THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM OF PHOENIX USA, just an observation of an equipment failure beyond their control.
I wanted to pass along my recent experience with one of the fluorescent light fixtures in my 2010 2551. One of the bulbs failed in a way that melted the plastic fixture and the ceiling material underneath.
During our seven week trip in Arizona I noticed that the bulb in one of the ceiling fixtures would flicker when first turned on and the ends were getting dark. I figured that it would simply quit working and then I would replace the bulb. A few days later, I smelled melting plastic and quickly turned it off, the bulb was still working. The pictures show that there was a hot spot at the end of the bulb that burned the reflective paper and melted the plastic housing. The heat was also melting the ceiling material.
I believe that this could have resulted in a serious situation if we were gone from the RV. I have never seen a fluorescent bulb fail like this and consider this to be an unusual failure mode. However, I wanted to pass this info on so that others will pay closer attention to failing fluorescent bulbs. My PC is 5 years old with 31,000 miles and many hours of light fixture use. I am going to replace all the fluorescent bulbs at this time, they are available online for about $2 each. Another possible solution is to replace with LED fixtures. We also no longer leave any fluorescent fixtures on when we leave the RV.
Bob A
