Community Forums

Dreamacre · 06-06-2023, 10:08 AM

Our light in the kitchen just went out the other day.
I assumed it was the tubes so I got 2 new ones at Home Depot but the old bulbs had F40CW/RS/EW 34 Watt.

I found the closest but had a choice of 32 Watt or 40 Watt.
I chose the 40Watt.

Light will still not come on with the new tubes.

I am thinking the ballast has gone out but was wondering if I should have gone with the 32 Watt, instead of the 40s?
Would that have made a difference?

I know many are converting to LED but I hate working with electricty.

Thank you for any suggestions.

PNWGirl · 06-06-2023, 10:29 AM

Electricity in an RV is nothing like in a home. You can unhook from shore power and work. If your rig has a house battery switch (mine has two, one for engine battery and one for the coach), turn it off then there is no power going to your 12V system.

Then you just put a new one in lickity-split. I switched all of mine out to LED. It was amazing how cool they are when compared to the OEM ones.

Based on the location of each light, I chose either the daylight type or the warm white. Galley got the daylight type.

mfire1339 · 06-06-2023, 10:34 AM

I would try new ballast first, But going to warm white 4500K LED would be my favorite.

If you boondock saves a ton of juice.

Look up "Leisure LED RV/Marine" for kits for your fixture.

mike

wolfe10 · 06-06-2023, 10:48 AM

Actually, I would ditch the fluorescent and ballast and go with LED's in the fixture.

And agree, would choose 4500-5000k. You decide whether you need more/less lumens in that area.

Old Scout · 06-06-2023, 12:47 PM

Might still be some around but the old-style florescent bulbs and ballasts are long gone. Many lights in the Alpine are 12v but believe the overhead kitchen is 120v...Like Brett said, either way, you need to upgrade to the modern tube lights or to LED strings.

Bruce Anthon · 06-06-2023, 05:11 PM

Take a look at M4 Products. They have a full line of RV lighting products and were very helpful to me in converting my lights and fixtures to LED.

They made several intensity levels of each light so you can get exactly brightness that your wife prefers… at least that is how it turned out for me.

Jim A · 06-08-2023, 09:29 AM

I just used LED tubes from Costco as a direct replacement for the fluorescents. Cool white light, brighter than the fluorescents.

paul65k · 06-09-2023, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim A

I just used LED tubes from Costco as a direct replacement for the fluorescents. Cool white light, brighter than the fluorescents.

Yeah.... but if his Ballast has gone bad those won't work either.

I think the first thing to do is verify that there is power at the light, then after the ballast. If the ballast is truly bad then it makes sense to do a retrofit with direct power with one of the new LED replacement types designed to circumvent the ballast.

Hayduke · 06-09-2023, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul65k

Yeah.... but if his Ballast has gone bad those won't work either.

I think the first thing to do is verify that there is power at the light, then after the ballast. If the ballast is truly bad then it makes sense to do a retrofit with direct power with one of the new LED replacement types designed to circumvent the ballast.

I've swapped tubes to LEDs on a few fixtures now, including the RV. All the bulbs I've bought had me bypass the ballast. I think they have an AC-DC transformer built in.

I should mention one of the Lowes/Home Depot LED bulb in the RV has already started to fail. I replaced them less than 2 years ago. We had not used the RV all Winter, and it just started doing it now that we are back in it. I'm hoping I can get it replaced by manufacturer.

jgsomerville · 06-10-2023, 03:56 PM

I replaced all of the 12 volt fluorescent lights in my 2005. I was having trouble with interference with my AC thermostat, but really happy with the change. I purchased "Thin-Lite RV Euro-Style Recess Mount Led Light Fixture 14.4W DIST-LED766P" on Amazon. They are direct replacements for the ones that were in it. It may be difficult to find these exact ones, Thin Lite recently went out of business. Great thing about these are the brightness is adjustable. If you can't find these, I'm still in favor of LEDs.

Dudley do-right · 07-24-2023, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I've swapped tubes to LEDs on a few fixtures now, including the RV. All the bulbs I've bought had me bypass the ballast. I think they have an AC-DC transformer built in.

I should mention one of the Lowes/Home Depot LED bulb in the RV has already started to fail. I replaced them less than 2 years ago. We had not used the RV all Winter, and it just started doing it now that we are back in it. I'm hoping I can get it replaced by manufacturer.

Good luck with that.... all that stuff is Chinese, and they distribute through their American national distributor. You'd have better luck going back to Lowes. But for the price, it would probably be easier just to dump it and start over. ... Dudley Do-Right, 2006 Alpine Apex 40 MDTS