Outside lights

[KillerIsMe]

Our 2018 23BHM has the under-awning LED lights as well as an amber light under the steps. Both lights are controlled by a single toggle switch just inside the door, and to me that is an odd way to have them configured.

The amber light is there presumably so that you are able to see the steps, but with the LED's you can light up a two square mile area and so there is no need for the under-steps light. What would make infinitely more sense to me would be to have the two on different switches which would enable me to turn off the LED lights and still have that handy little amber light lighting the steps.

Before I set to carving up my new trailer I thought it would be best to ask you folks out there if anyone has experimented with separating the lights. What did you do about a second switch? How did the wiring go? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

As an aside, has anyone thought about a dimmer switch for the LED lights? Sometimes a little light would be nice, but you could play night baseball with these things. As an aside to the aside, I found by reeling in the awning the LED's are not quite as bright as with the awning extended. I think the white reflective underside surface of the awning is a contributing factor.

As always, I'll hang up and listen.

[Marcm157]

They can be separated by adding a switch in the control panel. Several members here have already done it and others (Myself) have it on their list of things to do...

As far as dimming the stock lights the split of the step light has to happen first as they share a ground. LED lights dim via pulse and not voltage so they need an isolated ground. There are ways around that but if you are going to split the lights onto separate switches that would be best...

[Murff]

Using the Search feature of this Forum, I found this:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...ead-47819.html

There are a few more older threads on the subject. Hope it helps, Killer.

Murff

[KillerIsMe]

Thanks my Friends. And thank you for the link Murff. I was looking around the forum this morning and couldn't find anything to save my life.

I was hoping the wire from the breaker box to the switch would be a single black wire and coming out of the switch would be a wire going up to the LED lights and a wire going down to the step light. I thought I would be able to just put an on/off dimmer switch between the main switch and the LED's. I don't mind both lights turning on with the main switch, but I would like the opportunity to turn off the awning lights. From the old thread though it sounds like there just may be a bird's nest in that little switch box.

I'll have to give it a look when I get home. Right now we're in Maine and the camper is back home in Pennsylvania.

Thanks again.

[Camper_bob]

As others have stated, this is a more difficult mod for 3 reasons:

1) an LED dimmer uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) as opposed to varying voltage to dim. In order for PWM to work, you must isolate the specific ground for the specific light you want to control, and the dimmer must be designed to provide PWM.

2) Most of our units have the switch wired to a "common ground", so you can't just put a dimmer in line right at the switch.

3) since the switch controls 2 different accessories, it can be difficult to isolate one of them, and then more difficult to wire a switch conveniently.

Check out this thread for a lot of different options (including the one I did):

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f5...hts-27671.html

I like the dimmer because it was relatively easy to install, and I can control the LED strip separately from the step-light, which includes turning it off completely, or making it bright enough to light up my neighbors campsite too.

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

As others have stated, this is a more difficult mod for 3 reasons:

1) an LED dimmer uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) as opposed to varying voltage to dim. In order for PWM to work, you must isolate the specific ground for the specific light you want to control, and the dimmer must be designed to provide PWM.

2) Most of our units have the switch wired to a "common ground", so you can't just put a dimmer in line right at the switch.

3) since the switch controls 2 different accessories, it can be difficult to isolate one of them, and then more difficult to wire a switch conveniently.

Check out this thread for a lot of different options (including the one I did):

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f5...hts-27671.html

I like the dimmer because it was relatively easy to install, and I can control the LED strip separately from the step-light, which includes turning it off completely, or making it bright enough to light up my neighbors campsite too.

Thanks Camper_bob.

I had no clue about PWM, and your third point is an excellent one. About the separate ground wire however...if the switch common to the awning and step lights is wired to a common ground is the black wire up at the LED strip also connected to that common ground right from the switch? Or is that ground wire at the light strip going off somewhere by itself? And if I can by some divine miracle find where the awning wires come INTO my trailer can I just splice in a dimmer module in a convenient place?

Sorry for the questions my Friend. I'm a biologist, certainly not an electrician.

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Thanks Camper_bob.

I had no clue about PWM, and your third point is an excellent one. About the separate ground wire however...if the switch common to the awning and step lights is wired to a common ground is the black wire up at the LED strip also connected to that common ground right from the switch? Or is that ground wire at the light strip going off somewhere by itself? And if I can by some divine miracle find where the awning wires come INTO my trailer can I just splice in a dimmer module in a convenient place?

Sorry for the questions my Friend. I'm a biologist, certainly not an electrician.

In 12 volt systems BLACK / RED is usually hot and white is ground...

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

In 12 volt systems BLACK / RED is usually hot and white is ground...

Sorry Marcm, been a long time since I've messed with car stereos.

Back to my question though, does the ground from the awning lights not come up from the switch? As I said my camper is back in Pennsylvania and I'm in Maine so I can't quick look at it.

[NismoGriff]

The dimmer that I used I my write up allows me to shut the awning lights off while still having the step lights on. I had planned on putting them on separate switches alltogether but since I've been out with it a few times since adding the dimmer, I am not sure there is a need to separate it any further. Your needs may differ and I may still change my mind but right now I have other fish to fry.....bedroom light dimmer, wardrobe lighting, bedroom area speakers, etc....

Mostly the desire to though.

[Dropnaduece]

This is what I did I found a split just behind the panel so I can control the outside light with my 5-way remote mounted next to the door. Also I can have the amber light on while the leds are off. Instructions are in the thread with pics.

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7...mod-43826.html

Good luck it works great for me!

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Thanks Camper_bob.

I had no clue about PWM, and your third point is an excellent one. About the separate ground wire however...if the switch common to the awning and step lights is wired to a common ground is the black wire up at the LED strip also connected to that common ground right from the switch? Or is that ground wire at the light strip going off somewhere by itself? And if I can by some divine miracle find where the awning wires come INTO my trailer can I just splice in a dimmer module in a convenient place?

Sorry for the questions my Friend. I'm a biologist, certainly not an electrician.

That ground wire from the light itself is going to a common ground somewhere. You have to tap that wire somewhere before it reaches the common ground if you want to use a PWM dimmer. I installed a receiver module in the wire right next to the light itself, and I have a small remote (that I've already lost a couple times) that controls the awning light. Others have found the wires inside their camper and used those. It really boils down to whatever you're comfortable with and what you can find. I found it much easier to just use the wiring that I could easily find than to try to find the wiring somewhere inside the trailer. And the remote controlled dimmer is cheap too.

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Sorry Marcm, been a long time since I've messed with car stereos.

Back to my question though, does the ground from the awning lights not come up from the switch? As I said my camper is back in Pennsylvania and I'm in Maine so I can't quick look at it.

On the light itself, the ground (neg) is black, and the pos is red, just like any other standard 12V item. After it reaches the common ground somewhere in the trailer (and then goes out to the switch), the RV convention is used and black is "hot" and white is "common", similar to what you would find in your S&B. You can think of that as black being pos and white being neg for 12V purposes throughout your RV. If you pull your switch from the panel it resides in, you will find a black wire and a white wire attached (you will note these are not the same red/black wires coming directly out of the light); as I said, the black wire is hot and the white wire is ground.

[bansai]

The amber light under my steps is on 100% of the time when my battery is connected. (this is a defect on my unit) I keep planning on putting a switch inline, and replacing it with an LED fixture. I've bought both already. Never seems to bubble up to the top of my to do list. I just pulled the bulb and stuck it in a drawer.

If you are handy in the electrical panel, you can re-route that light to another switch as one other 'easy' option. I had a defect in my camper where originally the awning light AND the amber step light were both on 100% of the time. I caught the bug during my PDI, but missed the amber light.

Subscribing to this one as I'm also looking at other options for this borderline useless light.

[Nukeneck]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

As others have stated, this is a more difficult mod for 3 reasons:

1) an LED dimmer uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) as opposed to varying voltage to dim. In order for PWM to work, you must isolate the specific ground for the specific light you want to control, and the dimmer must be designed to provide PWM.

2) Most of our units have the switch wired to a "common ground", so you can't just put a dimmer in line right at the switch.

3) since the switch controls 2 different accessories, it can be difficult to isolate one of them, and then more difficult to wire a switch conveniently.

Check out this thread for a lot of different options (including the one I did):

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f5...hts-27671.html

I like the dimmer because it was relatively easy to install, and I can control the LED strip separately from the step-light, which includes turning it off completely, or making it bright enough to light up my neighbors campsite too.

I have the same dimmer, it was only a few bucks and that came with the remote. It's easy to install and has several settings. I rarely use any setting other than the lowest. It's ambient and is just enough light to find the door and not piss off everybody else in the campground.

[KillerIsMe]

Now I have it. Stumble around in the dark long enough eventually you'll find the light switch.

Problem I was having is I was seeing this as being like the house. Black and white into the switch, black and white out to the fixture. So barring the unlikely event of divine intervention I'll be looking behind that switch at a Camper_bob scenario and going outside for that renegade ground wire. I was thinking last night it might just be easier to separate those lights into two switches but man I'd like to dim those stadium lights. You never know though, maybe I'll get lucky and open up the kitchen cabinet and see a red and a black wire coming through the wall. Hahahahahaha! If that happens I'll be going right out for lottery tickets.

Well we're going back to Pennsylvania tomorrow night. Guess by Friday I'll know.

Thanks everyone for the help and patience.

[KillerIsMe]

When I was posting this thread originally we were in Maine with the 23BHM in Pennsylvania so I couldn't really look into the trailer and was more or less just asking for ideas about dimming those awning lights. Now that we are home I've taken a peak at the wiring and lights and have dived down deep into the PWM dimmer rabbit hole.

I followed the LED strip down the exterior wall to where the wire enters the exterior wall. The LED strip wire is a two-parter with a plug connecting the actual light strip to the wire going through the wall and if I could find a dimmer that would tap into those two ends of the plugs I would jump right on it. I've been Amazoning but haven't seen anything like that yet.

Anyways the wire from the awning lights enters the trailer right along side the awning motor wiring. Inside the trailer where they come in is a small wardrobe and there's a panel screwed to the wall in that wardrobe. When I took off that panel - holy crap! - there were the two sets of wires! I was expecting a bird's nest in there and there was not one. My only question was, which set of wiring is the motor and which is the LED's? One set is heavier gauge and I am assuming that's the motor. I guess the easiest way to tell is to disconnect a wire and see what happens (or actually what doesn't happen). Before I go out there and just do it though is it preferable to disconnect one or the other (red or black), or does it make no difference? Keep in mind I'm a histotechnologist and not an electrician.

I'll hang up and listen.

[Dropnaduece]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

When I was posting this thread originally we were in Maine with the 23BHM in Pennsylvania so I couldn't really look into the trailer and was more or less just asking for ideas about dimming those awning lights. Now that we are home I've taken a peak at the wiring and lights and have dived down deep into the PWM dimmer rabbit hole.

I followed the LED strip down the exterior wall to where the wire enters the exterior wall. The LED strip wire is a two-parter with a plug connecting the actual light strip to the wire going through the wall and if I could find a dimmer that would tap into those two ends of the plugs I would jump right on it. I've been Amazoning but haven't seen anything like that yet.

Anyways the wire from the awning lights enters the trailer right along side the awning motor wiring. Inside the trailer where they come in is a small wardrobe and there's a panel screwed to the wall in that wardrobe. When I took off that panel - holy crap! - there were the two sets of wires! I was expecting a bird's nest in there and there was not one. My only question was, which set of wiring is the motor and which is the LED's? One set is heavier gauge and I am assuming that's the motor. I guess the easiest way to tell is to disconnect a wire and see what happens (or actually what doesn't happen). Before I go out there and just do it though is it preferable to disconnect one or the other (red or black), or does it make no difference? Keep in mind I'm a histotechnologist and not an electrician.

I'll hang up and listen.

Here is a picture of what you are talking about with the dimmer connected. You can see which wires go where on the dimmer. It works great!

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Dropnaduece

Here is a picture of what you are talking about with the dimmer connected. You can see which wires go where on the dimmer. It works great!

Thank you my Friend.

You have quite a bundle of wires coming through your wall but I have only two pairs of black and red. I took a picture and hopefully it will be visible to you, but as this is my first ride on the picture-posting merry-go-round it may or may not appear.

If you can see the picture you will see there's a hole in the wall and a hole in the ceiling. Entering from the wall are the two pairs of black/red wires. One pair looks like a single thick black wire but it's actually one red and one black encased in that vinyl tubing stuff. This pair attaches to the green and black wires you can see running up into the ceiling. The other red/black pair coming in through the wall are twisted together, and this pair attaches to the white and orange wires that also go up into the ceiling. What I am thinking is the first pair is the awning motor because they are heavier gauge wires, and the second pair (the twisted ones) are the awning lights.

So before I order up a dimmer I'm going to disconnect one of those thinner wires (from the twisted-together pair) and try the lights. If they come on I'll try disconnecting one of the wires from the other, heavier pair. If the lights still come on I'll mumble softly to myself and come in the house and pour a nice bourbon and start thinking about a plan B. But if the lights go off I'm in business and I'm going to order the dimmer and wire it into whichever pair killed the lights. Actually I fully expect the thin pair of wires to be the awning lights because that would be the simplest and most logical place for those wires to be.

We'll see. I'll tell you if it worked.

[Dropnaduece]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Thank you my Friend.

You have quite a bundle of wires coming through your wall but I have only two pairs of black and red. I took a picture and hopefully it will be visible to you, but as this is my first ride on the picture-posting merry-go-round it may or may not appear

We'll see. I'll tell you if it worked.

It looks like you basically have the same wires. The orange and white are the awning lights and the others are for the awning motor. What year is your trailer again? If I remember it's where the wires are connected you take those apart to and put them into the dimmer. I don't remember cutting any wires when I did this project.

I don't know if you read through this thread but in page one I posted a link to how I did this along with how I use the step light without the awning lights on. How I did it only works if you have the 5-way remote. I now use the remote as a light switch next to my entry door. The switch in the panel only works the step light. It's pretty nice because I put the remote to the dimmer on Velcro stuck it in the panel so when I go outside and feel the lights are to bright I can dim them without even going into the trailer. Check out my thread I posted on page one. good luck.

[ScottB1957]

I have a 2015 27DSRL and was happy to find the LED light (and awning motor) wiring enter the vehicle inside the bathroom vanity. It should be easy to install the dimmer circuit under there. Bought one of the remote controlled dimmer/on/of units discussed in the other thread on this. We'll find out how easy this is this weekend when I am also under there swapping out the OEM faucet.

[ScottB1957]

It worked! Will post pictures later. Just had to remember ground is white, not black!