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Old 09-04-2016, 09:54 AM   #1
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Interior lights... LED?

Do they make LED lights that will "plug" into the old incandesent light bulb "sockets"???
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Old 09-04-2016, 09:56 AM   #2
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Actually they screw in and the answer is yes...I've just completed replacing all of my interior lights with LED's.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:08 AM   #3
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If you can get the bulb numbers off the current bulbs , and Google search ,12 volt, LED replacements , you can spend DAYS, looking at what's available .

Here's one site , prices are coming down daily.
I just finished replacing the bulbs in 12 florescent fixtures in my coach with LED strips , used about $55 in parts, new florescent tubes would have been 4X that.

www.superbrightleds.com/project/RV-and-camper/
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:23 AM   #4
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Here's a link with some pretty good information. LED your RV! Win $250 Worth of Free LED Lights! - HowToRVgeeks.com

Multiple videos on the topic.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:28 AM   #5
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I am by no stretch an LED Expert but one thing I have learned is that not all LED's are equal. They may be less expensive but in most cases you get what you pay for. Been there, done that!

Here is a site I have used with very good results. They are not the cheapest kid on the block but they are very helpful and they supply a good product.

LED Retrofit Light Bulbs for RVs and Trailers

I just replaced a few of those goofy little Halogen two pin things that have been causing me swollen blood vessels for a while.
Thought I'd try a couple to see how they work. Well, suffice to say, they are on my list for my winter projects to replace the rest of them.
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Old 09-05-2016, 06:21 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rvmorkie View Post
Do they make LED lights that will "plug" into the old incandesent light bulb "sockets"???
There are many different types and styles of replacement bulbs available. In short there is a replacement for just about every style of bulb ever put in an RV. A good source for information and to determine what style and wattage bulbs you'll need is M4 Products:

M4 Products

There are also a color and lumen charts to determine what type of light you would like in different situations:
M4 LED Color Ranges and Base Cross Reference

M4 - Information about RV LED Lights and Rated Lumens

I would definitely read the information available here before ordering any lights.

In addition there are many different levels of quality available from different vendors. Make sure you get ones that can handle a varying voltage range and the possibility of a socket that has incorrect polarity.

This company isn't the cheapest, but they do offer good quality products. We replaced all the interior lights with the Samsung Elite series bulbs. They were all direct plug ins. We've had them a little over 2 years and they are working out well.
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Old 09-06-2016, 05:33 PM   #7
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I replaced some of mine with LED's.

The LEDs were suppose to be replacement for the incandescent bulb number, however the ones I have are not as nearly as bright as the incandescents.

I would look closely at the LED's ratings, even though sold as LED replacements, may be somewhat dimmer than your incandescents.

I could probably find some LEDs that are brighter. Areas that required the original brightness, I left the original bulbs.
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Old 09-06-2016, 05:47 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rvmorkie View Post
Do they make LED lights that will "plug" into the old incandesent light bulb "sockets"???
Yes, depends on which type you have. Older RV's normally use a bulb the same or similar to an automotive bulb where you push and twist the bulb into two notches opposite of one another. These are the old style, where the incandescent bulb may have two different wattage ratings such as e.g. 12 or 18 watts.

LED replacements come with different ratings where the LED should have a lumen and kelvin (color temperature) rating. The problem with LED's is sometimes they don't have the same type and degree of brightness as an incandescent and possibly are dimmer or brighter than the original.

You can take a look at bulb replacement charts to compare the lumen output of the original to a LED replacement.

LEDs don't put out the same "type" of light as an incandescent bulb and come in various types of LED color temperature output, usually measured in kelvins. Types are sometime referred to as e.g. cool-white, natural-white, warm-white, etc.

One area of an RV e.g. a cool-white might be better to use than a natural-white or warm-white.

Incandescent bulb chart:

https://www.rvledbulbs.com/v/vspfile...scentbulbs.pdf

The link below list a single contact bayonet bulb you most likely have as they were very popular and used most often in older RVs, such as back in the 90's, may still be used today in some of the more modern RVS.

You would need to find your bulb number and then find a suitable LED with approx. the same brightness and intensity (lumens) as the original

A good LED bayonet type single contact bulbs I've looked at have a lumen rating of around ~350 some are higher up to around ~600 lumens. These bulbs often go for around ~$10.00 a piece, may be able to find elsewhere for more or less. Replacement LED bulbs with less lumens such in the 100's or perhaps 200s may not be bright enough or not as bright as your original bulbs.

12 packs that sell on eBay for around $10 - $15 dollars per/pack often don't list any specifications, these are usually very dim compared to the original incandescent bulb.

LED RV Lumen Light Output Information

http://www.m4products.com/single-contact-round-bases/
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Old 09-06-2016, 07:20 PM   #9
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We recently converted [I]all/I] the interior lights in our coach over to LED (except for the two bulbs that are part of the microwave/range hood. We've got 60 fixtures that use bulbs with the 2 pin "G4" base, a 3-4 fixtures that use the RG921 "wedge base" bulbs and 2 that use the 1139F "bayonet" style base.

We looked at the numerous sources - and ultimately decided to go with bulbs from Hero-LED. They offered G4 bulbs that purportedly use SMD5050 light segments. The M4 products look like they're probably better bulbs - but at double the price. There were less expensive options to be found on eBay as well. We took the "mid-range" price route and paid between $3.40 for a 15 watt equivalent bulb and $4.00 for a 30 watt equivalent bulb.

We went with the "Cool White" color spectrum - which provides a very white light in comparison to the very yellow light of the halogen bulbs we replaced.

Our order was shipped in a timely fashion - and we didn't have any "dead on arrival" bulbs. Every segment on every bulb we purchased was functional. It's way to early to assess the longevity of the bulbs we purchased since we only installed them a couple of months ago - however I can say that we haven't lost a bulb yet. So it's a case of so far so good.

It wasn't a trivial update in terms of cost - BUT, we're happy with the reduced amp draw as well as the heat reduction - and love the new brighter "white" light! (The ambiance of the softer yellow light was nice - but now that my eyes are getting older, I'm happy to give up "ambiance" for lights that I can actually see stuff under!
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Old 09-06-2016, 10:53 PM   #10
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I did find some BA15D's on eBay for $19.59 with free shipping.

10 PCS Super White BA15D 27-SMD 5050 LED Light bulbs Marine Boat 1142 1178 1130 1076 68 90 1004 1158 1176

Description claims the lumen rating to be about ~450.

Brightness: 3 chips 5050, about 450LM

10 Pcs Super White BA15D 27 SMD 5050 LED Light Bulbs Marine Boat 1142 1178 1130 | eBay

Another seller - 10 x for $11.48 (10x Pure White BA15D 27SMD 5050 LED Light bulbs For Car RV Boat Marine 1076 1142)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-Pure-Whi...RXCxPs&vxp=mtr

Both sellers include a lumen rating of ~450 and are located in the US. I'm not certain how one would first test them for luminosity and durability without first making a purchase.
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:22 AM   #11
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BA15S led bulbs can become more difficult to find with higher luminosity ratings. This type of bulb is common in the automotive industry and also used for interior lighting in the RV industry as an old style bulb.



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Old 09-07-2016, 09:47 AM   #12
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I used the bulbs off of post #10 from a recommendation of another member here for brightness and color to match what was OEM. I got 20 bulbs for about $25 shipped and either I screwed up one bulb or was bad. I am satisfied and have a couple spares.

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Old 09-10-2016, 08:19 PM   #13
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Ok, I'm seeing these LED's advertised as 12V. I just realized i'm a little confused as to how exactly my RV lights are powered. So, when the RV is NOT plugged into electric or running the generator if I turn a light on, its using the 12 volt coach batteries. When I had the RV plugged into electric the other day and used an amp meter to see what was going on; every time we turned a interior light on we showed another 1 or 2 amps on the meter.

Question: So, do all these RV lights use 12v from the batteries unless generator or power line is plugged in??? How is that controlled? Do I need a DC/AC LED replacement bulb or are these 12v I'm seeing what I should be looking for?

Thanks
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Old 09-10-2016, 10:22 PM   #14
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Nevermind, I understand now. WHen the generator is running or RV shoreline connected to 120v, the power is being converted via inverter to DC. That DC runs the lights.
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