LED Lights - Frequent Failure

[RAH]

Disappointing the hear of LED light failures. In my 2013 FC, all of the overhead lights are LED. the light switch for the main part of the AS turns on 10 of them in the ceiling, and the light switch in the bedroom turns on another 4 or 6. Through 3 summers, I have had NONE of them fail (although the one by the refer has a single mini-bulb that glows after the lights have been turned off. It does not bother me enough to do anything about it).

So the obvious question. Are the lights in my 2013 FC different than the ones in 2015 model years? Or have I just been lucky (so far)?

[lbdesign]

Originally Posted by RAH

So the obvious question. Are the lights in my 2013 FC different than the ones in 2015 model years? Or have I just been lucky (so far)?

I don't know. Can you post a pic or two? How many LED elements are in each one? In mine there are 9 elements —*3 triangular groups of 3 LEDs, almost like 3 flower petals.

All of my ceiling lights that are 4+ lamps on one circuit are likewise fine. Only the ones that are 2 on a circuit are failing (3 different lights from three different sets of 2 lamps in various locations —*bathroom, and 2 cabinets)

[Msmoto]

As I have a 2015 model year, this is an interesting thread.

First, the life of the LED should be in the thousands of hours of use. Second, if more than rated voltage is applied to an LED bit goes quickly. Third, use only crimp connectors, not the screw type, as the vibrations from towing could cause the screw type to come off, creating a potential short circuit.

If, I have an LED in my unit go out even in the first four years, I will be contacting JC with serious concerns. The point of using LEDs is they have a life span dozens of times greater than incandescents, and we have paid for this when we purchased the trailer.

But, my thinking is it must be too high a voltage or some type of voltage spike, short circuit, or something causing the failure. This especially true if multiple LEDs have failed.

Incidentally, I converted a 2009 International Ocean Breeze to all LEDs, and a 44 foot moho, both not inexpensive to convert.

And, one other idea...use an LED rated at a minimum of 15v, as the voltage in your circuits may be 14.8 on a regular basis. I am wondering if having the AS plugged into a shore line may contribute to the failures and maybe my installation of the triple stage charger converter is a safeguard against this.

[lbdesign]

msmoto, thank you. I agree —*in my last AS, which was halogen that I converted to LED with aftermarket LED G4 elements, I had no problems. It's doubly vexing because these factory fixtures do not allow for a simple swap-out of the LED element.
BTW, there were two halogen bulbs over the stove that I replaced with G4 LEDs, and they are still fine.
I'd happily replace my converter if that would be a fix, as I understand the factory converter boils the batteries and is generally not among the best available.
AS sent me replacement fixtures, but I don't want to keep swapping in new ones as time goes on. it's annoying and wasteful.

BTW, love your photography.

[switz]

Our 2015 23D International Serenity was built the last week of September, 2014. There is a single LED fixture above the bed and the dinette. The two bulb circuits are above the kitchen and bathroom sinks plus inside at the rear roof locker. We have the Magnum MSH-3012 as the charger/inverter device so perhaps we will not have these LED failures.

[Msmoto]

AS wires things with a common ground, that is, one cannot find the ground circuit anywhere near the on/off switch, to my understanding. I struggled with this when I wanted to have a dimmer for the dinette lamps, only to discover I had to have both wires available for the unit I wanted to install.

In any case, voltage will be the same in all the circuits unless there is a huge draw, probably not possible without tripping a breaker.

what could be useful is to check the monitor panel from time to time and see if possibly the voltage is over 14.8v at any time. My rudimentary electrical knowledge would suggest this may indicate an faulty converter charger or other problem, thus resulting in a failure of the LEDs.

Another thought might be to contact Dan at LED4RV.com, as he is very familiar with these issues and may have a solution. Dan is the one who supplied the many LEDs I used for my conversions. He has been very reliable and offers good product.

And, thanks for the comment on my photos....here is one from St. Augustine...

NRF_St_Augustine_04.28.2016_TFL-7 by Tommie Lauer, on Flickr

[lbdesign]

Dan at LED4RV.com responded very quickly and said these Airstream LED lights have about a 10% failure rate in the first year. So I'm bumping up against that, with two more lamps starting to flicker. But I'll replace them manually while under warranty. After that, I might swap them out with older G4 fixtures and use easier, cheaper LED modular replacements.

[Fred L]

Not sure what I would do without the knowledge on this board.
I spoke with LED4RV and he told me to remove the inner ring to access the bulbs, Sounded easy, I tried and figured there was no way that ring was separate, so figured I had a different fixture.
After reading this thread, I was able to remove the can from the ceiling quite easily, so after doing that I figured one more try..... and with considerable resistance, but a bit more leverage with the can in my hand, was able to pry the inner ring free.
Only bought LEDs for the reading lights since I couldn't access the ceiling lights, will have to order some of them now.
$10 a bulb for 11 bulbs seems a bit extreme though if they have the potential of failing after a short time.

[Msmoto]

My experience with the inner ring is that it requires a thin knife blade carefully inserted into the crack and gently pried out. Care must be taken so as not to scratch anything.

[ride2k]

Hello ladies and gentleman; I found this link and thred after searching for help with my, new to me, 2015 International Signature 27 ft front queen. I bought the unit in November and since that time have replaced both “can lights” over the sink/counter and now one over the dinette. The RV service I’ve used charges about $50 per fixture. It seems Airstream has incorporated this expensive and poor design into these units. Many of the comments on this tread are dated and I’m wondering if an effective and reasonable remedy has been found and found suitable for this issue. Also some of the posts refer to photos which do not appear or come up on your comments. Thank you. db

[lbdesign]

Airstream has a high list price for these poorly-designed all-in-one replacement units. They shipped me many via UPS, under warranty, and I replaced them myself. The replacements seem to be holding up better than the originals, so I'm hoping whatever the QC issues they had in 2015 were resolved. I've never seen such a high failure rate with the much cheaper LED replacements from independent sellers that I have purchased to fit into the old halogen units.

[Foiled Again]

Look on Amazon and on the internet in general. I haven't had a failure (yet) in my 2012 EB, but I once found a 4 pack of the surface mount pucks in a big box hardware store for $21.
They are almost perfect matches and sit awaiting need in the "misc. Small Stuff" box.
Bet the farm that the recessed ones are out there somewhere for a.more reasonable price.

And btw in 2006 and a few years following there were similar looking halogen lights that finally got replacement LED inserts.

Happy Hunting

[rmkrum]

I installed LED replacement bulb packs from the LED4RV site. The advantage is that they just plug in to the old fixtures like the original halogen bulb once did... If a puck fails, I can just get a new one.

The all-in-one units don't have that advantage.