How to install LED lighting
Amazingly, LEDs have been largely responsible for the advancements in motorhome lighting over the past few years.
Although some of us recall a time when the only lighting options were a few gas lamps and the invention of 12V lights was wonderful, it wasn't that long ago that vehicles were lighted by energy-guzzling halogen bulbs and fluorescent strip lights.
Halogen lights weren't only power-hungry; they also grew quite hot, which occasionally made sitting next to one unpleasant.
We have changed the lighting in our son's 1999 Abbey motorhome throughout the years, replacing the halogen lamps with LEDs and adding LED ambient lighting to the lounge (Practical Caravan, October 2016).
The kitchen's fluorescent striplight has never been updated, though. Given that Kay and I purchased the caravan brand-new in 1999 and that my parents took possession of it last year, we hadn't realized how inadequate that light was until Lisa, James's wife, brought it up on a recent trip.
The fact that the bases for the overhead lockers have various heights—the one over the sink being significantly higher than the one over the cooker—was a contributing factor in the issue. The stove wasn't illuminated, but the sink area was. To make matters worse, if you stood in front of the cooker, you would obstruct the light from a neighboring ceiling lamp. So an update was necessary.
For this, we could replace the fluorescent light and also add some illumination to the cooker area because we had some self-adhesive 12V LED ribbon lighting leftover from earlier works.
Make sure the 12V battery and the 230V mains supply are unplugged before beginning the project.
LED ribbons may be powered by the original light fitting's electrical supply, making the wiring very simple.Slice the ribbons.
The original fluorescent light fitting needs to be taken out first. Ours has a screw at either end holding it in place. The fitting could be pushed down and the electrical connections disconnected after they were taken out. Then, that fitting was put away.
Next, we measured and cut the necessary lengths for each strip, beginning with the LED ribbons. The ribbons have little copper regions with a scissor icon in between them; this is where the ribbon has to be cut.
As the first strip was near the end of the ribbon, it already had black (-ve) and red (+ve) wires attached. We then needed to extend those wires and add them to the second strip. To prevent moisture before doing that, heat-shrink was applied to the opposite ends of each strip.
You can notice a "+" and a "-" symbol on the copper sections at the ribbon's end. It is necessary to connect a black wire to the "-" and a red wire to the "+." To do this, the silicone ribbon covering has to be cut in order to reveal the copper.
Solder just enough of each wire to enable it to reach its corresponding connections (the black wire must link to the caravan's original wiring's ground lead, while the red wire must connect to the switch). The strips were mounted beneath the lockers using the self-adhesive strip of the ribbon and double-sided foam tape, which was cut to the same width as the strips to ensure they adhere strongly.
Next, we located a good location for the switch, noted it on the panel, and then we drilled a pilot hole in the middle of it. Using a 22mm bit, this was opened out to the required size. Two holes were required because our switch was a double switch (the only one we could find that matched the other switches in the vehicle). Between the two, a hole was made for wiring.
