Reading light Conversion?

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Ruby2

Reading light Conversion?

Post by Ruby2 »

I have the 04 24RB and find that the "copper" reading lites get very hot when left on for any length of time.

Has anyone changed them to LED lights? If so where did you get the insert or convert them? They would have a lot less heat for sure.
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

I might also be interested in this conversion if its not too expensive. Not only would LEDs run cooler, but they should also draw less power than the OEM halogen bulbs.

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
binsjohn

Post by binsjohn »

bcope01 wrote:I might also be interested in this conversion if its not too expensive. Not only would LEDs run cooler, but they should also draw less power than the OEM halogen bulbs.

Bill
I am in complete agreement with you, Bill, but I have not as yet seen LED lighting that is "pleasant" for the eyes. What I have seen has been great for automotive exterior lighting, traffic signals, solar-powered walkway lighting, etc.

This reminds me of the original conversion of incandescent to fluorescent bulbs for home lighting. At first the color of the new lights was obviously whiter and less like candle light or fire light than their predecessors. Over time, though, their light began to look like incandescent. I hope LEDs evolve the same way.

John
bfmc4fun

Post by bfmc4fun »

Hi Ruby2
We had the same problem with the older wooden models. So we changed them to leds. They are a lot cooler and the warm white is the one we like the best. We have four lights, so we bought two warm white lights and two cool white lights to find the best color for us. Not sure what bulb you have but you can call superbrightleds and they will help you with the right ones. We also replaced the bathroom fixture with a two bulb style and put an led on one side and an incandescent on the other side. You can use the led when using battery power. For the wedge base type we used the 921-12 leds at $5.95 each. The bathroom used a 1156-pcb-whp9(very bright) at $21.95. The dome light in the cab used a 1156-pcb-ww24 led (wide) at $12.95. They are very helpful at superbrightleds.

Good Luck-Bud http://www.superbrightleds.com/carbulb-notes.htm
binsjohn

Post by binsjohn »

bfmc4fun wrote:Hi Ruby2
We had the same problem with the older wooden models. So we changed them to leds. They are a lot cooler and the warm white is the one we like the best. We have four lights, so we bought two warm white lights and two cool white lights to find the best color for us. Not sure what bulb you have but you can call superbrightleds and they will help you with the right ones. We also replaced the bathroom fixture with a two bulb style and put an led on one side and an incandescent on the other side. You can use the led when using battery power. For the wedge base type we used the 921-12 leds at $5.95 each. The bathroom used a 1156-pcb-whp9(very bright) at $21.95. The dome light in the cab used a 1156-pcb-ww24 led (wide) at $12.95. They are very helpful at superbrightleds.

Good Luck-Bud http://www.superbrightleds.com/carbulb-notes.htm
Thanks for the lead, Bud. I'll contact them tomorrow.

John
KevinVT
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:04 am

Re: Reading light Conversion?

Post by KevinVT »

Hey folks, I know this is an old post but thought I would add this:

You can now find LED bulbs that fit the reading lights. Just remove the old bulb and head to the hardware store and match it up. I have swapped out all of mine.. LED colors are getting much better to look at and prices are cheaper.

--Kevin
--Kevin
2003 Born Free 24' RB - No. 6685 -- 11/2003

(Former 2001 Born Free 24' RB - No. 6176 -- 9/2000)
(Former 2001 Born Free 24' RB - No. 6185 -- 3/2001)
randallrae
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 7:30 pm

Re: Reading light Conversion?

Post by randallrae »

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-1400LM-921- ... Swaplcr~tW I purchased these and they do light up the RV well.
2012 25' rb
tomzleapin
Posts: 485
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:15 am

Re: Reading light Conversion?

Post by tomzleapin »

Here's a link to what I did:
https://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin ... led#p20394

The links for the LEDs are no longer valid. There are brighter LEDs available today. Here's one that is available that should work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-Car-15-SMD ... ctupt=true

Price is $6.43 for quantity 10. Warm white matches the color of the existing incandescent bulbs.
Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 2016 Mini Cooper convertible on tow dolly
New Hope, MN
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