Adding to Factory 12vdc lights

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Jkwilson and any other EE's or other knowledgeable persons..

I want to add about 4' of led strip lighting off the switched/motion sensor light in the pantry. I took the 12vdc light apart and the existing switch that switches between 'ON' or 'Motion Activated' is rated for 10a @ 250vac...no DC rating on it. Any guesses as to a dc load it could handle? I realize with no rating on the side it is not supposed to be connected to dc but it already is along with numerous other lights in the trailer......

I am going to power up the strip light and see what it draws for amperage..I'll be surprised if it is over an amp

[ncitro]

Jkwilson and any other EE's or other knowledgeable persons..

I want to add about 4' of led strip lighting off the switched/motion sensor light in the pantry. I took the 12vdc light apart and the existing switch that switches between 'ON' or 'Motion Activated' is rated for 10a @ 250vac...no DC rating on it. Any guesses as to a dc load it could handle? I realize with no rating on the side it is not supposed to be connected to ac but it already is along with numerous other lights in the trailer......

I am going to power up the strip light and see what it draws for amperage..I'll be surprised if it is over an amp

With no math or "proof" I can tell you I have done this to most of my motion lights in the rear storage, front bay, and some of the closets with no issue. Obviously do so at your own risk.

[TucsonJim]

I found this on the web:

"The LED strip lists the total wattage as 24 Watts, or 4.8 Watts per meter. This checks out, because there are 5 meters per reel, and 4.8 Watts/meter * 5 meters = 24 Watts. A = 2.0 Amps. In electrical terms, we now know that at 12V, this LED strip will draw about 24 Watts per reel (5 meters), or about 2.0 Amps."

[Mr. Goodwrench]

Jkwilson and any other EE's or other knowledgeable persons..

I want to add about 4' of led strip lighting off the switched/motion sensor light in the pantry. I took the 12vdc light apart and the existing switch that switches between 'ON' or 'Motion Activated' is rated for 10a @ 250vac...no DC rating on it. Any guesses as to a dc load it could handle? I realize with no rating on the side it is not supposed to be connected to ac but it already is along with numerous other lights in the trailer......

I am going to power up the strip light and see what it draws for amperage..I'll be surprised if it is over an amp

We have a 295Rl which has the same pantry as your 303. I have done the exact mod you are contemplating and there were no issues. Not sure of the exact length of the led strip but it runs inside the door frame and up one side of the door, across the top and down the other side so roughly 12 ft (?). Anyhow, fairly easy mod and the DW loves it. Tricky part was finding and soldering to the correct wires in the original motion light fixture so light strip operates with the motion light. Good luck.

[howson]

Jkwilson and any other EE's or other knowledgeable persons..

I want to add about 4' of led strip lighting off the switched/motion sensor light in the pantry. I took the 12vdc light apart and the existing switch that switches between 'ON' or 'Motion Activated' is rated for 10a @ 250vac...no DC rating on it. Any guesses as to a dc load it could handle? I realize with no rating on the side it is not supposed to be connected to ac but it already is along with numerous other lights in the trailer......

I am going to power up the strip light and see what it draws for amperage..I'll be surprised if it is over an amp

There's quite a few documented mods of this nature here on the forum. Mine is here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...rip-lights-mod

No issues at all with the setup (thread is from 2019!).

[Mr. Goodwrench]

There's quite a few documented mods of this nature here on the forum. Mine is here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...rip-lights-mod

No issues at all with the setup (thread is from 2019!).

I should have added in my post that I got my inspiration and instructions from the excellent post referenced to and written by Howson.

[Jkwilson]

Jkwilson and any other EE's or other knowledgeable persons..

I want to add about 4' of led strip lighting off the switched/motion sensor light in the pantry. I took the 12vdc light apart and the existing switch that switches between 'ON' or 'Motion Activated' is rated for 10a @ 250vac...no DC rating on it. Any guesses as to a dc load it could handle? I realize with no rating on the side it is not supposed to be connected to ac but it already is along with numerous other lights in the trailer......

I am going to power up the strip light and see what it draws for amperage..I'll be surprised if it is over an amp

Should be fine up to 10A in most cases. Generally things like switches don’t care whether it’s AC or DC unless they are switching loads like motors.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

howson Just adding these pics because my 2021 303 has similar lights but there is a small difference in layout. Just thought I'd post up a couple pics showing the differences.

In the first picture, the 2021 lights look like this once you pop off the connection cover with a small screwdriver. You will notice, same as Howard's lights that the black 12vdc+ wire attaches to the motion sensor board then to the led's. The white -12vdc wire attaches to the centre tab of the three position switch. Depending on the position of the switch the -12vdc will be connected directly to the led's, or to the motion sensor board completing the cct to enable the motion sensor. when motion is detected the -12vdc will be connected to the led's through the board. At the led's, the white wire from the switch and the white wire from the motion sensor are attached at a common point. So one wire needs to be soldered onto the switch for the led string for full funtionality.
Second picture shows where the -12vdc wire for the led tape.
Third pic is with it closed back up.
Our trailer had 3 connection WAGO connectors behind the light so just reconnect the light wires where they were before and connect the led string +12vdc wire to the +12vdc WAGO connector and connect the -12vdc led string wire to the wire you soldered to the factory light.
So everything electrically is the same as Howards original write up, just lights are physically a little different