Winnebago Journey Owners Beware Of A Fire Hazard

[SCVJeff]

Good topic, and Jeff thanks for your input and expertise that you shared with the forum. I bought those lights you recommended and realize the benefits. See you again in Quartzsite 2013.

Thanks Gary..
I still need to call you about the front generator door..

 

[Chuck 1935]

I am replacing the ceiling fixtures in my 07 Journey with some fixtures I plan to market. Please take a look at the recessed light fixture that I removed from above the control panel in the galley. This scares me to death and more the reason all the light fixtures are coming out as soon as possible. The last picture is the LED replacement bulb I adapted to the factory fixture. I have also designed replacements for the florescent tube fixtures. I'll have more pictures to come after I get every thing installed. The factory installed bulbs are too hot. has anyone else seen this type of heat build up in their lighting?

Thanks for pointing out the problem. I really never used the light because it is useless. Now that it is useless AND dangerous I'll take out the bulb.
It never lit up anything anyway. Again thanks for pointing out the dangers.

 

[SCVJeff]

I have the same coach and use that light all the time since the LED replacement. Makes enough light to peek into the freezer

 

[Tpflyer]

I have a 2010 Tour I bought last year and I have the same fixture over my control panel. In my case I broke the fixture trying to open it to replace the bulb with the LEDs I bought from DHGate in China. I'll bet I had less than 3 hours on the fixture and it was already turning brown inside. Now my entire coach is LED on the inside including the basement lights. With all the halogens on I was drawing almost 30 amps. With all the LEDs on it was just under 3 amps. I haven't found an economical LED replacement for the 1383 reading light bulbs yet. I only have 8 of them and they would cost more to replace then all the rest combined. I may bite the bullet later but I am being a cheapskate for now!

 

[SargeW]

On mu 2010 Journey that fixture had been replaced with the JC-10 Hallogen bulb that is throughout the rest of the coach. No heat issues, but they do burn out regularly....

 

[wagonmaster2]

I have a 2010 Tour I bought last year and I have the same fixture over my control panel. In my case I broke the fixture trying to open it to replace the bulb with the LEDs I bought from DHGate in China. I'll bet I had less than 3 hours on the fixture and it was already turning brown inside. Now my entire coach is LED on the inside including the basement lights. With all the halogens on I was drawing almost 30 amps. With all the LEDs on it was just under 3 amps. I haven't found an economical LED replacement for the 1383 reading light bulbs yet. I only have 8 of them and they would cost more to replace then all the rest combined. I may bite the bullet later but I am being a cheapskate for now!

Is there a secret to opening the fixture without breaking it? I need to check mine on the 2004 Meridian but I don't want to break something I shouldn't.

Wagonmaster2

 

[SCVJeff]

Not really... If you turn the light on you will see little light slots, carefully pry one of those. If you've used it at all, it's burnt, so don't feel bad if you kill it.

 

[Tpflyer]

Based on my experience, I'm not too sure you can open it without breaking it. It is made in China out of some really brittle plastic. There are two small ears that hold the lens on and one of mine broke off when I tried to pry it open. What I will say is that it was in the middle of winter and it was below freezing so that may have contributed to the brittleness. It may be more flexible if it is warm but pry very gently. Like someone already mentioned it is probably burned already anyway and you will want to replace it. They are pretty cheap to replace. I bought my replacement from Lichtsinn Motors online. They stock them! Just buy a new one and experiment with the old one.

 

[Chuck 1935]

Solved the problem and works great !!

www.autolumination.com

Utility Light
Item # ho-44-2015 15Led
Color: 12 Volt
Lens: Cool White Leds

$12.99 USD​

Plus $5.00 shipping

 

[rgrimm]

I am replacing the ceiling fixtures in my 07 Journey with some fixtures I plan to market. Please take a look at the recessed light fixture that I removed from above the control panel in the galley. This scares me to death and more the reason all the light fixtures are coming out as soon as possible. The last picture is the LED replacement bulb I adapted to the factory fixture. I have also designed replacements for the florescent tube fixtures. I'll have more pictures to come after I get every thing installed. The factory installed bulbs are too hot. has anyone else seen this type of heat build up in their lighting?

(I realize this is an old thread, I just wanted to offer a different replacement fixture as a solution) - I seldom used this lite in my Journey because it got so hot. After reading this thread I took a closer look at the fixture and realized the lite socket was broken. Actually the two pins the socket was attached to were broken. And yes the fixture was all brown (burnt) so I need to replace my entire lite fixture.

Instead of replacing it with an exact replacement I decided to change the style and went with this (photos #2 and #3 below). The new Fixture (including the LED Bulb) was $20 from Amazon - Amazon.com: Gold Stars GW21500 RV Reading Light MR16 Base LED Bulb 12v Satin Chrome: Automotive

- Russ

Here's the Original (hot) Lite

Here's my replacement

It is hard to show in a photo, but this light is much brighter than the original Haligen. And it.s nice that I can adjust where it points.