Failed flourescent light fixture

Here is a strange one.  All the fixtures and everything else works in our PC.   The two tube fixture in the center of the ceiling in front of the refrigerator has quit working.   I assumed a bad bulb.  Nope.  Bad fixture?  Nope.

I took the fixture out, bench tested it and it works fine.   The problem is no 12v in the two wires going to the fixture.  These wires are pigtailed and the power supply comes out of a hole in the ceiling behind the fixture.  The wiring is located in the metal channel that supports the roof as is a lot of the wiring in a PC.   No voltage or current in these two wires, hooked up who knows where and my only conclusion is a loose connection somewhere behind a wall, in the roof channel etc.   Every thing else works and so did this light on our last trip a month ago.   I can only assume normal road vibration dislocated a connection and created an open circuit. 

Fuse?   No.  Each 12v fuse in the control panel runs several things at once on this model and everything is operative except no juice to this fixture.   

Anyone got an idea?

Paul

Check the other light fixtures and see if there are wires in and wires out.  The feed to that fixture has to come from someplace.

There are two options:
1) The connection is broken at one of the other fixtures - locate and repair, might just be a loose wire nut.

2) The connection is broken in the wall or ceiling to which you have no access - you still need to find the feed and either disconnect to prevent a short or replace the wire.

It would be against code to have a connection or splice in a location that is not accessible.  Not saying that isn't done, just that it is a really poor way of doing things and against code. 

I would start by opening up any other access point or fixture and try to see if you can find where the feed comes from for that fixture.

  Color me stupid.   I admit it.  Dumber than dirt.

There is a switch which I NEVER use down by the steps.  It is labeled "CEILING" and is designed so that you can leave on a light, turn it off as you exit the coach, activate it when you enter the coach so you don't  have to enter the darkness and find the a light switch.  I am sure every PC has this little panel down near the floor by the  door.  Well,  this goof forgot about it and apparently had inadvertently activated it when I moved some stuff into the coach.   

No problem, just stupidity.  I have only owned this baby for six years in September so you can't expect me to know much.      

(a red faced)  Paul

You have no idea how many times that has happened to me.   The wife has a habit of turning that fixture off with the ceiling switch and then the door switch doesn't work.  So I hit the door switch and nothing happens.  Or I hit the door switch and then the ceiling switch doesn't work.

That fixture should be on a 3 way circuit the way they have it set up.  But of course it isn't.

Glad you got it "fixed"

So you don't feel so bad, I just had that "wait a minute" moment as I read your comments thinking about a light that "went dark" on the last camping trip. Sure enough, the switch had been thrown at the step even though I know we never intentionally did that during the trip!

It was on my to do list to tear into it to figure it out. You saved me from that! Thanks! 

(I may have to disable that switch!) 

Gandalf42, you wrote:  (I may have to disable that switch!) 

Super glue occurred to me!!   No, I bet I remember that puppy next time.  It is often the simple that is the most complex and perplexing.    I do have something of an excuse.  Our PC is in the driveway with me doing some stuff to it and the heat index in OKC today is 106.  Maybe what little that remains of my brain is fried.

Paul

Probably be best if I just got around to labeling those switches sometime

What I want to know is, who thought it was a great idea to mount light switches at the floor level????
Are there a lot of really short people in Elkhart?
Doug

Our 2007 2350 does not have such a switch by the entry door.  Phoenix must have added it sometime thereafter.

Hey Doneworking, If you ever want to say goodbye to your florescent lighting, going with LED for more light, flicker-free light, warmer light, and done so using 1/3 the power, you might find what I did of interest.  Instead of replacing all nine of our florescent fixtures, I converted them to LED.  I did so primarily to avoid scars everywhere from a change in fixtures.  I was extremely pleased with the results.  I went the extra step to replace the 2 position light switch, with a 3 position switch to control a mood light I added inside each fixture.  If you are not well skilled in electrical wiring and soldering, keep it simple, just keep your original white 2 position switch for an extremely easy conversion.
 CLICK HERE for the write-up with pictures.  The pictures of the lighting does not do it justice.  My camera couldn't capture it right.

What I want to know is, who thought it was a great idea to mount light switches at the floor level????

I think it is supposed to be a convenience when exiting or entering.  But the switch is really poorly placed for anyone who isn't crawling up the steps.

They also mounted my solar charger and read outs there.  So to see if the solar is working I have open the door, go outside then lay down on the bottom step with my knees on the folding step outside.  Makes perfect sense to me.   

Jatrax,
Well that sounds handy... sorry ,but for 50' of wire they could have done it right. Why would any company choose that poorly?
Doug

sorry ,but for 50' of wire they could have done it right. Why would any company choose that poorly?

No answer to that except that the person installing it was viewing it from his perspective, not that of the end user.  So he put it in the most convenient place for him to install it.  That is not uncommon in lots of manufacturing areas.  And like you said for next to nothing they could have made it very easy to read.  They just never thought about because the people on the line are professional RV builders, not RV users.

I am in the process of building a new house and the same thing is going on there.  I'm watching them like a hawk because so many things can be done in several ways at the same cost.  But by putting it "here" instead of "there" you save me 10 steps every day for the rest of my life.  But to the guy installing it, putting it "there" instead of "here" costs him 10 steps, once.  So which place is he going to put it?  The place that saves him 10 steps unless I'm standing there watching.   

Jatrax, you have more patience than this kid.  I have built several houses and several commercial buildings and I am done.  We built our home 22 years ago and had a great builder and he had great craftsmen.   I built  a small office building a few years ago and said never again.  You are right.  You have to watch them like a hawk or they will do the easy and not the right.   To them it is a job but to you it is a home.   And that makes all the difference.

Ron, you are right.   Would you believe I am converting the fluorescent fixtures to LED now.  I remember reading your posts about your conversion.  I am doing something simple and using the existing fixtures, removing the bulbs and replacing with LED panels.   They do make a lot of difference and I just came inside from checking today's work in the dark.   Given the heat, I think I may postpone the rest of them to fall.  Our heat index hit 108 today.   The AC in the PC just can't keep up with that kind of heat sitting out in the driveway.  Once the sun settles in the west enough for the PC to catch some shade from a huge oak, I can tolerate working inside the coach.   I enjoy these kinds of projects but would like to enjoy them, not tolerate them so it probably will be a couple of months before I do more lights.   Four down, more to go. 

Paul

Ron, you are right.   Would you believe I am converting the fluorescent fixtures to LED now.  I remember reading your posts about your conversion.  I am doing something simple and using the existing fixtures, removing the bulbs and replacing with LED panels.   They do make a lot of difference and I just came inside from checking today's work in the dark.   Given the heat, I think I may postpone the rest of them to fall.  Our heat index hit 108 today.   The AC in the PC just can't keep up with that kind of heat sitting out in the driveway.  Once the sun settles in the west enough for the PC to catch some shade from a huge oak, I can tolerate working inside the coach.   I enjoy these kinds of projects but would like to enjoy them, not tolerate them so it probably will be a couple of months before I do more lights.   Four down, more to go. 

Paul

  Good For You!  I am sure you will appreciate the results of your labor.....and your batteries will too.

Jatrax, you have more patience than this kid.  I have built several houses and several commercial buildings and I am done. 

The first house I built was in 1981.  Started it in March, got married in September and moved in 3 days after the wedding.  Things were a little different back then.  I had friends and neighbors in the trades and we basically built the house on hamburgers and beer.  The only thing I actually paid to have done was the septic system, we did everything else evenings and weekends.  Of course it took another 7 years to finish it after we moved in but I never had a mortgage.

This time around we are hiring a builder, things are too complex and rule bound these days.  They would never let you do it like we did back then.  And on reflection almost all of the people who helped me build that first house are gone now.  Man what a crew that was.  We had several WWII vets including one SeaBee.  There wasn't anything those guys couldn't do.

I am real happy with our builder so far.  They are professional to a degree that really surprises me.  I mean they really know what they are doing and take great pride in getting the little details right.  But they don't know what's in my head so that's why I watch them, so things get put where I want.