Ceiling Lights

[Pops R]

Having issues with the bedroom ceiling lights on 2015 Challenger. One light started to flicker and at first I was thinking it was about to go out but then all 4 ceiling lights are flickering.

I took the first one down to see what might be replaced but it looks like it is a unit replacement. Has anyone ever had this issue and if so what did you do?

[gmc]

Usually LED flickering is when bulb is on its way out... or trying to dim a non-dimmable bulb which isn't likely the case here...

To rule out an RV issue - just disconnect those 2 wire nuts in the pic - and connect the light dirrectly to 12v power source or known good battery.
(Of course have 12v power off or just be sure the two live wires on coach side don't touch.)

Unfortunately some LED circuitry is rather cheap - and having more than one fail isn't unusual... The LEDs themselves last thousands of hours - but not always the electronics.

If you try to find your own replacement units - be sure they are rated for MORE THAN 12v... Our RVs commonly can be up to 14v - and 12v circuits will overheat and fry...
I did bulb replacements to convert to LED - all were rated 12-24v.
Still periodically get a flickering one that needs to be replaced... but I can replace a boatload of them and still be ahead of the replacement fixture price.

[Pops R]

Thanks Greg for your response

[mtntrek]

I’ve heard of issues with individual light units suffering from the symptoms you’re describing requiring replacement of the fixture. Generally this requires dealing with some crimp connectors.
Another point of flicker where multiple fixtures share a dimer / controller switch. Those would probably be caused by PWM, Pulse Width Modulation type dimmer and can suffer failures as well requiring replacement.
Be well.

[bigben]

Same flickering issues. Only way to fix - replace the light.

[Pops R]

Hey BigBen, what year is your Challenger? Is your flickering issue in the bedroom as well? Where did you find the replacements?

Also thank you for your service. We will be heading down to Florida in August on our RT and for our sons and wife's retirement from the Air Force, both are E9's

[Miramar Owner]

I have had that issue in my Miramar and was not the light at all. Open the 12V fuse panel and gently push on the fuses. I found one was loose. Pressing it in to seat properly solved my problem.

[tenbear]

Are the lights flickering in synch? If each light has its own pattern then its probably the individual fixtures but if they are all flickering at the same time I would suspect something common to all the lights.

I converted all my interior lights to LEDs and have had no flickering although some of the individual LED chips no longer light, I believe because the soldered connections have failed.

[99dart]

I don't mean to crash the thread (I don't have any flickering lights), but have a question. Can these lights be put on a dimmer switch? We like to sit at the table in the evening to play cards. The lights over the table are way too bright.

[bigben]

Pops R - my service was my honor and thank you.

As for the lights, our rig is 2015 and we've spent lots of time and miles living/traveling in our coach with 3-5 of our grandkids. Each year we will average 8-9 months per year with over 2 months spent boondocking in Key West. We have over 38k miles on our coach. This is meant as background to say our coach is used a great deal. So having a couple of light needing to be replaced is just a part of it. I have repaired the flickering light a couple of different ways, but the most recent method probably the best.

The first time/method I got bought a light from Total RV took it apart and used the lighting element for the old fixture. I simply removed the in ceiling light (3 screws), cut the black and white leads, used wire nuts to join the leads and put the light back.

The second time/method I again bought the light from Total RV and simply replaced the entire fixture (it is almost identical). The fastener pattern is identical so it was - simply cut the leads, wire nut the leads back together and install the light fixture.

It was curious to me that both the lights would come back on when I pushed the lights up, stay on for a few seconds and then flicker off. I believe the small chip that is on the back of the LEDs simply fails. Haven't tested this with a multimeter - so it is just a guess.

The folks at Total RV Parts department are great to work with. If you call them, have your VIN handy. They will look up the part you need based on your VIN, check their inventory, check with Thor for their inventory if necessary and then ship the part to you. If you're interested their number is (574) 262-4460.

Hope this helps.