Porch light does not work. Replaced lamps. What should check next?
Power to make sure you have it at the lamp then work back.. switch then relay/fuse
It's highly likely that the ballast is bad, so if you have power to the fixture, that is most likely the problem. New fixture time!!! Have a great day ---- Fritz
Bad switch or ground.
jk
Last year the porch light, lighted handle and passenger map light all worked. Now none do. Are they all connected to the same circuit? It's on my list of to do but haven't taken time to chase down yet.
Thanks in advance,
Larry
DayD,
If it is a bad ballast you can just remove the ballast and install some type of 12VDC LED light strip in the OEM fixture.
While you are in the area does the touch light on the door grab handle work? These 2 items are on the same circuit. The base has a bulb that is known to fail. The bottom of the lower mounting bracket has a drain hole in it. This drain can be stopped up with an insect nest causing ground problems causing the light to stay on. On your coach the controller is hid on the floor in the magazine/cup rack.
Mike
Larry,
The short answer is Yes. Look at the post that I just posted to DayD. The 2 outside are controlled through the switch as you come in the front door that is on your right hand side. If the switch on the porch light has shorted out it cause a problem with both also. These are fed off one of the self resetting beakers that are hid behind the kick panel. I'm not sure about the map light though but most likely it does.
Mike
Mike,
The top grab handle light does stay on, so will check the drain/ground. I did not know there was a bulb in the bottom. Ironically, the handle broke on me yesterday, so another thing to fix.
Thanks for the suggestion on installing 12v LED strips in the existing fixture.
DayD,
The light bulb is in the top but the ground wire that makes it work is in the bottom. When you take out the Phillips head screw to remove the lower bracket (to replace the Lexan handle) you will find a wire with a looped spade lug that cause a lot of trouble. If you have to remove the magazine/cup rack the screws are hid inside behind the switches along with the one that are behind the plugs you can see in the front of the magazine rack.
Mike
Thanks Mike. I hadn't thought about the circuit breakers behind the panel. I'll check it out.
Larry
Larry & DayD,
I was just able to pull the prints for your age coach and those items are not fed from the breakers behind the kick panel. Those items are off the 12VDC fuses mounted at the foot of the bed. According to the print I have it should be fuse #5.
Mike
Mike, I have the same problem --do I have a relay or is it out of fuse box?
Thanks
Thanks Mike, I'll make a note and check it when I get to the coach. I hadn't seen any fuses blown, but I might have missed it.
Larry
Chris,
I don't have the '99 prints with me as we are on the road to see the big man visit the grandkids but yours should be fed through the fuse panel at the base of the bed. Not a self resetting breaker for the outside porch lights on the 96/97 prints.
Mike
Thanks Mike, Hope You have a safe trip and give the GK's a big hug!
Chris
Pulled the bottom bracket of the assist handle yesterday in preparation for replacing the broken acrylic rod and to check the ground wire. Good news, the ground is in great condition and will turn on the light in the upper bracket when I touch it. Plan to stop by a local plastics shop later today to see if they can fabricate a replacement rod.
Was unable to pull the porch light to confirm it is getting power since I did not have a square tip driver, so that will be another day.
CLEAR Acrylic RV Entry Door Grab Handle Bar Fleming Brite Bar Glo Bar | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLEAR-Acrylic-RV-Entry-Door-Grab-Handle-Bar-Fleming-Brite-Bar-Glo-Bar/192123875692?hash=item2cbb79b16c:g:gDUAAOSw~AVYv4nz)
Pretty much 90% of the fasteners on my coach are square head screws. Can't do anything without at least one. Get 4.
I have square tip drivers, just did not have one last night and did not anticipate needing it.....one of the downsides of having to store the coach in a U-Haul yard. Definitely will be added to the take along tool bag. Any other "special" tools I might need?
Thanks for the link. Looks like a great fit and reasonably priced at 15.95. I hate the $10 shipping. Almost as much as the part.
Be careful of the size. I bought two from FOT that were supposed to fit, but are a tad too short.
Definitely easier to fix too long than too short!
That's why I'm still using my original and have two spare shorties.
Using my original is not a good option....it broke into four pieces last week when I grabbed it to enter the coach. I glued it back to measure it, but do not think it would hold up very well.
A wire tracing tool is good to have. Added one to my tool kit recently and its paid for itself already.
A good LED rechargeable light.
A good wire crimper, wire stripper and cutter.
A solder iron. Heat gun. A good voltage meter.
There is a tool list post that would be good to review.
FOT has two sizes foe the handles, depending on the modle coach you have I believe.
Thank you. I have several of these, but will look at adding a soldering iron and wire tracer.
And the ones in 2003-ish that have the doorbell button in the base of the handle were essentially a one-time buy from, I think, a Spanish supplier.
And it seems that no matter which clear assist handle you get, you will most likely have to "tweek" the ends to make it fit.
We bought a new clear handle when we were at FOT, just for our coach, and I still had to alter the ends to fit.
Bought another handle for a Newmar (oops, SOB) and also had to alter the ends to make it fit. Seems the material, when it is extruded or molded hot, will distort a bit as it cools.
Yes, it distorts some as it heated and bent. I know because.....the long story:
I stopped at the plastic shop on the way home yesterday. Showed him the old handle I had glued back together and asked if he could fabricate a replacement. He said yes, but it would not have all of the cracks in it. I was not sure if he thought they were a decorative element or was kidding, so I replied that I hope not because I suspect that is why it broke.
Super nice guy. Said it would be $75. I was hoping for the $35 range. Online they can be purchased for $16 plus $10 shipping. I asked if he sold the rod. He sold me a foot for $7.50. Got home, traced the outline of the old handle on a scrap piece of 1x4 and cut out the outline to make a mold. Heated the bar to about 275F in our "easy bake" (the toaster oven) for about 30 minutes. It naturally curved quite a bit from heating it up. Took it out, put it against the mold and let it cool. I still have to trim the ends to fit. Will post a picture of the final result....assuming it all works out. Otherwise, I will order one. Of course, it will not have the cool engraved logo, but neither did the original.
Installed the handle today. Very happy with the results with one exception. I had to use a heat gun to heat the bottom up to bend it a bit more to make the bracket fit snug against the coach. I think I rushed it a bit with the heat gun too hot and it caused some bubbles and blisters at that area. Otherwise, very happy with the results for $7.50 of materials and a little time.
For the rest of you who might have handle failures, I got mine (inscribed by special order) from these folks. Quick service, lotsa options. Getting the bottom ground wire and the gaskets in IS a bearcat! Brite Bar Handles Archives - Fleming Sales OEM | Elkhart, IN (https://www.flemingsalesoem.com/product-category/brite-bar-handles/)
I just had my handle replaced at FT. I found that the length and angle cuts on both ends are critical. Mine was not firm when fabricated by an expert until he shimmed one flat with a small piece of Formica.
I had to do lots of tweaking too. I used a sander, file and an electric heat gun to make it fit.
Here are the two ends of the handle I ordered from Fleming......fit right in! ^.^d
Finally got around to testing the porch light. Definitely have power to the fixture and tried new lamps, so assuming the ballast or other component is bad. I will check for availability of a similar fixture, but I like Mike's suggestion of installing LED strip lights. Has anyone done this?
When we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago, we put in LED under cabinet lights and had to install a "driver", which I assume is just a 120 to 12 volt transformer but not really sure. For the coach, can I just wire in 12 volt LED strips inside the existing fixture? If so, how many strips should I use to get the proper brightness?
I put in 2 strips and it is brighter than factory.
Thanks Craneman. Did you use the self adhesive strips, and do you just wire directly to the 12v system?
I used two strips as well.
I'm not Craneman but yes just direct wire to 12 volts. I used amber colored LED's.
I used white, the lens still makes it look original.
You can just direct wire the LED's to the coach's wire system. Just make sure to keep the positive and negative correct or else you will burn out the strip immediately. (Don't ask how I know from changing the ceiling lights to LED.}
Larry
Received the LED strips today and was excited to get the light working. Added the connectors to the strips and tested. Nice and bright! Removed all of the old components from the fixture like the ballast and tombstones and installed two strips. Tested and they did not work. :(
Turns out the on/off push button switch on the bottom of the fixture is bad. I had previously confirmed power to the fixture and had changed the lamps. When it did not work, I assumed it was the ballast. I never tested for power before/after that switch so the ballast is probably still good and just had to replace the switch. Too late for that. At least will now have LED instead of florescent lamps.
Ordered this switch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RLL1KM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) as a replacement.