Camper rear light power draw + Voltminder

[SWbySWesty]

So I plugged in my voltminder and everything is honky dory. I turned on my camper light to do some stuff and the Voltminder starts beeping. Every time I turn on the rear light (3 bulbs), I lose an entire volt out of the circuit. Yikes

Will the LED kit cure this? I'd like to not have to hear the Voltminder when the light is turned on.
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1986 Westy - Billie Jean
A Westy with a Jeep heart (Pura Vida)
www.theadventurebrigade.blogspot.com - Latest update: Johnson Valley - Nov 22, 2011

[erdonline]

Each of those bulbs draws nearly an amp, so you've got nearly a 3-amp draw total in that light. I think because of the amperage draw and the long path the current travels, you'll have a temporary voltage drop while the light is on, causing the Voltminder to alarm. This is compounded by the fact that if you've got the Voltminder plugged into the cigarette lighter, you've already got a bit of reduced voltage as the current is first travelling through old wiring from the battery to the fuse panel and then on to the outlet.

Using LEDs would help, but I would also consider wiring the Voltminder directly to the battery. I suspect that your voltage there will be higher than at the cigarette lighter. You can check out all of this with a digital voltmeter with probe leads first.

Ed
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'85 Vanagon Westfalia
'84 Vanagon 7-passenger
'98 Mexican air-cooled Beetle

[syncrodoka]

If you turn on all of the bulbs in this LED kit you will pull 1/4 of 1 amp. If you are turning on just the camper light the draw is cut in half.
http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1239_138/camper_interior_led_bulb_kit.html
You can see why the LED kits are great at extending your battery when they pull so little power and put out more light than stock bulbs.

[SWbySWesty]

Does anybody have the high power LEDs? I'd be open to increased light with the higher power ones.
_________________
1986 Westy - Billie Jean
A Westy with a Jeep heart (Pura Vida)
www.theadventurebrigade.blogspot.com - Latest update: Johnson Valley - Nov 22, 2011

[Timwhy]

[j_dirge]

VC has a bright set as well.

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1241_138/camper_interior_high_output_led_bulb_kit.html
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-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.

-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5

[SWbySWesty]

I guess I should have been more specific. I know where to find them; however, does anyone have them installed?
_________________
1986 Westy - Billie Jean
A Westy with a Jeep heart (Pura Vida)
www.theadventurebrigade.blogspot.com - Latest update: Johnson Valley - Nov 22, 2011

[j_dirge]

[teej]

The LED's are great. The VC kit IIRC only is offered in cool white. I have the hi-power in the driver side courtesy light (only place we feel the hi-power is needed but that is just us, and we have other aux. lights too) and a little one in the map/glove box light. These two bulbs are from van-cafe and are cool white. However, from superbrightleds.com you can get the LEDs in different colors. We went with regular power in warm white for the 3 festoon bulbs in the cabin light. Plenty of output for us, and we prefer the warm white. If the front bulbs ever burn out in our lifetime, we'll replace with warm white too. There are also some good recent threads on flexible LED lighting strips. Have fun!
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[SWbySWesty]

Thanks, I just wanted to know if they really put out more light than both stock bulbs and regular LED. Sounds like they do. I'll grab some and see how they are. It would be great to have them brighter to be able to read and throw a further light for digging in bags and stuff.
_________________
1986 Westy - Billie Jean
A Westy with a Jeep heart (Pura Vida)
www.theadventurebrigade.blogspot.com - Latest update: Johnson Valley - Nov 22, 2011

[PDXWesty]

[SWbySWesty]

I have two relatively new Optima deep cycles under the rear bench...They test just fine. I'll use a circuit tester to see if the voltage drop occurs at the battery as well...
_________________
1986 Westy - Billie Jean
A Westy with a Jeep heart (Pura Vida)
www.theadventurebrigade.blogspot.com - Latest update: Johnson Valley - Nov 22, 2011

[1621]

[vwlovr]

i just installed some LEDs in my new CHC top. I used the same lights i used to re-light my entire RV (which i full-time in). i've bought a LOT of LEDs from superbrightleds.com and by far the best for interior lighting is the flexible 3-chip warm white strips. the 3-chip is key. i have the 1-chip cool white strips i initially bought for in-cabinet lighting in my RV and their output doesn't compare to the 3 chips...

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index...FFLSX3.htm

the 3-chip lights are NOT cheap, but they are insanely bright and the light color is perfect.

here's some pics of them in my van, i just ran then in some aluminum C channel from home depot...

i run them all through this LED dimmer and have a switch inline that turns off the rearward lights...

http://www.creativelightings.com/LED-Dimmer-12v-Rotary-PWM-Dimmer-Click-On-Off-p/cl-kr6-dim.htm

if you want i can put my multimeter on it tonight and see what the draw is.