Community Forums

lestortue · 12-19-2015, 06:56 AM

My 2014 Winnebago Journey has the new round ceiling lights with 21 tiny LEDS from ITC. One failed after about one year. Ordered a replacement from Winnebago for around $60 and discovered that replacement bulbs are NOT available for these lights-you must buy the whole fixture. Installed the new light and it failed within a month. Now, another light is beginning to flicker, indicating impending failure. Although Winnebago has agreed to replace the failed light, I would rather replace these lights with something more reliable. I have read several bad reviews of these lights and would like to replace the light elements in them all if possible. Has anyone had a problem with these lights and maybe found a replacement or alternative fix that is not so expensive?

BFlinn181 · 12-19-2015, 10:36 AM

LEDs can be damaged by over-powering them. Adding a voltage regulator in the circuit that powers the lights might extend their life. When on shore power, your converter/charger is powering them at +13.4 volts. I converted my fluorescent fixtures to LED and read enough cautions that I also installed voltage regulators to keep the LEDs from burning out. Ebay and Amazon have small circuit board regulators that do the job.

Dutch Star Don · 12-19-2015, 12:16 PM

"lestortue"......There was a run of these bad LED lights. Hopefully, you'll get some better ones.

bobmac · 12-19-2015, 08:58 PM

LES
These fixtures are made by ITC and as Dutch Star Don pointed out, there was a large batch made about a year ago when they changed their soldering process. Winn will replace them at no charge. Suggest you search for defective LED lights in the Winnebago Forum to get details on the issue. The lights were used by manufacturers beyond Winnebago so you might find other info. Bottom line is that everyone with these will be taken care of. You can easily replace the fixtures in about 10 minutes after you have done the first. Good luck,

Bob

Dutch Star Don · 12-20-2015, 12:01 AM

Newmar had the same issue with the LED's.

alank · 12-20-2015, 06:21 PM

Sorry to tell you this but all your LED's are bad, they just haven't all failed yet. I have a 2015 and have replaced 2/3's of mine and the remaining 1/3 will go bad before my warranty expires. Information I got is that they will be replaced during the 1 yr. warranty, but not after that. Don't know for sure that is correct.
As of July 2015, Winnebago had purged it's inventory of the bad lights so any you get now from them should be made with good solder. There is no way to tell the lights made with good solder from the ones made with bad solder.
The bad solder was a lead free solder and was called a "green solder" good for the environment. The problem was it melted at about the same temperature the LED's operate at so the LED's melted the solder and some would just fall off the circuit board. Some of the lenses I took off had some of the components laying in the lens.
The lead solder now used has a higher melting point.

dpinvidic · 12-20-2015, 07:36 PM

If you can take the fixture apart to get access to the LEDs, you can resolder them yourself.
Use Solder Wick on one side at a time to remove the low temp solder.
apply flux and resolder with regular 60/40 solder.

Obviously it is best to replace them for no charge if under warranty.

Anyone have a photo with the lens removed?

Regards,

Dan

DD788Snipe · 12-20-2015, 11:41 PM

That explains why the led spots I bought from Camping World a few months ago started failing. They were made by ITC also. I wrote a scathing review on the Camping World website. I'm reinstalling the halogen puck lights that were originally in the coach.

bobmac · 12-21-2015, 05:47 AM

You should call ITC directly and talk to them about your problem. If you did not return the fixture, I am sure they will take care of you. If the fixture you have was purchased is part of the defective batch, I am confident they will take care of you. The problem I believe is limited to the 21 LED Radiance fixture. ITC have acknowledged this issue and are committed to correcting it - they are a first class company. Given the nature of the fault, all fixtures in the batch are likely to fail so it is not a question of if they will - rather when they will. Winnebago have not thought through their response to this issue and are acting in an arrogant manner if in fact they are limiting replacement to the warranty period. All RV manufacturers know when they used these fixtures in production and the coaches made during that specific period and could potentially replace them on a proactive basis allowing owners to make the change out on their own
Barring this issue, these fixtures are likely the best on the market.

lestortue · 12-22-2015, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobmac

You should call ITC directly and talk to them about your problem. If you did not return the fixture, I am sure they will take care of you. If the fixture you have was purchased is part of the defective batch, I am confident they will take care of you. The problem I believe is limited to the 21 LED Radiance fixture. ITC have acknowledged this issue and are committed to correcting it - they are a first class company. Given the nature of the fault, all fixtures in the batch are likely to fail so it is not a question of if they will - rather when they will. Winnebago have not thought through their response to this issue and are acting in an arrogant manner if in fact they are limiting replacement to the warranty period. All RV manufacturers know when they used these fixtures in production and the coaches made during that specific period and could potentially replace them on a proactive basis allowing owners to make the change out on their own
Barring this issue, these fixtures are likely the best on the market.

I ordered the replacement light from Winnebago Parts (Mobility RV) in Hanlontown, IA. This light lasted about one month and 9 of the LEDs fell off the circuit board. Mobility RV is replacing the light, but it will take about a month to submit the paperwork to Winnebago for approval. Wish I had called ITC, but didn't. Will do so if there are future failures. Appreciate the help!

djbmsu · 12-22-2015, 07:01 PM

Wow thats a nice feature that these manufacturers offer, lights that you cannot replace the led bulbs, need an entire new fixture ?

DD788Snipe · 12-30-2015, 04:55 PM

I wrote that review on Camping world and Phil from ITC called me out of the blue and said they'd send me replacements. Call ITC and ask for Phil D. 616 396 1355. Think no one reads reviews? Think again. Yes I was shocked too.