wiring up a light

[Silver Threads]

Ok, here it is. i took down the old light that was over the bed because I couldnt get it to work. I went to Lowe's and bought a light, wired it up, and when I turned it on, it blew a fuse. I took it apart and checked all the wires, everything looked right but it was still blowing fuses. I went to the hardware store and bought all new wire and traced it back to the bathroom and put all new wire in it but it is still blowing the fuse. Can anyone tell me whats going on? Can I not use a regular light in there? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tammy

[LI Pets]

Tammy, are you talking about a 12V or 110V?

[CanoeStream]

All lighting should be 12 volts and operates from either the battery or Univolt -- not 110 volt. What did the hardware store sell you?

Could you post a digital photo of the original fixture?

See http://www.inlandrv.com/parts/ -- about a 1/3'd of the way down the page, parts 63217 to 63255. View the pics. Do the old and new bulbs look like those?

[Silver Threads]

This is what he original light looked like. This one is in the kitchen. It runs off the battery i guess because the lights only comw on when we hook it up. they dont work when we just plug the trailer up. should they? it is blowing the fuse in thing that sits behind the battery which is the univolt i'm guessing.

[Silver Threads]

Nevermind. i found out what was wrong. It is an AC light and I was hooking it up to a DC wire. Oh well, guess I'll have to put the ugly light back up!

[overlander63]

Tammy, does your new light fixture have screw-in bulbs, like a regular 120 volt light?
If so, you can get 12 volt screw-in light bulbs, and replace the 120 volt bulbs with them. It is easier than ripping out the fixture and starting over.

[Silver Threads]

Wish I would have seen your post before I took the light back off the wall for the 4th time and returned it. during my bought with this light, after I replaced all the old wires because they had been spliced together several times inside the wall, the light in the ceiling started working. Also happened to think after replacing the fuse 6 times during the bout, that may have been what was wrong with the old light. So... I put the old light back up, put new wire inside it, replaced the fuse once more, and Bingo, it now works! The other one sure was prettier, but at least I have light s now. Thanks everyone for the help. FYI, I ask the man at Lowe's if they sold DC lights and he said no. Where would be a good place to get one?

[overlander63]

Umm, they do sell 12 volt lights, you just have to read the packaging carefully. Many 120 volt halogen lights are really 12 volt capsules, with a built-in transformer to step the power down to 12 volts. Remove the transformer, and you have 12 volt lights.
You can also try RV supply stores, and lighting supply stores.