Interior Lights in Dining area

Dman · 07-13-2022, 11:16 AM

Hi,

I bought a Sunline Solaris 2005 trailer and in the dining room area the middle light works but both end lights do not work. I have checked the light bulbs and they are OK. I took the fixtures down and it appears there is no power going to the fixture. I believe the lights and plugs are all on the same circuit? I have checked the circuit breaker and it is not tripped. Everything else seems to be working OK. My guess is a mouse got a little hungry?

Is there any type of wiring diagram that I could try to trace the wires back and see if they were broken or chewed through? I didn't want to just start ripping down walls and ceilings if I don't have to.

Thanks

BenB · 07-13-2022, 03:51 PM

What model number trailer do you have? When you say the lights on the ends don't work, do you mean by the door and/or in the bedroom? Sunline often used switches for the ones by the entry door and the bedroom, this varied by floorplan. It's possible you may have a switch issue if the other lights have power.

Thekid710 · 07-13-2022, 04:25 PM

It’s also possible the other two lights used to pull power from the central ceiling light. Maybe someone disconnected the wires inside that fixture? Wouldn’t take but 5 minutes to check.

**JohnB** · 07-13-2022, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dman

Hi,

I bought a Sunline Solaris 2005 trailer and in the dining room area the middle light works but both end lights do not work. I have checked the light bulbs and they are OK. I took the fixtures down and it appears there is no power going to the fixture. I believe the lights and plugs are all on the same circuit? I have checked the circuit breaker and it is not tripped. Everything else seems to be working OK. My guess is a mouse got a little hungry?

Is there any type of wiring diagram that I could try to trace the wires back and see if they were broken or chewed through? I didn't want to just start ripping down walls and ceilings if I don't have to.

Thanks

Hi Dman, First off, welcome! Congrats on your Sunny.

Yes, we need the model number of your 2005 camper. You said, "in the dining room area the middle light works but both middle light works but both end lights do not work."

We need some more specifics here to help better. If you have a slide camper the 12 volt DC power is fed to the slide through a junction box in the wall.

If you have a non-slide camper the 12 volt DC power is fed through the walls of the camper but the daisy chain jump from one light to the next.

When you tell us the model of the camper, please be specific on which actual lights work and which appear to have no power going to them. Describe the light location, for example. The light over the dinette works but the 2 lights on the wall by the jack knife sofa do not. Or where ever the lights are.

We only have one wiring diagram and it is for a nonslide camper that would be close in age to your 2005 camper. It tells what items are on what circuit, but it does not tell the wire routing. it is here in our FILES area https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/d...do=file&id=357

You also said.

Quote:

"I believe the lights and plugs are all on the same circuit? I have checked the circuit breaker and it is not tripped."

No, the lights and plugs (wall outlets) are separate systems. The circuit breaker does not control the lights. As long as there is a well-charged battery on the trailer tongue and the disconnect switch turned on, all 12 volt DC lights and other 12 VDC items will work inside the camper while not being plugged into shore power.

There are two power systems on your 2005 camper. A 12 volt DC system that powers all lights, except the DOT lights (tail lights, clearance lights etc. are powered from the truck), the water pump, the radio, the roof antenna booster, the control system for the water heater, fridge, roof AC unit. These 12 volt DC circuits are powered by the onboard power converter and the battery on the tongue of the camper. There are fuses, in the power converter for the 12-volt circuits.

The other power system is 120 volts AC. This power system is totally separate from the 12 VDC system. It supplies 120 VAC to the microwave, the motors on the roof AC system, the 120 VAC electric element on the water heater, the 120 VAC element on the fridge, 120 VAC power to run the power converter which creates 12 VDC for the DC items and to charge the battery, and all the wall 120 VAC outlets. The 120 VAC power source comes from the long 30 amp 120 VAC shoreline cord you plug in at the power post at the campground. There are circuit breakers for all 120 VAC circuits.

Hope this helps.

John

PS, before you tear into walls, let us help you track this down. Opening the walls is the last resort and there my be better ways to correct the problem once we know what it is

Dman · 07-14-2022, 04:36 AM

The model number is T267SR. It has a slide out. Sorry about the description this is the first real trailer I have owned. This is also the first time I have replied or asked anything in a chat or forum. The switches do not appear to be the problem and they are all working OK. The description of the lights in question are on the slide out. If you were standing facing the couch (jack knife sofa?) there is one light on the wall to the left that does not work. The next light directly in front of you on the wall works. The third light is to the right and is over the dining room fold up table and that one does not work. I think I saw a junction box on the wall near the floor but I believe it is for the slide out to manually close the slide out if there were no power?

Thank You

**JohnB** · 07-14-2022, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dman

The model number is T267SR.

Snip...

The switches do not appear to be the problem and they are all working OK. The description of the lights in question are on the slide out. If you were standing facing the couch (jack knife sofa?) there is one light on the wall to the left that does not work. The next light directly in front of you on the wall works. The third light is to the right and is over the dining room fold up table and that one does not work. I think I saw a junction box on the wall near the floor but I believe it is for the slide out to manually close the slide out if there were no power?

Hi Dman,

First off, no worries, we understand that the camper and the forum asking for help can be all new to you. This is not a problem, we are here to help. We all started in the same place, we did not know either. The learning is continuous.

For the future, always include the year & model of the camper, and if you need help on an appliance, the range, fridge, etc., include the make and model of the appliance. Sometimes prior owners change things and you may not know that, nor do we. Getting the basics down helps from the start to know what you have.

Now to your lights issue, OK good, we know you have an SR model (SR means slide model) and we now know exactly which lights you are having issues with. The couch (this is called a jack knife sofa since it flops down into a bed) has 2 wall lights and then there is the ceiling light over the dinette.

All 3 of those lights have live 12 volt DC power to them all the time. There is no wall switch, only the little switch on the light fixture that turns them on and off. And all 3 lights are fed from one of the two rubber-covered cables (wire) that are outside under the slide. The point is, if the light in the middle works and the 2 lights on the ends do not work, this does not point to a power supply issue per say. All 3 lights have the same power source (wire) and the power wires, both black (+ pos) and white (-), wires jump from one light to the next.

You said in your first note, that it seems like there is no power to the fixture, if you tested the black and white feed wires with a volt meter, and found no power, then let's talk some more. That is a different issue.

Odds are, the local switch on the light fixture is bad, or the bulb socket has issues. These lights in the vintage of your 2005, are notorious for this issue. I have seen this happen from 2003 to the last of the 2007 model campers. It may have happened on some earlier years also.

The switches, are cheap switches made poorly. I replace them with these switches with these Gardner Bender ones off of Amazon. Seems the price has stayed the same since March when I bought mine. The pricing for this switch is all over the map.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rch_asin_title

You can find those switches in some hardware stores/lumber yards, just the price is usually $4.00 and above. As I said, the mark-up on these is all over the place.

If the switch is not the problem, then the light socket itself can be an issue. Sometimes wiggling the bulb helps it make contact and it starts working, assuming you clicked the switch on, you can't tell what on and off is if the light does not work. Flip the switch and try again.

FYI, the slide uses a long handle/rod mechanical hand crank to open and close the slide if there is no power. More on this if you actually have the crank as they get lost sometimes. Ask how to use the crank as turning the crank the wrong way can break the slide drive system if the slide is at one end of the travel.

Hope this helps and let us know how you make out.

John

Dman · 07-14-2022, 12:05 PM

OK and thanks for the advise on all of the above. I did change the light bulbs to one that I know works and wiggled it around with no results. Not sure if it is the switch or not I can try purchasing a couple of them and see if that works. I agree if they are all fed by the same wire or power source then the one in the middle would not work if the one on the left didn't work. I did try testing the black and white wires with a small (generic) meter that basically just shows if there is power or not and does not give an actual reading on amps/volts etc... I use it just to see if there is any power at that location and the meter lights up or does not light up. Let me try a couple of your suggestions and I will get back to you. Thanks again for the help.

If I were going to ask another question/help in the forum do I start a new conversation or just ask it here and continue this conversation?

**JohnB** · 07-14-2022, 03:36 PM

Hi Dman,

H'mm, your tester, not sure it will work on 12 VDC, some of them may or may not. The ones I have seen work on 120 VAC, the voltage is high enough to make it work.

Since you are into the wiring, and you want to confirm it is the switch, pull the fuse for that circuit. If you are not sure which one, turn the one light on that works and try to find which circuit goes out, (the unplug and look method). Or, just shut the power off.

Unwire the fixture switch and put the socket lead on the black hot wire directly. Power up the circuit. If the light works, then the switch was bad. If the light does not work, it still may be the switch but the socket may have issues at the same time. It's a process of elimination.

Also, a heads up, if you are using LED bulbs, they are polarity sensitive. Assuming you still have the original Sunline light fixtures, they are a wedge base bulb socket. There was no polarity needed on the original incandescent bulbs, but there is on the LED's. If you are on LED, and the bulb does not work, flip the bulb 180 degrees and plug it back in. This works on the wedge base bulbs and will switch the polarity. When I switched to LED's years ago, I had to play flip the bulb to get most of them to work on the wedge-based bulbs. For the flood lights with the 2 prongs on the side of the round base, you have to rewire the fixture.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

John

**JohnB** · 07-14-2022, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dman

If I were going to ask another question/help in the forum do I start a new conversation or just ask it here and continue this conversation?

Our forum is set up on "topic" based posts. This helps members when searching for a topic.

If your question is not related at all to lights not working, like, for example, you want to ask about the water heater etc., then it is better to start a new post on that topic. And include in the subject line something about the new topic. Select the most appropriate forum section for your subject. Again this makes it easier to find all related topics/posts in the same forum.

Your lighting post was done perfectly, for lights, and posted in the Repairs and Maintenance forum.

You can have many open posts on different topics all at the same time. You do not have to have one finished before you start another one.

Hope this helps

John

Dman · 07-15-2022, 05:40 PM

I un-wired the working switch and tried it in the non working light and the switch is the problem. I will order a couple of switches. I have not switched over to LED light bulbs yet but hope to soon, I appreciate the information. Thanks again for the help.

Thanks

**JohnB** · 07-15-2022, 05:54 PM

Good job tracking this down.

Thanks for reporting back.

Dman · 07-15-2022, 05:59 PM

The link you sent me for Amazon does not work, it said Sorry we could not find that page?. Can you please check it and send it to me again.

Thank You

**JohnB** · 07-15-2022, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dman

The link you sent me for Amazon does not work, it said Sorry we could not find that page?. Can you please check it and send it to me again.

Thank You

Sorry about that, try this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If that does not work, search for: Gardner Bender GSW-24 Double Insulated Electrical Push Button Switch, SPST, ON-OFF, 6 A/125V AC, 6 inch Wire Terminal,Nickel,ON - OFF

Hope this helps

John

Dman · 07-15-2022, 06:57 PM

Awesome thank you

Dman · 07-15-2022, 07:25 PM

John,

Did you purchase the LED light bulbs on Amazon? Do you have a link for them? I just want to make sure I order the right stuff.

Thanks,
Derek

**JohnB** · 07-16-2022, 08:17 AM

Hi Derek,

Many folks here on the forum have converted to LED's. This is a topic all by itself, as there are now many different styles, brands etc.

I'll give you some of what I have found. Others hopefully will chime in. I converted to LED's a long time ago to be able to boondock off the grid. This was about 13 years ago. Back then LED's were new and cost a lot more than they do now, but the learnings still apply.

Here are some of the new next to the old.

In your vintage 2005 Sunline, many of the light fixtures take what is called the wedge base bulls. They are often referred to as 921/194 bulb bases as those numbers are the old incandescent the new LED's replace them.

The "amount" of light. LED's are rated in lumens. I found for ceiling lights, you do not want anything less the 100 lumens. More is better, but back in 2009, it was hard to get much more than 100 lumens. Now, you can get 150 lumens to 200 lumens without much issue.

The light spectrum, or brightness. They rate this in Kelvin. The higher the number, the brighter the light.

Warm white is in the 3,000 K (kelvin) area and lower. This color/tint of light is closest to old incandescent lights and softer a light. For us, we prefer this light spectrum.

Bright white, or cool white is in the 5,000 K and above range. This is very bright. It is better for reading but can be considered obnoxious to some it is so bright to use all over the camper. That said, some like the light this bright, it is a personal choice. We do have one cool white bulb by the couch for my wife to read by, the rest in are warm white. There are also some studies out now that say being under this 5,000K and above light, the spectrum can create issues for you by the blue light spectrum. Look this up on the web, it's there if you go hunting for it.

Quality, some brands are so cheap, that the power converter on the light will create a lot of static if you use a radio in the camper. I can only speak to the brand I have used are good.

I bought mine from Super Bright LED's. This link should drop you into the RV section and the wedge base. https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/...921194,1,3995:

I use this style in our overhead lights. LED light is directional so all the light comes down.

This one, now at 200 lumens, our was about 120 https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...0-lumens/2804/

For over the table, I use this light as it shines down.

I cannot find that style anymore.

This style fits the flood lights over the bed
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/...:view=standard

I have had friends buy LED's off of Amazon real cheap. The list is sort of endless on the brands and styles. Good or bad, this set is dirt cheap for 20 bulbs. https://www.amazon.com/Antline-20-Pa...s%2C170&sr=8-7

I cannot speak to the quality of the Amazon link above, they have different brightness selections. This tower-style bulb did fit in her 2006 Sunline camper light fixtures which are different than our 2004 Sunline fixtures. Those 360-degree lights, while they shine upwards, did seem to work. And if the polarity is wrong, just flip the bulb over and try again. On some of our 2004 fixtures, I had to take the fixture down switch the wires, and put it back up.

Hope this helps.

John

Dman · 07-18-2022, 01:43 PM

I ordered the switches and that was the issue. The lights are working fine. I appreciate all the help and the fix was easy and cheap.

WOW I did not realize the amount of information on the light bulbs/LED. I appreciate the information and will order some new LEDs. I just wanted to make sure I replace the LEDs with the right ones.

Thanks again,
Derek