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LED replacement for G4 halogen bulbs
I want to replace my G4 size halogen ceiling light bulbs with LEDs without replacing the fixtures. The bulbs I have are the small bulbs about the size and shape of the end of your little finger, not a spotlight type. These bulbs are commonly used in desk lamps and under-cabinet lighting, but I have them throughout the ceiling of my bus. They plug into the fixture at the side and there is a reflector behind them with a cutout for the prongs to plug in. There are a number of different replacement types from a number of vendors available, most of which have a few LEDs on a flat round or square waffer. The suppliers usually require a minimum purchase of 5 and I’m hoping to avoid buying a bunch that turn out not to work. If anyone has similar halogens and replaced them with LED, did the replacments fit OK in the fixture with the existing reflector, or did you have to modify or remove it? Can you recommend a brand or source? I am looking at the 200 lumin units, which are about equivalent of 15 watts.
I know a picture would be helpful but I’m new here and haven’t figured out how to post pictures. Thanks for any advice on the LEDs.
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20 Replies
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Bryan,
I was shown a coach that had a flat disc with about 17 small LEDs mounted upon it installed in a light fixture as you describe. They looked very good in terms of both the light and the “color”, not having the bluish / white color, but a more natural “warm” color. The owner said not only did they do away with a lot of heat, but the current draw was significantly reduced.
It was a relatively expensive change but the owner felt it was worth the effort and the cost. I would suggest you try out bulbs before ordering enough for the bus. Our coach, if like yours has about 30 or more fixtures. If on-line dealers require 5 as a miniumum I would look for someone that will sell singles and pay the price to evaluate them. I believe Camping World sells a variety of LED “bulbs” so maybe that is a place to get them for tryout.
To post photos go to the icon with the sun and the tree. A box will drop down and click on “upload”. That will produce a drop down box that you can use to access the photos in your computer. Click on the photo you select, then at the bottom of that box click on “open”. The photo will load in the first dropdown box. Click on “OK” and the photo will load in the replay box. BEFORE YOU CLICK ON THE ICON ABOVE (WITH THE SUN AND THE TREE) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CURSOR IN THE REPLY BOX WHERE YOU WANT THE PHOTO TO APPEAR.
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BTW, Welcome. Even though you drive an SOB (some other bus) we won’t pick on you (much)
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Many (all?) led bulbs which replace halogen or incandescent are not capable of dimming, if your coach is so equipped.
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Yes, thanks for the heads up about dimming. LEDs which can be dimmed are available for some applications, but the bulbs I’m replacing do not dim. I will leave the halogens in the dimmable fixtures.
I will order up a few different replacements and see how they stack up.
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I have just over 70 similar light fixtures in my 2006 SOB. They are controled by the mulitplex system. Over half are dimmable, using the PWM (pulse width modulation) technique. If your dimmers are the knob type, I doubt they are PWM.
On eBay is a seller called LEDwholesalers. I contacted them and asked for a quanitiy discount which was quickly given. What I ordered is:
110701197719 G4 Warm White Dimmable surface mount, side pin
LEDs cut power consumption by around 70% and are much, much cooler – not cool to the touch but not blistering hot either.
I could not be happier.
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Les, that is exactly what I wanted to know. I have about 50 non-dimmable and 10 that dim, but my dimmers are rotary so I will leave the halogens for now. Did you have modify or remove the reflector in the fixture, or do they just plug right in?
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They plug right in. The only thing that could be needed is to shorten the two prongs slightly. I did not need to but it may have been a little easier if I’d taken a pair of side cutters to the prongs. They are just two stiff “wires”, just like the original G4’s.
My fixtures have a glass cover lens that just twist about 90° to unscrew. Some had been on so long that it was virtually impossible to remove. The design has them twisting on into a detent. The detent is not ramped so twisting them off can be challenging.
I came up with several different methods to remove the glass covers with the method of last resort smacking it with a ball peen hammer, swapping the bulb with a LED, and then screwing on a new glass cover lens. I had about 10% breakage so the 10 extra glass cover lens I had were suficient.
Good luck. The LEDs make a significant difference on power draw and heat.
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Nice looking MCI Bryan..
Welcome Les, doesn’t matter what brand you have, glad your posting.
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I swapped out all of mine out to LED’s from superbrightleds.com. Very happy with them. You can buy one or more from them if I recall. They have many different types and brightness.
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Tom, I’m glad you good folks will have the likes of me…
I’m on my second coach, a 2006 Monaco Signature, 45 footer, tag axle, ISX600, all-electric and aspiring to become a Prevost owner for the next one. Learning from all y’all will make that move easier.
I’ll contribute where I can but I’m here to learn.
Thanks!
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I replaced all of mine a year ago and remain pleased with the results. I used Warm White discs like Jon described. I bought them from a NJ seller of Chinese products on eBay. I think they were less than $2 each.
Not all dimmer circuits are created equal. My coach’s dimmer has a wide range, but with these LEDs I only have full on and 1/2 brillance. For me, that’s okay.
They are a bit hard to install until you realize they need to be horizontal. I tried shortening the pins and bending them closer together before realizing how critical the horizontal position is. The biggest PITA is that I had to rewire somewhere around 50% of the fixtures. The fixtures and incandesent lights are polarity sensitive; the LEDs are.
I bought a new LED fixture from SuperBrightLeds and really like it, but it won’t work for me. The trim ring is too white. I have gold fixtures now and wouldn’t mind satin finish. I can find what I’m really wanting but the price to do them all would be too much.
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Thanks all. I’ll order up a couple of different types and see how they compare. I’ll report back. I have seen some advertised as not having specific polarity, but I don’t know how that is possible.
Probably not the right thread, but since I now know how to post a picture (thanks, Jon) I’ll do it here. With tag axel steering, we have a 43′ turning radius, which is better than my old XL40 with solid front axel. Makes it pretty easy to drive in tight quarters. Former owner wanted the incognito charter bus look, but I see it as a blank canvas crying out for creativity.
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Great looking ride. Let’s see the inside.
I know of a pro NFL quarterback that lives in MS with the same all white look. As you said, it’s a great starting canvas.
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At one point we discussed if we bought a new coach what the paint scheme would be and we both decided a plain solid color with no stripes or designs would be our preference. I see the solid color of the coach as ideal. Looks good.
I can’t help wondering how it would look if it had some stainless.
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A few years back we stayed at Twin Fountains in OK City when a POG gathering was there. There was a bus with a subtle “ghost” checkered flags paint scheme. You could miss it if you did not look closely. Obviously a race fan. I loved how understated it looked. But then again it had ghostly blue LED under chassis lights.
Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to speak with the owner.
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