wiredawgchief
Active Member
We have little children who can't turn on lights in the RV. Yesterday, I installed a wall light switch in the bedroom. It took about three hours. I installed it in the rounded wall to the left as you open the bedroom door. You will need an RV rocker light switch with cover, two side feed female slide connectors (for the light switch), about 10 to 15 feet 16 to 14 gauge stranded wire, wire cutters, square head screw driver, utility razor knife, 8 each twist wire connectors and a lot of patience. 1. I have bedroom A/C unit, so I unscrewed the thermostat, where I found 4 each solid wire conductors spare running to the A/C unit. 2. I removed bottom cover off of A/C unit where I found the thermostat cable with the 4 each spare wires. 3. Next, I unscrewed the two ceiling lights and let them hang. 4. Next, I used a fish tape to run from the ceiling light closest to the A/C unit. This took me about an hour and a half. There is a small hole drilled into the A/C frame that is larger large enough (at least on mine) to stick one finger through. I then spent that time trying to wiggle, push, twist the wire from the hole at the light to the hole at the A/C unit. I had the fish tape only a couple of inches from my finger for about 30 minutes. You can feel through the ceiling where the fish tape is by jiggling the tape. 5. After I succeeded in getting the fish tape through, I pulled a green and red 14 gauge stranded wire from the A/C unit to hole at the light (note don't cut the wires off of the spool yet). Have about two or three feet. 6. remove the wires from the fish tape and go to the 2nd ceiling light. 7. This step took me about 40 minutes. I fed the fish tape from the right ceiling light to the left ceiling light. Be patient...it will act like there is a support in the way, but there is not. 8. Keep about a foot loop at the left ceiling light and pull the two wires to the right ceiling light. 9. Pull about 6 inches of wire to the right light. 10. we now have wires that can be spiced at both lights, the A/C unit and the wall where the thermostat is. 11. The rounded wall between the bathroom and the bedroom is hollow with no interference framing. 12. I first knocked on the wall from the A/C thermostat at the same level around the wall to about two inches from the bedroom entry door frame. 13. I used the light switch plate to mark where to cut the switch hole. 14. Carefully cut out the hole with the utility knife. 15. From the thermostat hole, feed the fish tape across to the light switch hole. 16. Pull the red and green wires through the light switch hole back to the thermostat, leaving about 6 to 8 inches of wire at each end. We now have wires from the switch to all the way to the lights, so we will make the connections. When working with any electric jobs, always work from the end towards the power. We will use the red wire to feed battery at the lights to the switch and return it to the lights using green. 17. At the light switch, strip about half inch wire sheath from both the red and green conductors. Feed the stripped wire onto the female connectors and crimp. Run the two wires through the face plate and attach the faceplate to the wall with two screws. Now push switch into faceplate until clips lock. 18. At the A/C thermostat, pair up the four wires and twist together to make 2 each twisted pair. Place red wire from the wall switch with one of the thermostat pairs and use twist connector to bind them together. Do the same with the green wire from the wall switch to the remaining thermostat pair. Note the colors of the thermostat wires as you will need to twist the same ones together at the A/C unit. Push wires into wall and reattach thermostat with two screws. 19. Find the brown thermostat cable and strip sheath back to use the four unused wires and strip 1/2". Pair up the wires the same as you did in at the thermostat. Match the red wire with the same thermostat wires as you did at the thermostat and splice them together with electrical twist connector. Repeat with the green wire. Now, push wires up, use some duct tape to seal the hole around the electric cable feeding the A/C unit and re-attach the bottom of A/C unit with eight screws. 20. At the light closest to the A/C unit, cut the black (battery) wire about half way to factory splice. The red and green wire have a loop hanging down from the ceiling. Cut red and green wires at bottom of loops (about in half) where all of the wires are approximately the same length. Strip about 1/2" from black, red and green ends. Splice both red wires to the black wire (battery) running from the ceiling and splice the two green wires to the black wire coming form the light. Push wires into ceiling and re-attach light to ceiling. 21. At the ceiling light furthest from the A/C unit, cut the black wire approximately halfway from the factory splice to the light. At this point, you can either cap off the black wire (battery) feeding from the ceiling or do like I did and splice the red wire to it. Then, splice the green wire to the black wire coming from the light. Replace the light back into the ceiling. Voila, you have switched lights from the wall. I'm getting ready to move the bathroom light switch from over the toilet to the hallway wall, install a hallway light switch, wall switch for the lights in the garage toilet and one for the lights in the garage. I'll let you know how those go. The little guys should be able to turn lights on and off. Cheers and have fun, Ron
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