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Looks very similar to our 2012 Solera. Ours came with halogen bulbs. I replaced the halogens with retrofit resistor driven led bulbs. That dropped the current draw of the bulbs from about 1 amp per bulb (2 amps for the two dinette lights) to about 0.2 amps for both lights. I then replaced the switch with a double throw, center off switch. I wired one throw direct to the lights, the other through a resistor I chose by “bench testing” my led retrofit bulbs to give a satisfactory “dim” setting. Sized the resistor power rating so it would not heat up in continuous use (note the low current of the led bulbs). Switch gives bright, center off, and dim. Works great. I ended up doing the same with the bathroom light (avoid waking spouse on nighttime trips) and the lights over the bed.
Of note, a resistor dimmer like I use has only two brightness settings (dim and bright) and dissipates a small amount of power in the resistor. An electronic led dimmer has wide brightness control and should be slightly more efficient. On the plus side, a resistive dimmer generates no RF noise (radio or TV interference potential). An electronic dimmer switches the leds “on” and “off” at a rapid pace - well faster than the eye can perceive - and adjusts brightness by varying the “on” time. This rapid switching of the power to the leds can result in the above mentioned RF noise.
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JLeising
2012 Solera "S"
Calif SF Bay Area
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Linear Mode
