Awning Lighting

[jwstewar]

]

Originally Posted by cm11599ps

I'd love to connect the strips to fridge but someone scared me by saying they wouldn't advise tapping into the fridge outlet just in case the lights did something to harm the fridge. They suggested getting power from a 12V light circuit.

So here's a shot of the back of my fridge.





Would I be able to tap into the wires with the blue connectors that run to the right of the 120 fridge outlet?

Originally Posted by slabat

can you post pictures of how you did it?

CM, if I were to do yours, I would tap into the orange and white wire that is going to the fridge, but that is just me.

I've attached some pictures that I took of my install.

The first picture is where I tapped the black and white wires that feed power (and then go somewhere else) to our fridge. Orange is hot and has an inline fuse on it. I had forgotten about adding the fuse.

Second pic is just a little different angle, but of the same general location.

Third one didn't really need to upload, but it is my wire that plugs into the control box.

Forth is just a picture of the last on from last year.

Fifth a shot of the awning tube with the lights on bright last year. That was my old cell phone, so sorry for the crappy quality.

Sixth is a shot of the ends I needed to make my "extension cord" It was cheaper to buy 10 than it was to buy 2.

Up close shot of one of the ends.

Next is the wire I order to make my "extension cord"

9th is the wires all soldered together.

Taped up good.

Heat shrink tubing covering all 4 of the connections.

Finally the last shot is where the wire comes up the awning pole and over the roof and down the fridge vent. As you can see, I covered it with Eternabond to hold it in place and make sure nothing rips it off.

[krackeer]

With all these new members joining, I thought maybe we should bring this back to the "new posts".

[certified106]

Just ordered a set of these and can't wait to get them installed!! I hate putting up awning lights and my wife loves them so maybe this will be the best of both worlds and she will be happy, happy, happy

[LongIslandCamper]

Can someone point me in the direction of what kind of inline fuse you used to connect the lights the the 12V system?

[jwstewar]

Originally Posted by cm11599ps

Can someone point me in the direction of what kind of inline fuse you used to connect the lights the the 12V system?

Just a normal fuse from an auto parts store. You can either buy an inline blade connector or an inline fuse holder for the old glass type fuses. Nothing special about them. I don't remember if I used a 5 or 10 amp fuse, but it doesn't need to be too big as these lights don't pull much power.

[Dirtfan]

Here is something to consider for those who still have warranty left on their Jayco's, if you cut into the electrical system and than have a failure it may not be covered.

[Jrmay25]

Dirtfan,

Are you sure about that? I could of swore I read someplace that the manufacture cannot void a warranty for modifications, unless they can show where the mod caused the actual component failure? Believe this was in a Chevy Diesel Forum where there was discussion around turning up the turbo to increase horsepower. Maybe the law is different depending on the industry? Not questioning your knowledge as I'm not sure, and for me personally, I'll be taping into my 12v fridge hot wire with a 3 way spade. This way should anything ever happen that requires me to have the fridge looked at, I can clip off the 3 way and put another single spade back on. No way will these LED's pull enough power to ever be the cause of a problem.

[LongIslandCamper]

I wanted to give you guys a view of my install. It's not 100% finished, but it's dang close to it. I've installed the lights a little different then other people have.

We decided to mount them on the TT instead of the awning. It just made it easier to use and allowed for a COMPLETELY permanent solution without having to pug/unplug anything. Here's a shot.




Here's a shot of the front awning arm. I purchased a long extension cable to run between the light strip and the white control box. I taped up the connection up there and then ran the extension cable down the side of the TT. It went very smoothly and the best part is that there's a wire cover embedded there to protect the power awning cable so now BOTH cables are hidden!




This part was a little scary. We used the smallest hole saw I had which was the PERFECT size to cut a hole to pass the extension cable through. We passed the wire through the TT and then into the front storage area. I then was able to tuck the extension cable into the black plastic that keeps all the wire together between fixture. I don't have a picture of that but it looks super clean.




OK, and here's where we went a little different. I velcroed the control box to the front interior wall of the front storage. You can also see that some of the wiring is tucked into those black plastic pieces. Some is exposed in the picture but it's not a finished product. MY original plan was to splice into the wire powering the front storage light. Before I did did, I pulled the bulb from the fixture and inserted one of the plugs that you would use for an LED panel. I powered the LED strip using the plug you would use for an LED panel. It worked like a charm.




The benefit of this route is that you DON'T have to splice into any kind of wiring and possibly risk damaging something. Now I know what you're saying right now. You're thinking that I won't be able to use the light in the front storage anymore since I'm using the plug for the LED strips. Well, you're right. But not for long. I will be replacing the fixture in the front storage with a dual bulb setup. That way I can use one socket for an LED panel for the storage area and use the other socket to power the LED strip! Sure, that means that the front storage light has to be on whenever the LED strip is on but the front storage light is usually on at night anyway since we have the fridge in there.

All in all, it turned out well. When the awning is rolled up then the LED's create enough light to light up a picnic table next to the camper. You only have to open the awning about a foot in order to get the full effect for the most part. They will work very well with the awning up.

[Doug]

I like it a lot cm11599ps,
Very nicely thought through.

Best regards,
Doug

[Jrmay25]

Nice clean install cm11599ps

[Power247]

Very nice CM!

[Dirtfan]

Never mentioned anything about being sure about it, just wanted to put it out there for the rest of the board, you never know when they may deny a warranty claim

Originally Posted by Jrmay25

Dirtfan,

Are you sure about that? I could of swore I read someplace that the manufacture cannot void a warranty for modifications, unless they can show where the mod caused the actual component failure? Believe this was in a Chevy Diesel Forum where there was discussion around turning up the turbo to increase horsepower. Maybe the law is different depending on the industry? Not questioning your knowledge as I'm not sure, and for me personally, I'll be taping into my 12v fridge hot wire with a 3 way spade. This way should anything ever happen that requires me to have the fridge looked at, I can clip off the 3 way and put another single spade back on. No way will these LED's pull enough power to ever be the cause of a problem.

[Jrmay25]

Dirtfan,

Thanks for clarifying. After re-reading your post, I completely understand, and agree. They probably could use that as justification for denying a fridge claim. I've always been very fortunate in that every camper I've ever bought had a great dealership who stood behind what they sold, even at times when they didn't really have to.
Happy camping everyone....

[LongIslandCamper]

Originally Posted by cm11599ps

I wanted to give you guys a view of my install. It's not 100% finished, but it's dang close to it. I've installed the lights a little different then other people have.

We decided to mount them on the TT instead of the awning. It just made it easier to use and allowed for a COMPLETELY permanent solution without having to pug/unplug anything. Here's a shot.




Here's a shot of the front awning arm. I purchased a long extension cable to run between the light strip and the white control box. I taped up the connection up there and then ran the extension cable down the side of the TT. It went very smoothly and the best part is that there's a wire cover embedded there to protect the power awning cable so now BOTH cables are hidden!




This part was a little scary. We used the smallest hole saw I had which was the PERFECT size to cut a hole to pass the extension cable through. We passed the wire through the TT and then into the front storage area. I then was able to tuck the extension cable into the black plastic that keeps all the wire together between fixture. I don't have a picture of that but it looks super clean.




OK, and here's where we went a little different. I velcroed the control box to the front interior wall of the front storage. You can also see that some of the wiring is tucked into those black plastic pieces. Some is exposed in the picture but it's not a finished product. MY original plan was to splice into the wire powering the front storage light. Before I did did, I pulled the bulb from the fixture and inserted one of the plugs that you would use for an LED panel. I powered the LED strip using the plug you would use for an LED panel. It worked like a charm.




The benefit of this route is that you DON'T have to splice into any kind of wiring and possibly risk damaging something. Now I know what you're saying right now. You're thinking that I won't be able to use the light in the front storage anymore since I'm using the plug for the LED strips. Well, you're right. But not for long. I will be replacing the fixture in the front storage with a dual bulb setup. That way I can use one socket for an LED panel for the storage area and use the other socket to power the LED strip! Sure, that means that the front storage light has to be on whenever the LED strip is on but the front storage light is usually on at night anyway since we have the fridge in there.

All in all, it turned out well. When the awning is rolled up then the LED's create enough light to light up a picnic table next to the camper. You only have to open the awning about a foot in order to get the full effect for the most part. They will work very well with the awning up.

Read the next post.....

[LongIslandCamper]

OK, I just wanted to give an update on this. I ordered a double bulb fixture to replace the single bulb fixture in my front storage. One side of the fixture now has an LED panel, the other side has the plug you would normally use for an LED panel, but I cut the adapter off and wired to the power cord going to the control box for the LED strip.

[krackeer]

I was wondering, is there an advantage, other than when not having shore power, to hooking up to 12 volt rather than 110?

[LongIslandCamper]

Originally Posted by krackeer

I was wondering, is there an advantage, other than when not having shore power, to hooking up to 12 volt rather than 110?

Well, for one it is permanently hooked up with no need to plug/unplug anything.

[jwstewar]

Since these are 12-volt, if you wire it to 12-volt there is no need to have to run the little power pack converter. Just one less thing to have to deal with.

[JaybirdDesigner]

Here is a short YouTube video showing the rotation of color on the lights that I installed. I wanted to put them on the side of our 5th wheel, but a window to close to the top wouldn't allow it, so on the awning tube they went. These were the "cheaper" version purchased from Amazon. And these are definitely attention grabbers. Our last outing drew a few neighbors over that live across from the campground to see "the pretty colors that they kept seeing in the sky".

http://youtu.be/5IZvuPvtPC0

[RickAE]

Looks good CM I have a question, Do you have to leave your cargo door open for the remote to work? I see you have the sensor
in the compartment. I like the way it is set up. I have mine set up on the awning so I have to plug and unplug.. I see another set in my future!!