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Topic: LED Interior Lights Conversion (Read 1814 times) previous topic - next topic

LED Interior Lights Conversion

I just finished of the LED conversion of most of the interior lighting on our U300. I am including several addresses where I bought the materials and photos on this post as well as others on our Picasa site.

I tried to research what I would need and educate myself as best as I could before starting. Thanks to good advise (can't remember your name, sorry), I ordered warm white at approx. 3000K. This really saved the day!

I ordered two 5-meter (16.4 feet) rolls of 600 LEDs in warm white 8 mm wide. They use 48 watts for the 5 meters or about 3 watts a foot.  The price was $27.96 for each roll delivered (about two weeks). I was going to go with 300 LEDs per 5 meters (60 LEDs/meter) but thought they were optimistic on how bright they were. These strips only use 1.5 watts/foot. I also ordered push on electrical connectors but decided to go with soldering instead. Note: these come with double sided sticky back tape.

For more info on the LEDs, go to: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods &

The first thing I did was to remove the florescent light assembly and then using the right angle drill in the photo, drill out all the pop rivets and remove the starters, tubes, etc. Cleaning with Mr. Clean works well on the painted lights. A couple of lights were anodized aluminum and needed cleaning plus sanding to get the LED strips to stick well.

Using the blue box cutter, I separated the Euro connectors so two could be installed with a screw from the backside.  I cut and tinned light gauge red and black wires to go from the LED solder joint to the connector. The LED strips are good to three seconds with a 30 watt soldering iron but I found after tinning the leads, I could get a good solder joint in about half a second. I used the wire stripper in the photo as it does an exacting job without pulling on all of the wire.

All of the work should be done with the light fixture in front of you so when you have to work upside down to reinstall it, the only things you have to do is find the old screw holes and feed the supply wires into the Euro connectors.

Several light fixtures are in two sections.  After cleaning, I found I could reinstall the clear plastic lens and slide it down so half was on each side of the joint. This makes it EZ to attach the LED strips and stabilizes the two-piece assembly. Place the entire light on a flat surface to do the work.

The clear lens will not go the entire length because the solid piece above the starter has been removed. A couple of lenses will have to be ordered. Source is in Flagstaff at: Thin-Lite Replacemet Lenses  The Thinlite part number is in the 170 series printed on the back of each light. They also have a clear lens to replace the amber one on the outside entry light. Trim to length with very fine bladed saw.

The LED strips can be cut on each line with a sharp pair of scissors.  I bought a roll of heavier red/black wire to go from the passenger's side to the under cabinet light on the driver's side. Both now turn on from the switch above the entry.

The entry light fixture was replaced with a 120V fixture and modified to 12V MR16 base and MR16 warm 4 watt spot. The same was done for a reading light on the other side controlled by the old switch for the under cabinet light. See seller and specs at: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods &

Note: MR16 bulbs may vibrate and fall out after driving for a few weeks. Could lock in with a dab of silicone or an expanding wire retainer placed in front of the bulb.

Reading lights replaced by flex LED lights in the stateroom and for driver and passenger. USA seller on ebay. Only available in 6500K temp.  See: New LED flexable 12 volt reading light 18 inch items in justmikes1955 store on
The short lights are good except passenger may be better with the 18" with the 90 degree head at $18.99.

Larger, 10mm (1cm) LED strips are available. See first ebay site for details.

Next project is to convert the ceiling florescent lights. I want them all to operate off one switch but will be difficult as center light wiring goes to driver's side above sink.

Overall, this conversion works great! Once you get the hang of it, each light takes about fifteen minutes.  They are brighter than stock and use a little over 20 watts for both sides in the salon. With 60 LEDs/meter, that would be about 10 watts.

Photos on Picasa at: https://picasaweb.google.com/100921130470085833749/LEDForetravelLighting02?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-X2oPi7KP2aQ

Use color coded wires. I cut off a small section and connected it backwards. They don't work after that.

Order the clamp on connectors rather than the push on type. I could not get a consistent good connection with the push-on style.

In case the LED stips don't stick to the unfinished aluminum or start to pull off, use super glue applied with a toothpick. That did the trick.

The blue coach wire is (or should be) the positive. Check with digital meter if in doubt.

Leave switches off while connecting final wiring for each light. Check and double check wiring before switching on light.
Use electrical (Radio Shack) solder, NOT acid core.

If in doubt, order both 300 and 600 LED strips and try them on one light. They could both be installed and switched for high and low.

Dimmer will not work but the on/off function will work on the remote control.

Multi colored strips and spots are available with remote control that will give many different colors.

Can't see any disadvantage with this conversion. A win-win! Less juice used, instant on without waiting that split second for the florescent bulbs, excellent color, no heat, 50,000 hour lifespan and it is fun to make the conversion.

Email or PM with questions or better ideas.

Did use a lot of "I"s in post. :))


Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #1 –
Awesome post! I saw those strip lights awhile back and thought that they might be a good canditate for conserving battery power. How much current draw do you figure you have cut vs. the stock lighting?
Thanks, Don
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #2 –
Nice write up Pierce. I plan to follow in your footsteps in a couple of months...

see ya
ken
The selected media item is not currently available.ken & dori hathaway & Big Agnes
🍺1992 U300 GrandVilla WTBI #4150 FOT FBP 2011
✨6V-92TA DDEC Parlor Coach 350HP Series 92
🏁2011 Nissan XTerra Pro-4X

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #3 –
Quote from: acousticart –
Awesome post! I saw those strip lights awhile back and thought that they might be a good canditate for conserving battery power. How much current draw do you figure you have cut vs. the stock lighting?
Thanks, Don

Don, thank you!

A little hard to say exactly. The LED strips take advantage of the entire length of the fixture. The shorter the fixture is, the greater percentage of the length the starter takes. The twin florescent lights above the sink used 8 watts each, 16 watts total. I just ran two strips in one fixture and tossed the other so the LED total was about 8 to 9 watts for about a 50% savings for more light than stock. If I had used the 60 LED/meter strips, the draw would have gone down to about 4 - 4.5 watts or about 25% of the florescent tubes.

The biggest difference is in the reading lights for the sofa and the reclining chair. The original large bulb light with the shade was impossible to read with (at least for me). The new spot/flood is very bright with excellent color to avoid reader fatigue. At 4 watts each, the energy savings is impressive.

I did forget to say that I mounted all the strips on the "away" side inside the fixture. The idea was to direct a little more light toward the inside of the coach.

I still have the overheads to do. I think that day to day use will determine what works best. It already seems a little more than we need  at night but the early evening with fading sunlight may be perfect the way it is now.

Should have added in my post that they are available in waterproof specs for only slightly more and also in a flexible tube for exposed use like under counter or engine compartment lighting.

After the overheads, my next LED project will be side to side under dash top lighting so with the dash top open, everything will be visible and easy to work on.

Lots more to think about, vanity mirror lights, compartment lights, etc.

Thanks again for the pat on the back.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #4 –
Pierce,
You were right!  Glad I waited to  see how this turned out.  The color and brightness is much better than I thought it would be.  Nice write up!
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #5 –
Pierce,
Great looking job on the lights.  I assume the roll of LED's did not have any buck driver installed to address the fluctuations in voltage?  Did you wire a power supply into each light fixture(s) or just straight 12 volts to the fixture?  I remember reading from one member he had issues with the 13.5 volts burning out the LED's prematurely without a buck driver installed in the circuit or each light.  The newer LED's could have addressed the issues of the voltage as I have not been keeping up with the situation.  I just seem to watch my portfolio decline (thinking I just lost what could have been a newer coach in my driveway). 

Thanks again for the great write up!
Brad

2000 U320 4000

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Brad –
Pierce,
Great looking job on the lights.  I assume the roll of LED's did not have any buck driver installed to address the fluctuations in voltage?  Did you wire a power supply into each light fixture(s) or just straight 12 volts to the fixture?  I remember reading from one member he had issues with the 13.5 volts burning out the LED's prematurely without a buck driver installed in the circuit or each light.  The newer LED's could have addressed the issues of the voltage as I have not been keeping up with the situation.  I just seem to watch my portfolio decline (thinking I just lost what could have been a newer coach in my driveway). 

Thanks again for the great write up!

Brad,

I had the same concerns and have only partially addressed them. I entered "RV" in my ebay search and several LED sites came up with the same rolls/prices. They advertised for cars, motorcycles, RVs so I figured they would not have a problem with 14V. Could be bad logic. I wrote to the supplier but most was lost in translation in the answer. I did find another supplier at: NFLS-SS-x300 Super Slim Flexible Light Strip
In reading their specs, 9 to 14.8 volts is listed as the operating range. Think I will cut and heat a 1" inch section under my dash top and keep checking it week to week.
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #7 –
Brad,

And to answer you, I just plugged into the house 12V.
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)
 

Re: LED Interior Lights Conversion

Reply #8 –
Pierce,
Thanks for the information and please keep us posted on the operation.  I might give the guys on your link a call as I have bought quite a few products from them. 

Thanks,
Brad

2000 U320 4000