Columbus LED lighting

[joelek]

Yup thanks for link and info. That will come in handy!

[DKB13]

Originally Posted by joelek

Not yet but it's winter here in MN.
How do you get the thin round covers off?

In our 320 the outer lens twists off/unscrews

[joelek]

It's my understanding that the covers unscrew CCW about a 1/4 turn to release. Somebody else was saying they pry off via plastic tool to remove. I'm betting the unscrew 1/4 turn method is what I have.

Still winter in Buffalo, MN with a fresh 8" falling today and tomorrow. April 18th 2013 for the record books.

[ETF]

"Bump"

Thank goodness for this board.

On our maiden trip in our 3011DS we had one LED light fail. It's not a catastrophe but like others have said, I thought those things were indestructible (almost). I was going to wait until later in the year and have it fixed under warranty but I just couldn't wait. The whole canister just pulls out of the ceiling, it seems to be a friction fit, but I couldn't get the glass cover off. I thought of prying it off and did try in a half hearted way but it was going to take more brute force than I was willing to give it. Just as well as I just found out that that it comes off by turning it counter clockwise. I would have probably found that out after I forced it it off and broke something. Yup, experience is what you gain just after you totally mess something up.

Once again, thanks for all your informed opinions. It's a great help to us newbie MH owners.

[joelek]

Mine is simply pull glass cover straight down. Others are turn 1/4 turn ccw then pull down. The 1/4 turn method works for either type. The lights are G4 pin mounts. They fit kind of loose in socket as pins are so small. Bumps from towing/traveling could jostle a light and make it appear burnt out. It may simply need to be pushed back into its socket to work again.

Below is example of G4 style pin mount. You have to pull one of yours to figure out glass globe style, led style/mount and how many smd leds your light has. smd = surface mount device. Columbus has used different styles throughout the couple of production years now.

Count how many led segments are on your bulb. Then go online to ebay, amazon, etc to order them. The dealer upcharge on these led lights is crazy. Order them by 6 pack, 10 pack, etc.

[jewwels]

We bought our new Columbus 320rs in march of 2013, and the first time we had a chance to take it out was in June of this year. When we turn on our kitchen lights, or over the sink light, or the front bedroom light it cuts out the signal to our t.v. This is so annoying and something terribly wrong. We have contacted the place where we bought the fifth wheel, and they don't seem to concerned or they just don't want to bother with it. I would like to contact someone at Columbus to find out what they can do about it. Anyone know of this problem and what to do?

[joelek]

This is a well documented problem and nothing is terribly wrong other than it sucks. The straight fact is the cheaply made LED light bulbs (probably from China) do indeed screw up the television and radio reception. LED bulbs are the culprit. Google LED bulb signal interference and enjoy hours of reading. You will make it 5 minutes and get bored and ticked off at the same time.

So how do you fix this?
My fix and it's free is when watching TV or listening to radio, shut off LED lights and turn on the yellow globe lights. The yellow ones are halogen bulbs and those don't mess up the signal.

Another fix is to replace the LED bulb with a Halogen bulb. The bulbs in mine are G4 side pin base.

The 3rd and more expensive fix is to find higher quality more expensive LED bulbs that are guaranteed no radio/tv signal interference. I have not searched for this yet.

The biggest problem in the 320RS is LED lights in hallway going up to bedroom. That is were the basement radio and TV antenna wires are located. So turning on the hallway lights and/or lights close to is, messes up the reception signal.

So now you know the what and why. The dealer nor the factory have a fix for you and they are not going to deal with it. Nothing is wrong physically with your RV. The factory makes no guarantee on TV or radio reception.

Jewwels, this is your 1st post. Welcome to Forest River Forums. There is tons of info on here!

[jewwels]

Thank you for your response and help in my problem! All i have to say is shame on them!! I am not impressed with Columbus/Forest River for not checking all of this out before they installed LED lights.

I am not giving up though! Maybe they can change those LED lights to something that won't interfere with the t.v. and radio????

I will keep writing them and let you all know of any success with the company.

Thanks again, we appreciate it. hcananda2

[TheEdge]

Palomino sent me 10 new LED light fixtures to replace those that I've had fail. The new fixtures have the LED array integrated into the fixture itself instead of like the previous two pin type array. I need to plug one in and see how the lumens and color compare to the original fixture array. I do see that the LED's are much smaller than the original. I'll give an update when I see the result. Thanks to Palomino for replacing the old units.

[joelek]

Post pics of the new bulb assembly!

[jewwels]

I'm very interested in seeing if these are going to work for you..because I'm in the same boat! Please let us know.

[BigTJohn]

The "new LEDs" in the '14 model 320RS work great, no tv interference. Just wondering about the other 23 bulbs which are incandescent rather than LED??! Why not do those in LED FR?

[Campwell]

Keep in mind that in the light bulb technology, the bulb consisted of one element in a vacuum bulb - not much to go wrong. The electricity made the element burn and the vacuum keeps it from burning up.

The LED lights have not only the LEDs (several of them per light) but a bunch of little electronic gizmos that keep the right amount of electricity going to the LEDs. Several parts add higher probability of a light to fail. LEDs are rarely the part that fails, but without all the other parts working, you get no light.

LEDs do not create as much heat as traditional light bulbs and therefore make more light energy for what electrical energy goes into them. And, since LEDs don't have a little element wire that can break, they can take vibration much better and will last longer. The problem is those pesky other electrical parts that are put on the board. If the manufacturer goes cheap on those parts, it does not matter that the LEDs are better - you get a broken light.

[Kash76]

BigTJohn,
I am curious about these "new" bulbs. I have a Solaire travel trailer and am disappointed in the interference that the bulbs cause my television. Can I get new bulbs from Forrest River?

[SYE]

While at the Columbus factory last week, the tech told us that they are no longer using the LED light bulbs. They have replaced them with a fixture that the light is permanent in, If it burns out just replace the whole fixture. it is a new style bulb.

[Kash76]

And these new fixtures do not have the same interference problems?

[SYE]

Originally Posted by Kash76

And these new fixtures do not have the same interference problems?

That's what they tell me

[Kash76]

Will the manufacturer help a new 2013 owner or am I on my own?

[SYE]

Originally Posted by Kash76

Will the manufacturer help a new 2013 owner or am I on my own?

Maybe but you will need to ho through your dealer

[Kash76]

Originally Posted by TheEdge

Palomino sent me 10 new LED light fixtures to replace those that I've had fail. The new fixtures have the LED array integrated into the fixture itself instead of like the previous two pin type array. I need to plug one in and see how the lumens and color compare to the original fixture array. I do see that the LED's are much smaller than the original. I'll give an update when I see the result. Thanks to Palomino for replacing the old units.

Any updates?