Television goes out when you turn on lights

Jon_Celia · 06-08-2013, 11:30 AM

We are one month out with the new 295RL and here at the latest rv park, there is no cable. We are using the antenna and getting over the air tv.

When we turn on any light switch, the tv picture and sound goes out. As soon as you turn the lights out, the tv goes back on.

What is going on?

Thanks.

Jon

Road-King · 06-08-2013, 11:41 AM

Do you have your antenna booster switch "on"?

jtstromsburg · 06-08-2013, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon_Celia

We are one month out with the new 295RL and here at the latest rv park, there is no cable. We are using the antenna and getting over the air tv.

When we turn on any light switch, the tv picture and sound goes out. As soon as you turn the lights out, the tv goes back on.

What is going on?

Thanks.

Jon

Watching this closely as my tbok does the same thing. At least the hall light, which is nearest to the antenna...guessing the coax is next to the12 volt line.

Kf4mnc · 06-08-2013, 01:34 PM

I have/had the same issue in my tt. Had it looked at when in for warranty work. They said it was a bad ground in the 12 volt system, the specific location in my unit where the fault occurred was the bathroom vent fan. It still happens everyonce and a while even though the dealer "fixed" it, but it is much better and I'm just not that concerned about watching TV to chase it down further.

amxpress · 06-08-2013, 11:15 PM

Check your antenna booster. Remove it from the wall and inspect the co-ax cable ends. Some cables had connector ends that pulled out or were loose making poor connections. Also make sure the wires to the booster are connected properly. You'll have to get the correct wiring schematic online.

Jon_Celia · 06-09-2013, 07:26 AM

Thank you.

I will check it all out when we get home.

Jon

TopGunz · 07-08-2013, 02:06 PM

I have the exact same issue in my new 340RK. When watching the bedroom TV, anytime you turn on the bedroom light you lose reception. I have it at the dealer now. Hopefully they will find the problem.

Jon_Celia · 07-08-2013, 02:24 PM

Topgunz:

We just got home and have not had time to look into it yet.

Would you please let us know what you find out.

Thanks.

Jon

**wmtire** · 07-08-2013, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon_Celia

Topgunz:

We just got home and have not had time to look into it yet.

Would you please let us know what you find out.

Thanks.

Jon

Do you have LED lights, as some will cause Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) when used?

If you do have LED lightbulbs, try using a regular incandescent bulb(s) in any fixture you know to cause problems with TV reception and see if it fixes it.

We have been discussing this same thing here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...hts-43307.html

Jon_Celia · 07-08-2013, 08:40 PM

Yes, our entire trailer lights are LED's. I really like the lights vs the halogens on our old trailer.

I will still check the connections.

Thanks.

Jon

**wmtire** · 07-08-2013, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon_Celia

Yes, our entire trailer lights are LED's. I really like the lights vs the halogens on our old trailer.

Did your trailer come with LED light fixtures or did you retrofit it with LED bulbs?

joelek · 07-09-2013, 06:50 AM

Columbus rigs have ALL LED lighting in them on the inside with the exception of the hanging lights. All the white hockey puck style are LED. The LED "bulbs" are cheaply made lights that emit RFI as explained above. When watching TV or listening to radio, I shut them off and turn on the hanging style lights as those have halogen bulbs.

Signal interference is worst when you turn on hallway lights. That is were the antenna is for TV and basement radio. Newer Columbus models have the basement radio antenna up on the roof. The old original design has a cheap foil strip antenna mounted to aluminum rail in ceiling of basement storage area.

You may also notice that some of your LED lights glow white, and some have a yellow tint to them. Factory installed a variety of LED bulbs in mine. Bulbs are expensive to replace now as they are new technology for RV industry. I'm sure a few years from now we will be able to buy inexpensive replacements that are also properly filtered on the circuit board to not produce radio/rv signal noise interference.

TopGunz · 07-09-2013, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon_Celia

Topgunz:

We just got home and have not had time to look into it yet.

Would you please let us know what you find out.

Thanks.

Jon

Jon Celia,
I will let you know what they come up with.
Carl

TopGunz · 07-16-2013, 09:38 PM

Talked to the dealer today and they could not replicate the problem. Hope to get more info when I pick it up tomorrow.

dalford · 07-16-2013, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopGunz

Talked to the dealer today and they could not replicate the problem. Hope to get more info when I pick it up tomorrow.

The issue is with the LED lights. We had the same problem using our antenna at one campsite recently. I don't know if you tried different channels or not but is think it will be channel specific plus signal strength. I assume this happened on your HDTV stations which are digital. My unit only reacted to the light in the bathroom which is right next to TV and antenna. I would suggest you either leave those lights off, change the channel or change those lights out with incandescent.

TopGunz · 07-16-2013, 10:27 PM

Ours happened to the bedroom tv when we turned on the bedroom lights. Haven't tried it with the bathroom lights yet. As soon as we turned on the light the tv went to blue screen. You are right, it may have been a weak signal on that channel to begin with. We didn't try it on a different channel. We are going out this weekend. I'll let you know if it happens again. Thanks.

TopGunz · 07-22-2013, 02:48 PM

I didn't seem to have any issues this time out with losing reception when you turn on the lights. I had a strong signal this time. Must have just been a week channel on our last trip. Thanks for the info.

roanmountaincampers · 07-22-2013, 03:36 PM

I lost reception on all channels when I turned on any LED light in the camper. Have to keep lights off. Haven't tried it with a cable yet but hope it won't be a problem then.

roanmountaincampers · 09-18-2013, 01:35 PM

Don't know if this is an idea but our TV us mounted above a cabinet with the wires running down into that cabinet. I also have a USB charging port in that cabinet. On our last trip I plugged the charge cable for my IPhone into this port and ran it out the same hole as TV cables. As long as this cable was plugged up the TV reception was great. When I unplugged the cable with an LED light on the TV went out. The phone didn't have to be connected just the cable. I could turn all the lights in the camper and get great reception as long as the cable was plugged up but if I unplugged the cable I lost reception with just one light on. Go figure.

columbusfan325 · 09-19-2013, 07:14 PM

I had this problem with my 325rl and the cause was indeed the led lights. The factory sent me updated LED replacement bulbs and the problem went away. You may have noticed that when you turn on any non led light you don't have the problem.

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