CEILING LED LIGHT FIXTURES FLICKERING

[shortcircuit]

[font size="3" face="comic sans ms"]Hello all,
I thought I would put this thread in the general area since it may relate to several models.

We have a Camplite 14 DBS and love it. Sometime this year as we were camping, one overhead LED light started to flicker on even when it was switched off. And when I would bump the ceiling next to the switch and it would flicker on and off.  I immediately suspected aluminum shavings from manufacturing were the culprit.

Since it was still under warranty, I took it to our dealer and they replaced it with another light fixture. In a few weeks, it started again. Being a retired electrical tech, I decided to check out the situation myself and removed the light fixture and found lots of aluminum shavings laying on the fixtures non-insulated connections! I disconnected the battery and then removed the shavings and also vacuumed above the ceiling area around the light fixture wiring access hole. There were lots of shavings laying all around the fixture mounting hole area. When I removed the aluminum shavings , I then insulated the switch connectors with some electrical tape to prevent any lingering shavings from contacting the connectors, before I reinstalled the fixture.

Sooo, if you have a similar light flickering or the switch not functioning properly, it may very well be the shavings left over from the factory above the ceiling shorting the on-off switch. This could be a serious fire hazard, and could burn up your wiring.[/font]

[drdave]

Yeppers...  You definitely aren't unique with that issue.   I've seen a couple posts on here regarding that exact same problem with the shavings.   I guess they are insulating before cutting holes in the roof?   

[tinkeringtechie]

I wouldn't worry too much about causing fires or damaging wiring because those lines are fused. If a line were to short it should just blow the fuse.

[pinstriper]

We had the same problem with a ceiling light in out 14DBS. After much exhaustive troubleshooting*, it turned out the problem was it needed to go to the dealer for them to take care of under warranty.

^{* I didn't actually do anything other than flip the switch back and forth a few times before losing interest. It was exhausting.}

[daplumbr]

We've had 3 fixtures short out so that they would not turn off separately. Vacuuming out the aluminum shavings mess fixed it, but in one case the problem returned. Apparently there are shavings roaming around the roof and getting jostled back into the fixtures. So, I just removed all the fixtures and put a small (1X1) circle of thin fiberglas insulation on top of the electrical connections as I reinstalled them. If any more shavings find their way back into fixtures, they can't get on the connections and cause problems. This would be an extremely easy and virtually no-cost modification to the factory installation procedures that would eliminate a common problem. For me, it was an hour well spent because it's a lot easier to do all that with a power screwdriver and shopvac in my driveway than it is at a campground with no power tools and at night when a light won't turn off. 

[gnies]

I suspect that I have the same problem, the lights flicker and sometime they even turned on by themself, I will check this next time I go in my trailer, if I unplug my battery can I keep the 120v plugued to use the vacuum? Is the 12v system stop working when battery is unplugued?

[ammobob]

Paul, I am pretty sure those 2 systems are independent of each other. Plugged my 16DB in with no battery installed and everything worked.

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/11873/thread" timestamp="1433244920" author="@paul"]I suspect that I have the same problem, the lights flicker and sometime they even turned on by themself, I will check this next time I go in my trailer, if I unplug my battery can I keep the 120v plugued to use the vacuum? Is the 12v system stop working when battery is unplugued?[/quote]Paul,

Flickering lights can come from two sources. One is the aluminum chips and can be corrected by removing the fixture, removing the chips, and replacing the fixture. The chips can cause the light to come on by itself or make it difficult to turn the light off. One member suggested placing some insulation around the switch terminals before reinstalling and I think this is an excellent idea.

The second source of flicker is bad connections in the socket itself. This usually shows up as slight flickering while the light is operating. Not extreme, but annoying. The cure is to remove the small screw holding the LED panel and unplugging the entire LED panel. This is accomplished by a gentle rocking/pulling motion on the LED assembly. Clean the contacts with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol or contact cleaner and reinstall the assembly, again with a slight rocking motion. It will help to unplug and reinsert several times. 

Disconnecting the battery with the 120V AC still connected is OK. The vacuum will work and the 12v system will also work The converter supplies 12V when the battery is absent.

[gnies]

Thank you Charliem

[daplumbr]

Here's a photo of the aluminum (with some polystyrene) debris from inside ONE light fixture in the ceiling of my Camplite. This is what gets in the switch and shorts out the circuit so the light either doesn't turn off or flickers. I poured this into a plastic bowl and added a penny for scale. The debris is left from the self-drilling, self tapping installation screws used for the fixtures (8 screws for each one). It's faster for LL to install this way, but it leaves a mess that creates random short circuits as this junk gets jostled around. 

[hdrehder]

Thanks for the aluminum shavings photo.  I had this fixed under warranty a few weeks ago, along with several other things.  Wondered what it looked like....

[swbc150]

[p]Same here, aluminum shavings everywhere.[/p][p]
[/p][p]On my other Trailer, it was Wood chips everywhere![/p]

[thudd3r]

we have owned ours for going on 3 seasons and i still have to vacuum up aluminum shavings after each trip.  they just keep coming out of nowhere

[gnies]

It would be nice if they would clean it up at the factory while doing their work it would be easier I have flickering problem too I will vacuum it up soon

[daplumbr]

The aluminum shavings mess turned out to be the likely source of our furnace problem too. In a trip report I noted that our furnace was acting odd and seemed to be attempting to start (but not actually starting), even when the thermostat was set to "Off". I could only stop it by pulling the furnace fuse. When I got back I carefully vacuumed the furnace exterior from both the inside and outside access panels. There was lots of aluminum shavings everywhere in that cabinet, including on top of the furnace where circuit boards are. I also used the vacuum as a blower and blew everything out (after vacuuming), in both the inside and outside access points. I realize this was risky (blowing stuff where it shouldn't be), but I figured the risk/benefit was worth it. No problems since and the furnace runs normally.