Interior Light replacement / electric hook up

[MtnLife]

Hello,
Bear with me, this is my first post and I have no idea if it is in the right place? Help me move if need be. Thanks



2004 Forest River Hybrid. Ordered interior (double dome light) LED replacement bulbs that were supposed to be a replacement for the (921). I don't have the old bulbs so I "think" they were 921 (this is what the camper place said they were). I threw the old bulbs away. When I installed the LED bulbs, they worked fine with the battery only use. However, when we hooked up to house power (another question will follow) , when I turned on 2 different lights they almost immediately started smoking and smelled burning??

What could be up?


Question 2: 30amp camper cord with adapter for extension cord , extension cord, yellow, says 15 amp. Is this a strong enough extension cord amp for lights, roof AC/heater, or infrared floor heater? Thanks.

[nvs4602]

Not sure about the light issue.

But for an extension cord I would suggest you buy one that is 10awg wire to run the AC and a heater off of. The 15amp cord you have is to small for appliances.

One like this.

https://a.co/fKQKUbY

[MtnLife]

Thank you,
This is actually the extension cord that I have.



The light "thing" has me perplexed.

[MtnLife]

I found this ?


...be careful when replacing lights with LEDs. If the fixtures are not 12 volts DC, problems can occur.” —Bill Myers, RV Life .


Are the lights in my camper something other than 12 volts, DC?


Thanks

[bikendan]

Which Roo model do you have? You might find help from those that own the same model if you posted that. Also be sure to check out the Roo/Shamrock sub-forum.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Forest River Forums mobile app

[Bob K4TAX]

Sounds as though the converter is putting out a lot of raw AC and not pure or filtered DC. LED lamps require pure DC with little to no AC component. Make sure the battery is connected and the battery switch is set to ON.

We had that issue with our previous camper and found the Magnatek converter was indeed the guilty culprit. Changed it to a 3-stage converter, drop-in replacement, from Best Converters and all was well.

Bob

[MtnLife]

To BIKENDAN
Ours is a 2004 Forest Surveyor Light model SL180T. Perhaps the ancient version of the ROO??!!


To Bob K4TAX
Thank you. What difference does the battery being hooked up make? I'll have to have a friend help us check the converter...or, keep it simple and replace with the same older style bulb

[boondocking]

Originally Posted by MtnLife

To BIKENDAN
Ours is a 2004 Forest Surveyor Light model SL180T. Perhaps the ancient version of the ROO??!!


To Bob K4TAX
Thank you. What difference does the battery being hooked up make? I'll have to have a friend help us check the converter...or, keep it simple and replace with the same older style bulb

The battery acts like a large capacitor and smooths out the AC ripple.

[MtnLife]

Thanks Bob on the battery info!



Boon Docking: great to know. We generally are not hooked up, technically not Boon Docking, but looking to do so. Great info. Thanks!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by MtnLife

To BIKENDAN
Ours is a 2004 Forest Surveyor Light model SL180T. Perhaps the ancient version of the ROO??!!


To Bob K4TAX
Thank you. What difference does the battery being hooked up make? I'll have to have a friend help us check the converter...or, keep it simple and replace with the same older style bulb

Not an ancient version of the Roo. The Roo/Shamrock hybrid line is older than the Surveyor hybrid line.
There is a Surveyor sub-forum, in the Hybrids and Expandables section here.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Forest River Forums mobile app

[Chuck_S]

I swapped the automobile lights in all my 20006 Roo ceiling fixtures with Amazon or Ebay LEDs. Nothing exotic or special about them. Came bulk packed. All I had to do was get them in the right way as they're polarity sensitive. Working fine on shorepower in my driveway as I type this.

Since this only happens on shorepower check for AC current in your 12vDC system.

There are probably 100s of PRC produced LEDs that will work so my experience is just a sample of one (1), LEDs have very high resistance with connected backwards and may create heat but they usually don't light if hooked up backwards.

-- Chuck

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by MtnLife

Ordered interior (double dome light) LED replacement bulbs that were supposed to be a replacement for the (921). I don't have the old bulbs so I "think" they were 921 (this is what the camper place said they were). I threw the old bulbs away.

Lesson 1: Never throw old parts away until you are certain that the new parts are installed and operating correctly. It happens regularly on this forum that someone orders a replacement part and finds out that he was supposed to have disassembled and re-used some parts of the assembly he discarded.

Originally Posted by MtnLife

When I installed the LED bulbs, they worked fine with the battery only use. However, when we hooked up to house power (another question will follow) , when I turned on 2 different lights they almost immediately started smoking and smelled burning??

What could be up?

The battery (12.6 volts maximum) gets re-charged by a built-in charger called the "converter." The converter is supposed to apply a slightly higher voltage (14.4 volts maximum) to charge the battery. The LED lights should have been able to withstand this difference. If the converter were somehow applying more than 14.4 volts, that would explain the failure.

Do you have a multimeter? Do you know how to use it? Measure the voltage at the fixture when the trailer is plugged in.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by MtnLife

Question 2: 30amp camper cord with adapter for extension cord , extension cord, yellow, says 15 amp. Is this a strong enough extension cord amp for lights, roof AC/heater, or infrared floor heater? Thanks.

15 amps at 120 volts corresponds to 1800 watts.

• The interior lights (if incandescent) are about 20 watts each.
• The water heater (on electric mode) is about 1500 watts. Can't run much else with it.
• An infrared heater could be as high as 1500 watts or so. Read its label.
• The roof AC is probably more than 1500 watts.
• The microwave oven is probably 1100-1500 watts.

At best, you can run only one of these at a time (along with lights).

What is the size of the fuse/circuit breaker at the house. If you are plugging into a 15-amp circuit, you won't be able to run a bigger load, even with a better cord. If it's a 20-amp circuit, you will be able to run a little more with a better cord, but not much.