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Old 07-12-2019, 03:48 PM   #1
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1706FB light switch question

We just returned from our first trip with the new 2020 Winnebago 1706FB. The trip was only a couple of days so that we could figure out what works and what doesn't. Basically a test run.

My question is about the two light switches inside the cabinet and closer to the door than any other switches. One of them turns on and off the light strip under the awning and that's fine. The other one controls one single inside light which is around a foot away and has its own switch. When the dealer explained this to us I didn't think too much about it but when using the trailer we discovered how absolutely pointless that switch is. It's easier to just turn the light on with its own switch. Now I'm wondering if they didn't get the wiring wrong. Perhaps Winnebago meant for this to be a single switch for all the ceiling lights. Now that would be useful. So I ask other 1706FB owners out there, does this switch located near the door also control just the single light or does it do more? Have any of you changed it to make it more useful? How?
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Old 07-15-2019, 04:28 PM   #2
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So I ask other 1706FB owners out there, does this switch located near the door also control just the single light or does it do more? Have any of you changed it to make it more useful? How?
We had a 1790 and that switch worked a light near it. Same on the new 2401RG that replaced the 1790 after a tree took it out.
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Old 07-15-2019, 07:59 PM   #3
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On some units, that single light is one to reach n and turn on before stepping fully up and inside. Several that I have used are the same. Just one of those design things that doesn't meet what each person may think best.
I've considered having that one switch turn on a number of lights but then that offends those who want to get the most out of their batteries when not plugged to shore power. Their thinking asks why in the world would you want to turn on more than one light at a time and run the batteries down? So who is right depends on which group you want to please and you sure are NOT going to please them all!
I looked at rewiring and decided it was way more damage than improvement.
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Old 07-15-2019, 10:24 PM   #4
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Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't mind turning all or at least more than one light on with that switch. It could also save batteries because when stepping out for a bit I could turn off the lights with one switch. I could even understand the idea of one of the first switches being for a light except for the fact that the actual light switch is maybe two feet or less away. My guess is that other trailer models are wired that way so they wired this one the same way despite the fact that on this model the actual light is closer than it might be in other models. I don't want to mess with the wiring for all the lights so I won't change it. However if I think of something else useful that needs a switch, I will use this one. BTW, is yours to the right or left of the awning light switch. Mine is to the left of the awning light switch and even the dealer thought that was a minor mistake because it's not very intuitive.
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Old 07-16-2019, 05:14 AM   #5
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Glen, my switches were wired left for the ceiling light and right for the awning light. I pulled the switch plate and switched the wires. Now, left is awning and right is ceiling. Now we get the correct light the first time.
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Old 07-16-2019, 08:16 AM   #6
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Our 2500FL is wired the same way; the first (outermost) switch (closest to the outer wall) controls the single interior light, the innermost switch controls the LEDs by the awning. I thought it was odd, too. Another odd thing, the door that covers our switches/display panel is hinged on the left, meaning you have to enter the TT to open and then access the switches. I removed it - it served no real purpose, and I don't need to "hide" that stuff. I do like the fact the inner light is the first switch, however, as it's easier to find in the dark.
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Old 07-16-2019, 08:49 AM   #7
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Much of what we find handy does depend on how we have been trained to think of turning lights on and off. Since I have grandkids and I do try to think of their future, I tend to turn off lights at every opportunity! So when we leave the RV for a walk at night, we leave all the lights off and that makes it a bit harder to find the switch when we get back, so having one switch, right at the door, works for us, while others may leave at least the outside lights on and may want the switch in other places.
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Old 07-21-2019, 04:58 PM   #8
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The 2250DS is wired the same. I repurposed the switch to turn our cell booster on and off.
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Old 07-21-2019, 05:15 PM   #9
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The 2250DS is wired the same. I repurposed the switch to turn our cell booster on and off.
That makes sense. Thanks.
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Old 07-21-2019, 06:28 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glen 3 View Post
We just returned from our first trip with the new 2020 Winnebago 1706FB. The trip was only a couple of days so that we could figure out what works and what doesn't. Basically a test run.

My question is about the two light switches inside the cabinet and closer to the door than any other switches. One of them turns on and off the light strip under the awning and that's fine. The other one controls one single inside light which is around a foot away and has its own switch. When the dealer explained this to us I didn't think too much about it but when using the trailer we discovered how absolutely pointless that switch is. It's easier to just turn the light on with its own switch. Now I'm wondering if they didn't get the wiring wrong. Perhaps Winnebago meant for this to be a single switch for all the ceiling lights. Now that would be useful. So I ask other 1706FB owners out there, does this switch located near the door also control just the single light or does it do more? Have any of you changed it to make it more useful? How?
My 2106DS has the same arrangement, I just ignore the switch in the cabinet and use the one on the light...
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Old 07-21-2019, 10:17 PM   #11
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Stupid switch

I'm another 1706 owner and when I found that switch and figured out what it did, it confused me as well. I mean... Why??? I can understand the one in the bathroom that is down low for little kids but that one by the door makes no sense.
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Old 07-25-2019, 04:16 AM   #12
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Thanks. I was beginning to think think that I was one of the few people who saw this as an odd setup.
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Old 07-25-2019, 07:54 AM   #13
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Thanks. I was beginning to think think that I was one of the few people who saw this as an odd setup.
It can seem odd and did for a while but over time, I developed habits that made it handy enough to leave it alone.
When hiking, I often come back after dark and want to drop things like wallet, money, camera, etc. into the safe storage near the passenger seat and I need to do it without stepping up and in to turn on the light! That makes the original location work fine for me.
But that is always going to involve what we each like, so what fits one may not fit all.
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Old 07-25-2019, 08:48 AM   #14
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I had thought of it being used as you do, Morich but it's very inconvenient from outside the trailer. I'm 6' and since the door swings toward you when outside, it's in the way and I have to lean way into the trailer and kind of reach to get to that switch. To be used externally, it would have been MUCH better to place it down lower like between that door and the one below it, on the face of that cabinet surface instead of inside a storage area. It wouldn't be as pretty but it would be way way more functional. Come to think of it, that might make for a nice mini-project if I can fish the wire around that top cabinet... hummnn....


Quote:
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It can seem odd and did for a while but over time, I developed habits that made it handy enough to leave it alone.
When hiking, I often come back after dark and want to drop things like wallet, money, camera, etc. into the safe storage near the passenger seat and I need to do it without stepping up and in to turn on the light! That makes the original location work fine for me.
But that is always going to involve what we each like, so what fits one may not fit all.
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Old 07-25-2019, 09:45 AM   #15
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I agree in this particular trailer it's completely useless because it's easier to reach the ceiling light than open the top shelf and reach in find the switch (next to the awning light switch). I've looked at other brands of trailers and often they have a switch there that turns off all lights. Now that would be handy because there are so many lights in these trailers that it's a chore to turn them all off. I would also find it handy handy to have a switch that disabled the front tongue jack. Failing that, the switch is completely redundant in this particular trailer. As the previous reply said it could be of use if it was much lower and not behind a cupboard door but as is, in this model of trailer, it has no value.
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