Inside Lights Going from Bright to Dim

aquiring signal

Well-known member
We've had our Bighorn for about 6 months now and one thing I've noticed in the evening is all of a sudden the ceiling lights will go brighter or dimmer, like the voltage just changed.:confused:

This is while we're connected to shore power. I check the battery water level every month. Does this happen to you? Is it normal or a sign of a battery, inverter, or other electrical issue? I don't recall having this happen in our previous trailer. Any ideas?
 

mrcomer

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)
Even thoug you are connect to shore power your lights still run off a converter for the 12 volts. If by chance you turn on something on the 12 volt side that uses alot of amperage such as a Fantastic fan or maybe the furnace fan you will notice that dimming effect on the lights.

I suppose you might have a bad converter.

Just a thought.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I believe the lights get brighter when the battery voltage get to the point where the charger kicks in causing the lights to get a bit brighter. Mine do that too. I think they become dimmer at a much slower rate as the battery discharges because I really don't notice them get dimmer.
 

aquiring signal

Well-known member
I believe the lights get brighter when the battery voltage get to the point where the charger kicks in causing the lights to get a bit brighter. Mine do that too. I think they become dimmer at a much slower rate as the battery discharges because I really don't notice them get dimmer.

Sounds like it may be normal which is okay, I just wanted to see if it was just mine and therefore a problem. Thanks!
 

linuxkidd

Member
Ray is right,
The charge controller monitors the battery voltage. Instead of running at full on charge all the time, it actually lets the battery trickle down and then charges it back up ( floats the battery ). So, over time as the battery discharges, the voltage on the 12volt side of the coach drops. When the battery charge controller senses the battery voltage has dropped enough, it cranks its output voltage up so that it is higher than the battery voltage, which causes the battery to take a charge. The side affect of this is that the coach lights get brighter.

So, everything is 100% normal. Nothing wrong at all.
LK
 

davelinde

Well-known member
The charge controller monitors the battery voltage...

So, everything is 100% normal. Nothing wrong at all.

This bugs DW so I just did a search and found this thread. You confirmed my assumption... but to be clear.

About once a week (we usually notice it at night when several lights are on) the lights will go dim, then get bright, then go dim and cycle. It's happening now and I also noticed that the fan on the converter kicked on a few times for a few seconds. I'd guess the cycle is about 1 minute dim, 1 minute bright and repeat and it seems to go for a while (or until the cycle makes us so nutz we turn off the lights and/or go to bed)

I guess there's no way to stop this? eg "it's normal"... Going to bed now...
 

andy

Member
I have a 3600rl an my lights do the same thing. I checked for loose connections all over my coach an found none .so now I know that it normal . My last camper the inverter charged all of the time
 

creeper

Well-known member
The charge controller has three settings.

1. Normal
2. Storage
3. Boost.

You will see changes when it goes to boost. From Normal to boost if you're using a lot of lights. Or storage to boost, but that should only be once when you first start using it. If you're only using a couple of lights then you shouldn't see much dimming at all as normal charge mode should be enough to handle the upkeep.

You can add a Charge wizard to the controller to manually control which mode it is in.

SANY0055.jpg


The item in the lower right is the charge wizard controller I added. For this model is was $24 For previous models it's $10

I can tell what mode it is in by the blinking light. 1 ever second-Normal... Steady- boost and 1 ever 8 seconds storage with off gassing mode.
 

N9MB

Member
I think what you are seeing is normal. Every camper I have owned has done this to some extent. I cured the problem in the Bighorn by replacing all of the incandescent fixtures in the living area with 12 volt fluorescent fixtures.
 

delwin46

Member
We have a 2009 Landmark Agusta and our lights get bright also . We figured it was when the converter kicked on... now I know it sounds normal
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
I think what you are seeing is normal. Every camper I have owned has done this to some extent. I cured the problem in the Bighorn by replacing all of the incandescent fixtures in the living area with 12 volt fluorescent fixtures.

I got 7 of those waiting to be installed. You'd be amazzzed at how long the battery lasts...even with ALL the lights on.

Now, all I need is gumption and a ladder....though I do have to admit that I have not figured how to get my one legged fanny up said ladder.:eek:

Any of those come with a hydraulic lift?
 
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