Light over battery compartment

[CamillaMichael]

The outside light (forward over the battery compartment) of our 3400 no longer comes on when the toggle switch is moved. Have any of you had a similar problem and if so, how did you fix it? By the way, on our trip back to Florida I was amazed to look in my rearview mirror and see the light on!! Must have left the switch in the on position one of those times I was moving the toggle switch back on forth in frustration!

[c214dick]

Sometimes I have to play with the switch to get it to turn on. I have had to replace the bulb once. I have considered replacing the whole unit.

[Rondo]

Maybe Exnavydiver will be in here soon and tell you where he got the switches. He gave me one since mine is not working either and he said it was the switch not the bulbs. When I get a chance to change it out I'm going to put an LED in it also!

[1retired06]

With all three of our Montanas, the light in question quit. All three. No problem with any others. I have a flashlight in the storage compartment.

[jimcol]

Switch failed on mine. Took the old one to an electronic supply house and got a replacement for about $4. New one will fail again as that location gets lots of water when towing in the rain. Jim

[Ray Audet]

Like many of you, my switch stopped working as well. I went to a number of marine and auto shops trying to get a waterproof switch that would fit. No luck.
My solution: Got a new fixture and then fabricated a silicone cover for the switch.
1) I got some silicone and made a piece about 1 1/2" by 3/4" and close to 1/4" thick. Let it sit overnight to gel. I then cut out a rectangle in the center of it about the size of the switch.
2) Made another piece of silicone about the same size but only 1/8" thick. The second piece acts as the cover and is siliconed to the first piece and trimmed to size.
3) The switch cover was then siliconed to the light fixture. It is now waterproof and working well.

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

With all three of our Montanas, the light in question quit. All three. No problem with any others. I have a flashlight in the storage compartment.

:-)

[Exnavydiver]

I got the switches at CW, about 3 or 4 bucks, I buy several when I find them..

[CamillaMichael]

Many of our components are fragile to the touch...found out the hard way! The first time I noticed the problem, it turned out to be a bulb (perhaps water caused it to fail?)...in taking the lense cover off, I managed to distroy the cover. It actually crumbled in my hand with very little pressure. In looking at the switch in question, it does not appear to have an obvious path to removal...guess I will attempt, very carefully, to remove it and get a replacement, because I do agree with the notion that water has damaged the switch. Thanks for all the input! If I should come up with any useful info in the process, I will update...again, thanks to all!

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by Exnavydiver

I got the switches at CW, about 3 or 4 bucks, I buy several when I find them..

Great idea...my "tool box" is starting to look like a tool bin!

[DQDick]

X2, soon CW will be calling me to check part availability.

[Exnavydiver]

the switches push from the inside, If the lens crumbled it may be time for a new fixture too..

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by Exnavydiver

the switches push from the inside, If the lens crumbled it may be time for a new fixture too..

The fixture, minus the water, seems to be solid...just the lense cover was VERY brittle...of course, when I try to insert the new switch, maybe the fixture will crumble too!

[snfexpress]

Ours hasn't worked since we had the problem with a short in the front cap supplying the bedroom. Took it apart today and spliced hot to hot and then found I had a bad ground, as well so hooked one up to the insides of the fixture. I brought the hot off of the remote supply to the scare lights which allows us to turn it on either with the remote or inside at the hallway panel.

[CORattler]

I replaced the switch and all has been good on ours. I picked it up at the RV parts department place I frequent. It's available as a switch or complete replacement of the entire light unit.

[CamillaMichael]

While at Camping World today, I looked at their assortment of toggle switches...there are enough of them that I will need to remove the switch first and then take it back to Camping World to get the right switch...actually, the Montana is at Camping World at this very moment, but that is another story....

[CamillaMichael]

Two days ago I purchased a toggle/rocker switch from CW and was able to get over to storage today to install it...well, after getting it out of the package I discovered that the toggle/rocker switch did not (toggle/rock)! Feeling a little like OZZ where everything that can go wrong seems to be going that way, I decided that rather than wait for another day to attend to the switch I would go back to CW to get a switch that actually worked...since I did not have the receipt for the defective switch I will have to attend to that latter (not that it represents very much money, it's the principle). When I bring back the defective switch I will trade it out for a spare to add to my parts locker. Thanks to the input here, the install went fine...did use female disconnects to attach associated wires to switch...that way when (probably not if) the switch goes again, it's a simple matter of unplugging the old and plugging in the new. The fact is, I have not used this light more than a couple of times...just hate to have broken things. Again, thanks to all for your input.

[Art-n-Marge]

I got a 12v replacement at Radio Shack. It was slightly different than the original (width and length), but a little shaving and some sealant around the switch and I was able to get it shoehorned into place. I will mention I went to a couple of Radio Shacks where I live - there's three or four within a decent distance of my location and the second one had a close enough rating and fit.

The new switch operates far better than the original. There is a definite click and the light goes on and off accordingly. To me, this was just another example of cheap OEM crap in an effort to gain profit.

I took the old switch apart and the metal contacts were a mess and while I could have just cleaned them, the plastic used for the "throws" were also worn down, so a newer $6.00 seemingly better quality switch seemed to be the better solution.

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

I got a 12v replacement at Radio Shack. It was slightly different than the original (width and length), but a little shaving and some sealant around the switch and I was able to get it shoehorned into place. I will mention I went to a couple of Radio Shacks where I live - there's three or four within a decent distance of my location and the second one had a close enough rating and fit.

The new switch operates far better than the original. There is a definite click and the light goes on and off accordingly. To me, this was just another example of cheap OEM crap in an effort to gain profit.

I took the old switch apart and the metal contacts were a mess and while I could have just cleaned them, the plastic used for the "throws" were also worn down, so a newer $6.00 seemingly better quality switch seemed to be the better solution.

Good thing (not-so-good) good sam did not see your old switch or you would be under investigation for "operator neglect!"

[BB_TX]

I am a little late on this one. But when mine quit early last summer I just soaked it with WD40. Has worked fine ever since.