Door Entrance Light

[bleedmichigan]

So dumb question. I have a 2011 3750FL Hickory (second owner) and on the main door by the kitchen there is a plunger switch in the frame. I am trying to figure out what it turns on and how to make it work. Any one have any ideas? I assume it’s the entrance light but which light is that?

[beeje]

I have an 2011 3455sa. That switch operates 2 overhead lights (in our unit) that turn on when the screen door is opened. If the lights are turned off at the light they will not come on. If the switch is bad a new one can be found from trekwood rv.

Its a great feature IMHO. For dry camping I added an additional switch on the wall just behind the door switch, so I can turn the lights off in the daytime when they are not needed.

[bleedmichigan]

Originally Posted by beeje

I have an 2011 3455sa. That switch operates 2 overhead lights (in our unit) that turn on when the screen door is opened. If the lights are turned off at the light they will not come on. If the switch is bad a new one can be found from trekwood rv.

Its a great feature IMHO. For dry camping I added an additional switch on the wall just behind the door switch, so I can turn the lights off in the daytime when they are not needed.

So which switches have to be on? What lights does it turn on in your unit?

[bleedmichigan]

Checked the switch and could not get it to ohm out so I took it apart and cleaned it. Reassembled it and it ohms perfect. Put it back in and nothing. So I unscrewed the panel for access to the wire mess behind the control panel and found that someone had cut the wire from the momentary switch. So now the question is how do I wire it back in?

[beeje]

There is a switch in my panel that is labeled door? If that switch is turned on then the lights that come on when the door is opened come on with the door closed. There are 2 overhead lights that are controlled by the door switch. There are also switches on the 2 lights that can be set to one or 2 bulbs on or completely off.

Sounds like someone disconnected the wire because they did not want the lights to come on when the door is opened. I am assuming that you can hook the wire up to + 12 volts in the panel.

[bleedmichigan]

Originally Posted by beeje

There is a switch in my panel that is labeled door? If that switch is turned on then the lights that come on when the door is opened come on with the door closed. There are 2 overhead lights that are controlled by the door switch. There are also switches on the 2 lights that can be set to one or 2 bulbs on or completely off.

Sounds like someone disconnected the wire because they did not want the lights to come on when the door is opened. I am assuming that you can hook the wire up to + 12 volts in the panel.

Yeah that was my guess. Now just to figure out which wire to tap into where

[beeje]

There should be groups of hot wires, wire nutted/crimped together behind the panel. Tap into one of those. On our unit some of the switches operated items that made no sense. For example; the front pin box light came on with the side scare lights. You can easily rewire by simply moving wires around. There are hot wires going to the switches and from them to each location. I took the wire that went to the pin box light and moved it to the step light switch. Now they come on together.

[jcurtis934]

On my unit the lights in the ceiling by the door and kitchen come on when the door opens. The switch on the panel labeled ceiling does not have to be on. This is what in logic is known as the "or" function. Either the switch OR the door opening switch will cause the lights to come on.

[bleedmichigan]

Originally Posted by jcurtis934

On my unit the lights in the ceiling by the door and kitchen come on when the door opens. The switch on the panel labeled ceiling does not have to be on. This is what in logic is known as the "or" function. Either the switch OR the door opening switch will cause the lights to come on.

I know one wire will go to the middle of the ceiling light switch on the panel then to one side of the door switch. What I have not determined is where the other wire goes on the switch I believe it goes to the top of the switch is the on position it I am not 100% sure

[Sac Colorado]

Hi, after you fix the wiring also make sure that the fuse for those lights is intact and good. When we bought our used Montana the same lights wouldn't come on in our unit. The previous owner apparently didn't want the lights to come on when you opened the door so he pulled the fuse. In our unit there is a single 12V fuse for those 2 ceiling lights. I put a new fuse in and haven't had any problems.

[laverdur]

The plunger switch in my Monty turns on 3 ceiling lights in the kitchen area. Things to check: 1) are the switches on the ceiling lights turned on? 2) is the plunger switch still functioning? The plunger switch is a 5 amp switch. In my Monty with 3 two-bulb pancake lights connected to it, the total current draw was 7 amps. The result: the switch had two heat-related failures before I replaced the 3 pancake lights with LED type and then replaced the switch for what I hope is the last time. Current draw with 3 LED lights is just under one amp. Of course, all of this assumes that the bulbs in the ceiling lights are good.