LED Clearance Lights

[MikeT]

I now have 4 clearance lights that have failed.  I recall seeing one out on our last trip but today there are 4.   There is 12.8 Volts at each light so I am at a loss as to why these lights have gone out.  On the first light I uncovered it was full of aluminum shavings.  It seems that they drilled the holes after installing the fixture...go figure!  The leds and board appear to be well sealed so the aluminum shavings are probably not the issue.  I did see that 1 of the 2 "bulbs" on the fixture was very faint and then went out after being moved.  Water? I did wash and wax the trailer last week.  The silicone sealant peeled off with great ease (why do they do this?) so it could be that these are just crappy lights and need to be replaced.

Is 12.8 volts too much for an LED?  I understand LEDs require a regulated voltage of 12 volts so I am wondering if this could be a potential (excuse the pun) problem.
When the trailer is plugged into my tow vehicle is the power being directed to the converter (regulated??) or directly to the circuit for the clearance lights, or is this a non-issue?

I did see another post where the problem was the junction box on the tongue.  I don't think I have that problem and if I did I would suspect the whole series of lights in that circuit would be out.

If anyone could shed some light (sorry) on this it would be appreciated.

Cheers

Mike

[Merlin]

I'm also continuing to have clearance light problems. In my case, the cause is the lousy clamp type connectors used on the wiring. Tracking down which one has gone bad is a huge hassle each time it happens. A bit of moisture in those connections can quickly lead to corrosion and a bad connection. Maybe in your care a bad sealing job lead to water in the connectors after the trailer bath?

12.8V is fine for the lights, as is the +14V they may receive when running off the tow vehicle charging system.

The clearance lights are very cheap. For those that failed, replace the lights using new connectors (crimp type with heat-shrink covers) and good RV sealant and they will likely be fine. That's assuming the 12V circuit feeding them is ok. In my case, all the upper lights are out due to multiple bad wire connectors. Which reminds me, I need to go fix those again!

[DavidM]

The cover just pops off. Use a screw driver to get under the edge and pry it off.

LED lights last longest when the voltage is near what they are designed for. But modern lights and I hope the Optronics are, have voltage regulator circuitry that keeps it constant.

If you google Optronics MCL40RB you will find suppliers of them.

David

[Pinstriper]

If your running lights have anything in common (see what I did, there ?) with the interior electrical system, something is wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

I put it down to standard electronics failure. The more on/off cycles they go through, the closer they are to failure. Plus....crappy electronics to start with, exposed to the elements, vibration, gamma rays and zombies. That pretty much covers all the possible explanations.

[MikeT]

Thanks All
Today, there were 5 out (I suspect I counted wrong last night).  The Optronics catalog is great, it also mentions the voltage should be 12.8 which is what I am seeing.  I'll see if I can source this brand here and try it out.  It is odd that this is happening to the rear clearance lights only which could be suggesting a bad circuit or short somewhere, probably in the hardest possible access point but for now, I will assume poor quality and try a few new lights with good connections and sealing and see how it goes.  I will also check for Zombies!

Cheers

Mike

[Merlin]

Don't know if this will help, but one of the bad connectors I found that affected my clearance lights was in the raceway in the shower. My theory is that raceway is ofter pretty humid and may have led to bad connections in those clamp connectors. That may be your case if the rear upper lights are the only ones affected?

[PaulJ]

Pin you forgot area 51, that may kill them LOL

[Powder Hounds]

FYI, we started having issues with our lower marker lights. I removed all the covers and was shocked on how much dust there was inside the housing. Spent an hour with a tooth brush cleaning them all up. So far so good but one did  eventually fail and had to be replaced. Purchased the same brand just to keep things easy. One thing I remember when changing the failed light was I thought the original unit was wired or maybe modified a bitt compared to the same new light. Can't remember the specifics but I did find it odd. I even went back and bought some more replacements just in case. I still have one original unit that they installed with the wrong colour LED and they decided to just put the correct lens cover on. I think we have the only rig with a pink marker light.

Cheers,