LED Bulb Replacement

[dphoward62]

One of the dome lights over the queen bed in my Jay Flight SLX 264BHW flickered a few times, and has only a very faint glow. Yesterday a finally got a chance to remove the cover (no easy task) to see what replacement bulb I needed (see attached picture).

Today I've been searching the Internet but have yet to find a replacement. I'm also not entirely convinced that I can replace the bulb without having to solder it.

The two wires running from the bulb go to a small compartment housing a circuit board. The wires feeding power to the fixture are in the same compartment. The wires going to the bulb MAY have small, rubber-coated plugs on them, but I'm not sure (sorry, didn't think to get a pic of it). There is no wall switch for this light, and I didn't want to poke around too much and risk causing a short.

There are notches in the bulb to allow for the screws helping to hold the bulb in place. The bulb is also backed with an adhesive, but it was no longer holding the bulb securely.

Does anyone have a similar fixture? Is the bulb replaceable, or would I be better off replacing the entire fixture with one that supports easy bulb replacement?

 

[Seann45]

It is probably not the light but the ground wire.. drop the entire fixture and use some needle nose to tighten up the wire clips..

 

[mike837go]

It is probably not the light but the ground wire.. drop the entire fixture and use some needle nose to tighten up the wire clips..

X2!

Unscrew the fixture and poke around a bit. You may see what's wrong (loose connection, etc.)

Just don't short the wires and let the Magic Smoke out.

 

[ttavasc]

One of the dome lights over the queen bed in my Jay Flight SLX 264BHW flickered a few times, and has only a very faint glow. Yesterday a finally got a chance to remove the cover (no easy task) to see what replacement bulb I needed (see attached picture).

Today I've been searching the Internet but have yet to find a replacement. I'm also not entirely convinced that I can replace the bulb without having to solder it.

The two wires running from the bulb go to a small compartment housing a circuit board. The wires feeding power to the fixture are in the same compartment. The wires going to the bulb MAY have small, rubber-coated plugs on them, but I'm not sure (sorry, didn't think to get a pic of it). There is no wall switch for this light, and I didn't want to poke around too much and risk causing a short.

There are notches in the bulb to allow for the screws helping to hold the bulb in place. The bulb is also backed with an adhesive, but it was no longer holding the bulb securely.

Does anyone have a similar fixture? Is the bulb replaceable, or would I be better off replacing the entire fixture with one that supports easy bulb replacement?

So I have the same type of bulbs in my 2015 195RB Baja. One of them went out this week while we were out camping. I called my dealer after I got back today and was told that these can't be replaced by the owner if the trailer is still under warranty - Jayco requires that a certified dealer perform a warranty replacement of the entire fixture. So it looks like these are not units where you can simply replace the LED bulb plate. Not really liking the idea of having to run it to a dealer every time something as simple as a light bulb blows. I'm wondering if the dealer is the only place you can buy the replacement fixtures - might explain why you weren't able to find anything readily available.

In my case the light was on and working just fine - then suddenly went out. I tested the two soldered leads with the switch on and I have 13.5 volts, just no light. I did drop the entire fixture and found that there is a small circuit board in it and everything within the fixture is soldered. I could see some plastic connectors inside the hole in the ceiling where the two wires ran from the fixture. That's when I stopped and called the dealer as it was pretty clear these are not really intended to be "consumer replaceable". I'll lug it down to the dealer at some point to get it replaced but I'll give these a big thumbs down for sure... Yet another way to keep reaching into your wallet....

 

[Tim L-JAY]

How did you remove the cover?

 

[ttavasc]

Not sure if you have a fixture like the OP which is different from mine though they both have the same LED bulb plate in them. On mine I use something like a small flat blade to insert between the cover and the side of the fixture, then apply a little pressure into the cover and pull it down. I'm attaching a couple pics (sorry the quality isn't that good) so you can see. I should have taken a pic of the back side while I had the whole fixture off - but there is a small cover on the back side of the fixture behind where the switch is. Underneath that is a small circuit board that the 2 wires from the bulb run to (and are soldered to that board as well). From there 2 more wires run up into the ceiling hole where they are joined to other wires with a plastic crimp-type connector. This particular switch is wired into another switch by the door so you can leave the light on and use the switch by the door to turn it on so you don't have to enter the trailer in pitch black at night.

 

[dphoward62]

I contacted Jayco and found, as ttavasc did, that the entire fixture, rather than just the bulb, is meant to be replaced under warranty. There are a couple of other items that need to be handled under warranty, so I'll get them all done at one time.

Once the warranty expires, however, I'll never replaced a failed fixture with the same type. Instead I'll go with something that uses replaceable LED bulbs.

How many people does it take to replace a warranted Jayco LED light bulb? Apparently it can't be done.

 

[MantyGary]

The circuit board is probably an LED "driver." The driver converts the incoming power to the LED somewhat like a ballast does for a fluorescent, except the driver usually converts to DC where a ballast converts to high frequency AC. If all the LEDs go out at once, it is probably the driver or a loose wire, not the LEDs. Unless the LEDs are wired in series, if one goes out, the others should still work.

 

[norty1]

Unfortunately we live in a "throw away society".

It is a foreign word to some of us who like to repair things.

 

[MantyGary]

Norty1. Amen to that!

 

[ttavasc]

I contacted Jayco and found, as ttavasc did, that the entire fixture, rather than just the bulb, is meant to be replaced under warranty. There are a couple of other items that need to be handled under warranty, so I'll get them all done at one time.

Once the warranty expires, however, I'll never replaced a failed fixture with the same type. Instead I'll go with something that uses replaceable LED bulbs.

How many people does it take to replace a warranted Jayco LED light bulb? Apparently it can't be done.

Same here - I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I can't simply replace the bulb....

 

[MantyGary]

I think it's like buying an LED bulb for a lamp at home. The driver is built into the base, so you're really buying both.

 

[ttavasc]

I think it's like buying an LED bulb for a lamp at home. The driver is built into the base, so you're really buying both.

I get that - I have some LED's around the house but I don't have to replace the entire fixture when they stop working. There are LED fixtures available for RV's that work like you'd expect them too - with bulbs you can replace without removing and re-wiring the fixture.

I guess it's either these are the absolute cheapest fixtures they could find or they are trying to keep the service bays full. Fortunately I'm only about 10 minutes away from my dealer. Not such a great deal if you have to tow an hour or two just to get a light bulb replaced.