Our Mci 5A has the old 18" fluorescent lights. They have been slowly dying. Conversion done in 1983.
The new led lights have a much smaller footprint plus the led's are so hard on the eyes. So...
I "gutted" the electronics of the old lights and installed the new Led fixtures inside. This allows the original "cracked ice" diffuser covers to be used. No harsh led's to irritate the eyes, no old screw holes, plus the "shadow footprint" of the old lights on the ceiling is a non-issue. I even wired them to use the original switches.
They look and work amazingly well. (450 lumens) There isn't anything on the market like the end result that I could find.
Biggest bonus of all... I paid $20 each + free shipping...
Don & Sheila
Instead of the blueish sunlight LED, make sure to get warm or soft white-it'll have color just like an incandescent light.
These are cool white 6500 k color. Great white light compared to the old floro's. The cracked ice diffuser makes all the difference. Without it the lights hurt our eyes to look at.
Whether LED of even fluorescent, we always go for 2700K color temp. As Tom said, that's the same as incandescent. I'd be curious to see how you did your lights. Did you use LED strings or something else?
Lin, they make a led replacement tube that fits right into a fluorescent light fixture. I used one led light to replace two fluorescent tubes, it was brighter, didn't need the ballast resistor, and you can rotate the tube somewhat to direct the light to where you want it.
Quote from: Lin on September 10, 2016, 12:05:03 PM
Whether LED of even fluorescent, we always go for 2700K color temp. As Tom said, that's the same as incandescent. I'd be curious to see how you did your lights. Did you use LED strings or something else?
I bought enclosed units that have 2 led strips, clear cover, and switch. mountable as is. They are approx. 15" X 4" 450 lumens. I mounted them inside the old Trimline fixtures.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-15-450LM-LED-12V-Interior-Light-Fixture-White-Cargo-Camper-RV-Trailer-Boat/232045149944?_trksid=p2047675.c100037.m2107&_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D37570%26meid%3Dda22257347c24985839d2b362c7a0d85%26pid%3D100037%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D7%26sd%3D232045148534 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-15-450LM-LED-12V-Interior-Light-Fixture-White-Cargo-Camper-RV-Trailer-Boat/232045149944?_trksid=p2047675.c100037.m2107&_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D37570%26meid%3Dda22257347c24985839d2b362c7a0d85%26pid%3D100037%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D7%26sd%3D232045148534)
Halo LED lights 650 lumens each from Home Depot. Dimmable (they are dimmed in this photo) and warm just light incandescent bulbs. Very very happy with them.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160911%2Fa75abaa924823f521f8179d6dfd18910.jpg&hash=c41a3df4dd22f3fcf349fa70f6ddcfe821ecc97f)
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Quote from: Scott Bennett on September 11, 2016, 04:43:13 AM
Halo LED lights 650 lumens each from Home Depot. Dimmable (they are dimmed in this photo) and warm just light incandescent bulbs. Very very happy with them.
Do you an inverter for light when you are not hooked to shore power?
I bought a strip of LEDs off eBay - All of my fluorescent lights are 12 volt, so replacing them with LEDs was easy.
I made a 'Z' channel to position them where they would provide more light. They are located behind a panel to provide indirect lighting.
No they Run on generator power
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Gary Throneberry ("Garhawk") had some LED's on his bus - the distributor gave him some different ones to try. His interior is brown and gold and the warm color looked good. But I liked the "cool blue" and my interior colors or blue and blue-grey. I went with the cool blue in my bus and I love it. But it's a personal choice and different condition situation.
I put LED bulbs in puck lights. Got them from RVLED website - prices moderate (not low but OK), service good.
Mine is an old conversion. I still has kerosene lamp lighting. I think LED's are just a fad so I am waiting a while to see if they are still in use then I may upgrade mine. The good thing is that the kerosene lighting is very easy on the eyes. :D
I have cool white in my bus. Got one of each and let wife decide; happy wife happy life.