RV Luminaire VR Fixture: How To Change Ceiling Lights On RVs
Some are easier than others. When it comes to changing light bulbs, you will find that some RV lights are as easy to change as the ones n your traditional homes. While others have unique designs that often defy common sense when it comes to changing burned-out bulbs.
The key to changing any halogen light bulb is not to touch the bulb at any time. Touch the base of the bulb to avoid burnt fingers and creating hot spots with the oil on your fingers.
To learn more about changing these specific light bulbs, just continue to read our article. It has the information you need to know about so you can do the job without hurting yourself or damaging the new bulb.
Change RV Ceiling Lights
How do you Change a Ceiling Light Bulb on an RV?
Every light bulb procedure will be slightly different due to the design of the light bulb, the light fixture, and the type of bulb inside the fixture. The following method is just one option you can use.
Step #1. Turn the power to the light bulb off. This could be the switch on the fixture, the wall switch, or the breaker. Which one you turn off will be up to you.
Step #2. Depending on the design of the fixture, remove the cover and place it in a safe spot. That is if it can be removed completely.
Step #3. Remove the light bulb but watch where you grab it as some of these RV fixtures are made with cheap and fragile plastic parts. They will break under pressure.
Some light bulbs may be the push and twist type and others may be the screw-in type and finally, some just need to be wiggled a little and pulled.
Step #4. Once the bulb is out, just reverse your actions and put the new light bulb inside the fixture. Be careful not to break or bend anything so the cover will go back on correctly.
Step #5. Replace the cover taking care not to break any plastic tabs that hold it in place. Then turn the power back on to test your handyman's work.
Of course, if you have hardwired lights, you will have to use wire nuts to make the connection stick. Just make sure to twist the wires together before putting the wire nuts on the twisted bare ends.
RV Luminaire VR Bulb
The following instructions came from an RV discussion forum but they read like they were copied from a manual.
Interior Halogen
To Remove:
1. Grasp light fixture and pull down slightly then tilt the fixture to one side.
This will allow one spring clip to come out.
CAUTION:
Push the spring clip inward with a finger as the clip is being eased out. Hold clip
to prevent clipping from pinching fingers.
2. Tilt the fixture to the other side and ease the other spring clip out.
3. Unscrew the light lens counterclockwise and remove it.
4. Carefully grasp the bulb and pull it from the socket. Replace with the same type of bulb.
5. Use a clean cloth or piece of tissue to grasp the new bulb. Do not touch the bulb directly as this can cause a “hot spot” and result in immediate bulb failure.
6. Align the contacts of the bulb with terminals in the fixture base. Insert bulb until contacts are firmly seated.
To Reinstall:
7. Align tabs on a light lens with slots in the fixture base. Rotate lens clockwise until the light lens locks into place.
8. Fold up both spring clips and insert the light fixture into the opening. Once in opening the spring clips will expand and lock the light fixture into place.
CAUTION:
Do not touch halogen lighting while on. They can cause a burn. Do not touch replacement bulbs. Oil in the hands can cause a “hot spot” to occur. If the bulb is touched, allow it to cool, and clean the bulb with alcohol.
RV Luminaire VR Fixture
To remove the luminaire VR light fixture, you should only have to pry it down a little then pull it down the rest of the way with your fingers. That will be the easy part because these light fixtures are simply pushed into the opening by the RV maker.
The hard part will be loosening the wires and making sure they do not touch and create a short in your system. To remove the fixture completely, you will have to unscrew the wiring and tape off the bare ends while you are getting a new fixture to put in place of the old one.
To get to those wires, you may have to pull them out of your ceiling and disconnect them where there are crushed wire nuts, regular wire nuts, or whatever style of wire nuts the company used.
Then it is just a matter of connecting the wires from the new fixture to the ceiling wires, pushing all those wires into the ceiling, and then pushing the fixture into the recessed hole.
Make sure to cut the power to the light fixture before working on it. While it is possible to do the work with the power on, not everyone is skilled enough to handle that type of work.
Play it safe so you can enjoy your RV for a lot longer. When you are adding new wires, make sure to use a good wire stripper as you do not want to have to cut the length if you make a mistake with a knife.
Some Additional Words
Changing light bulbs and fixtures in RVs is almost as simple as doing it in your traditional home. This is one of the easier repairs you will have to make at some point in your RV life.
The key is to watch that power. Make sure there is no power running to those wires to make sure you work in complete safety. Don’t worry, you can always change the fixture to something else if you want.
Wiring lights is easy as is covering those holes in the ceiling.
