Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
The round dome light covers over the table are rusty and nasty. Catalina Direct only has bronze color, and they are ridiculously expensive. Has anyone found a creative solution with this?
Dome lights for your cabin don’t need to be costly. It depends on your style and brightness requirements really.
My all-time favorite cabin dome light replacements are Dr LED Mars dome light. It has a metallic looking bezel/body, a built-in on/off switch, and fits the old space pretty well. It’s round rather than square, but it’s approximately the same size. Not totally inexpensive, you can see them on Defender’s website, or other boaty websites. Beware if you have any water that can find it’s way into the light. This might have done in your old lights. But, keep them dry and you’ll be fine.
Another option is to search for “RV 12VDC dome light”, you will find dozens of lights you can buy. But! Watch out for quality - read the ratings carefully!! Some may sound too good to true. They are.
Also, check the Lumens ratings. More lumens is better. 350-400 Lumens should be fine. They should produce approximately 45W of equivalent incandescent light for about 3.5-4W of LED power.
If you’re not worried about 12VDC power consumption, you can still buy 25W incandescent fixtures too.
Often, RV dome lights DO NOT have built-in on/off switches. You’d have to add an in-line switch at the panel or next to the fixture.
A final option. You can go to home centers and department stores and purchase small battery-powered LED bar lights. These generally require 8 AA batteries, which is 12V. They are pretty bright and easy to mount. But, I don’t like AA batteries, unless they’re rechargeable NiMH or LiFePO3. If, however, you’re handy with a soldering iron, you can wire them up with red and black #18 or #20 AWG stranded wire and connect them in place of your old fixtures.
I added one in the quarterberth area and it’s transformational. I also installed one in my car’s trunk. Works great.
boeray 3.7" / 95mm Dish Led Dimmable Recessed Ceiling Super Slim Light with Touch Button 12 Volt DC for RV Caravan Boat Cabin Kitchen, 3000K Warm White, 200lm,IP67 Waterproof
Wow! That looks like a really nice light fixture. Flat, bright and dimmable. How did you install it, as a surface mount? How did you run the wiring? It says the fixture is controlled by touch, so is there no on/off switch? And is each one individually controlled?
Wow! That looks like a really nice light fixture. Flat, bright and dimmable. How did you install it, as a surface mount? How did you run the wiring? It says the fixture is controlled by touch, so is there no on/off switch? And is each one individually controlled?
Looking at the images in the link above it appears you press the little button on the edge of the lens to turn it on to 100%. The next 3 presses reduce it down in steps to as low as 10%. Final press turns the fixture off. Appears each fixture is controlled separately.
I wonder if one could wire several together with a dimmer switch inline? If so, guessing you'd turn all fixtures on to brightest setting and use the dimmer to control the brightness?
Hi, yes you got it right as to how it works. Wiring was simple, just connect to the existing wires from the old light. Here's how it looks in the cabin compared to the original light.
My interior dome lights are also rusted and corroded. I believe water intrusion through the mast light wiring was the culprit although I haven't got in there very much yet. I was able to buy a couple NOS lights from the Catalina Yachts store nearby to replace my originals with. Honestly, heavy plastic housings with an LED bulb seems like a better solution.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.