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Removal and repair of "porch light"

March 17, 2011, 04:48:07 pm

The porch light (above the door) on our 2003 U295 is not working.  Replacing the bulbs did not solve the problem so I decided to take the fixture off and see what the problem is.  I removed the two front screws which I thought held the fixture in place, but once that was done it is still firmly attached to the coach wall.  I looked inside for additional screws and did not see any.  So what is the secret?  Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #1 – March 17, 2011, 05:09:53 pm

George,

ForeTravel used some strong caulk, and lots of it.  Take two PLASTIC (I used 3") scapers, work a corner and continue. Constant pressure works best. It will come loose.. Probably the ballast...Almost the same price to replace the whole unit.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #2 – March 17, 2011, 05:54:19 pm

Thanks everyone!  I thought it might be glued on with some sort of adhesive, but I was hoping for another hidden screw.  I did remove the inside panel opposite the light and there is nothing there.  I can see the two wires running into the light, but no screws.  Good advice on the plastic scrapers.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #3 – March 17, 2011, 06:25:32 pm

I agree with Jeff. It is usually the ballast and it usually goes bad after a rain.... The handle gets water in it and it shorts it out somehow. I have siliconed my handle on the bottom and cut a slit in the gasket at the very bottom to let any water that does get in a way out.  It is stuck on with tough glue of some kind. Just work your putty knife under slowly and stay away from the wires in the middle.  It is cheaper to replace and I did it with one I could shut off at the light too.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #4 – March 17, 2011, 06:44:12 pm

George,

I replaced our entire fixture in Coarsegold last year.  Once I could pry away one corner the rest of the fixture came away easily.  I have since replaced both bulbs.  They don't seem to last very long.  Next time I am going to find a way to get LEDs in there.  I am pretty sure that Tom Lang did just that.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #5 – March 17, 2011, 07:03:49 pm

George, does your have a switch on the light itself, I could not get my light on my 1996 to come on, check bulbs, ect.  Found that the push button switch on the outside was bad, by passed the switch and all work now.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #6 – March 17, 2011, 08:07:43 pm

On our coach, I replaced the bulbs and used a bit of dielectric grease on the contacts of the new ones. The real problem was the outside switch. I removed the plastic cover and sprayed thoroughly with WD-40. After some exercise, it started working. I replaced the plastic cover and it has been good for almost a year. Jimmy's tip of bypassing the outside switch is probably a better solution.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #7 – March 18, 2011, 01:22:35 am

I agree with all the above.

Mine went out the first time after staying on way too long during and after a rain storm.  Needed tubes and ballast.  The second time this happened, I took the tubes out and put LED panels in.  Works great.  I still need to seal the grab handle from water.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #8 – March 18, 2011, 08:04:50 am

Also experienced problems with the porch light. Problem traced to a bad switch on the bottom of the light fixture which I removed as I never used it anyway !  FT service techs must have some secret process for pulling items which they've glued/sealed in place with their super sealant - really tough stuff.

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #9 – March 18, 2011, 10:15:40 am

I agree.... the sealant they use is very strong, but I got it off.  Both switches that control the light (exterior handle light and interior switch near door) seem to work fine.  Both give 12 volts to the fixture.  I assume the ballast is in the fixture and that the fixture pop rivets have to be removed to get to it....right? 

George

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #10 – March 18, 2011, 02:53:11 pm

George, Do yourself a favor now that you know it is the ballast...order the complete fixture..believe it is only a few $ more and a whole lot less aggravation

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Re: Removal of "porch light"

Reply #11 – March 18, 2011, 10:35:04 pm

I agree with removing the outside switch. Also check the ground and the touch switch before replacing anything. They both can cause some whacky irregularities with the porch light.

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Re: Removal and repair of "porch light"

Reply #12 – March 20, 2011, 09:22:12 pm

Today we dropped by the Raleigh, NC West Marine and while looking for another item, Pat saw some LED replacement (ElectroPods Light Strips, West Marine 9361189, white).  There are 6 LEDs per pod and they are packaged with a small battery that allows one to test them before buying.  I checked them out in a dark room and they seemed to be bright enough.  So I bought two pods to wire into the old Thin Light porch fixture.  After I removed the fixture ends and pulled out the panel containing the ballast, it was easy to see what the problem was... the ballast had burned out (see photo). 

After removing the ballast and fluorescent light connectors it was relatively easy to install the LEDs.  The ElectroPods are set up to easily connect two or more together (see photos).  Since the ElectroPods came with about 3' of wire, I ran it through the coach wall hole into the inside to make the connection.  Note that the inside and outside holes didn't not line up in our coach, but it was easy to use one of the old wires to pull the new one inside. 

They seem to work fine.  They could be a bit brighter, but it is easy to read my watch with them on and there is plenty of light on the steps below.  Total cost was about $50.  Not cheap, but less than a new fixture.

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Re: Removal and repair of "porch light"

Reply #13 – March 20, 2011, 09:28:16 pm

Very nice, George.  Well done.

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Reply #14 – March 20, 2011, 09:31:33 pm

Thanks George,

Great post, informative and appreciated the pictures...

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Re: Removal and repair of "porch light"

Reply #15 – March 20, 2011, 10:23:30 pm

Thanks George! 

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Not cheap, but less than a new fixture

And you will probably never have to mess with them again!   
I remember reading how fluorescent lights don't usually do very well in cold temperatures, let alone the outside moisture.  I think LEDs are a great application in these fixtures.  I always like repairs that fix a problem so it won't happen again.

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Re: Removal and repair of "porch light"

Reply #16 – March 21, 2011, 11:51:12 am

George,

Your LED upgrade is very much like the one I did on mine.  I'm very happy with the results, and you will be too.  I used a couple of rectangular LED panels from eBay, and they appear to produce more light than the original tubes did.

Tom

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