had a Radio Shack iron with a switch that selected between 15 and 30 watts that was perfect for the job. Use a small-diameter 60/40 resin-core solder. NEVER use acid-core solder on electronic parts like this!

I know some of you will say why go to all that trouble to save $11 or so, and I agree it's probably not worth the effort, but hey, an old man's gotta find something to occupy his time! Below is a photo of the finished product. Good luck & God bless!

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Old 10-01-2012, 09:16 AM   #2
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Nice....deSanford
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:15 AM   #3
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One thing I forgot to mention in the original post. To determine the + (positive) lead on the LED, hole it up to the light and look at the elements inside. The one with the sawtooth (jagged) edge is the positive side. This may be true only on the Radio Shack # that I used.
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:08 PM   #4
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What switch operates the lighted grab handle?
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:13 PM   #5
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Nice touch Joe, We think alike!
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Old 10-04-2012, 08:36 AM   #6
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Quote:
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What switch operates the lighted grab handle?
On my MH the porch light switch turns on the grab handle light. Not sure if that's true on all Monacos or not.
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Old 10-04-2012, 03:08 PM   #7
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Guess I'll take mine apart and just see if it's really lighted. Now that my curiosity is peaked and my grab handle doesn't light up.
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Old 10-09-2012, 09:09 AM   #8
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Thanks for all the part numbers.
I have mine removed and replaced the bulb, but it is not as bright as it should be. Trip to R S couldn't find the correct bulb.
Now that you have done all the research, I can repair mine correctly.
The complete assembly is on E-Bay for 15.00. But sound like you and I like reparing things. Sure is a lot more fun than just replacing the assy.
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Old 10-12-2012, 06:51 AM   #9
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What was the item # of the complete assembly?
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:53 AM   #10
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mine was not originally lit.
I used the "superbright" radio shack LED, along with whatever resister a previous forum post suggested. I also bought from radio shack, an led grommet.

The grommet popped right into the hole in my bottom grab handle mount, and the led snapped right in.

Wires went out and into the passenger armrest, which has lots of switches and things. It made the most sense to me at the time to connect it to the "steplight" switch.
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Old 10-13-2012, 10:30 AM   #11
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Quote:
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What was the item # of the complete assembly?
E bay item # 190630046835
$14.64 is Buy It Now price. Free Shipping
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Old 10-13-2012, 10:38 AM   #12
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Thanks, MS HAPPY CAMPERS for the part numbers from Radio Shack. I repaired mine and have extra bulb and resistors to repair another one. Our coach has two more handles inside that also light up when the door is opened.
Now the DW wants a central vaccum. Next
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Old 10-14-2012, 06:35 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vettehead View Post
Thanks, MS HAPPY CAMPERS for the part numbers from Radio Shack. I repaired mine and have extra bulb and resistors to repair another one. Our coach has two more handles inside that also light up when the door is opened.
Now the DW wants a central vaccum. Next

Hi Phil! Glad it worked out good for you! That central vac may be a little more trouble!
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Old 10-18-2012, 07:44 PM   #14
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Grab handle light

This IRV2 site is dangerous! Reading these posts is an endless supply of ideas for me to work into my coach.

Broke down and installed the leds per above and now my handle glows as well!

About $5 in radio shack parts and an hr of time. Hardly enough time to finish my beer while doing the install.

Thanks to all for the ideas!
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