Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Do you remember that familiar radio jingle from a national motel chain where the announcer says hell
leave the light on for you? That same jingle ran through my head one evening when my wife and I took
our final just before bedtime trek to the campground restrooms. The glittering lights of that building
were a bright beacon of comfort awaiting us before we snuggled in for a night of restful camping slumber.
At least it felt that way until our return trip.
We had chosen a well-wooded location several campsites from the restroom complex so as to avoid its
gleaming all-night outdoor illumination. But as we returned to camp the dense landscaping, coupled with
non-existent moonlight, rendered our Aliner invisible. It never dawned on us to take a flashlight; our
campsite was only 5, no 7, wait 6, yeah 6 sites from the restrooms. Or so it seemed. Our single porch
light projected its beacon in the opposite direction of our travel, so it wasnt much help amidst the trees,
shrubs and other foliage.
Obviously we found our way back, but it encouraged me to add three more porch lights, one on each
side of our trailer. I complicated the project by insisting that my new lighting system have the ability to
turn on each porch light individually or all four at one time. An evening of sketching a wiring diagram
resulted in a relatively easy weekend project. Examine the list of materials, supplies & tools necessary to
deliver this system to your trailer. This project is a 3 on a 5-point scale. If youve successfully used a
drill and soldering tool you should have little problem with this project.
electrical tape
two small (#6 or #8) bolts & nuts for mounting 4PST switch
Procedure:
Read all directions several times before starting the first step !
1. Determine locations for your three additional porch lights. Aliners have upward- and downwardangled exterior walls at the front & rear of the body, so you may wish to elect mounting your porch
light upside-down in order for light to be projected a sufficient distance away from the camper. Just
remember, every light fixture mounted upside down will perform better & longer if the existing switch
on the fixture is relocated to the underside of the light fixture to reduce moisture/water invasion into
the fixture (causing corrosion and the eventual ruin of the switch). See figure #1. The red square is
the taillight. The other three shapes represent a typical porch light fixture and the direction of its
emitted light. The blue dot
represents the typical location of the rocker switch on the porch light
fixture. If you choose to mount the light fixture upside-down I recommend you either relocate the
4-Way Exterior Porch Lights Project
switch to the underside of the fixture and fill the now vacant
hole, or install a porch light fixture without a switch and install
a separate switch into the fixture. The first option involves
more work, but finding a porch light without a switch may be
harder to locate.
[ Relocating the switch is not too hard a job. Remove the switch;
place masking tape inside under the hole; fill hole with autobody
filler; sand when dry; paint. Trace shape of switch hole on other
side of light fixture; cut hole (drill hole & file to shape); insert
switch in hole. ]
Fig.1
bed platform
converter
battery
battery
Fig.2
Fig.3
<bulb socket
Fig. 4
10. (see Fig.4&5) In determining the location of this switch there are
several considerations: easy access to switch for operation,
distance of wiring necessary to reach switch, complexity of
running wire to & from switch (e.g. must wire go across
doorway?). In my camper I chose to locate the 4P/ST switch on
the side of the cabinet next to the door. I do not store anything
there, so I can easily operate the switch, plus I would use the
porch lights most often before & after going to restrooms each
evening. I also chose to install a small LED indicator light so I
would be reminded if I left the porch lights on upon retiring to
sleep.
Fig.5
Fig.6
11. (see Fig.4,5,7) The installation of the 4P/ST switch is easy. Make
sure you have access to any area behind where the switch will
be mounted, i.e. if the cabinet houses the microwave, can you
remove the MW to install the switch? After determining the exact
location for the switch, make a template of the switchs face
including the slide area of the switch and the two holes
necessary for mounting. Transfer this information from the
template to the cabinet. Drill the holes for the two mounting bolts
& nuts and the rectangular hole for the switch. I chose to drill one
hole and file that hole to fit the slide path of the switchs handle.
4-Way Exterior Porch Lights Project
Fig.7
battery
battery
do
converter
or
12. (see Fig. 4 & 6) Solder six wires to the switch, preferably with
different color wires for easier identification. One wire (ex. red)
will be the input (power coming in) from the power source. Its
copper wire has been stripped and run through & soldered to all
terminals in that row. The other four output terminals have 5
wires soldered them. (In this example the orange & yellow
wires share the same terminal.) Make all wires 6-10 in length
to allow for wire stripping & connection via wire nuts. Four of
these wires will go to the porch lights. One of the wires will tap
off to power the indicator light. Mount the switch on the backside
of the cabinet with the slide switch protruding through the slot
and attach the switch to the cabinet using two small bolts & nuts
(#6 or #8 small machine screws* [*technical term for small
bolts] ).
13. (see Fig.7) My power source for the 4P/ST switch was the
original 12VDC porch light (doorside of trailer near wheel well).
After tapping into that power source I ran a supply wire to the
side of the cabinet (see red line). Note: Leave extra wire in
case of repair or modification. (You may choose to select a
different locaiton & power source.) The blue lines represent
the wires from the 4P/ST switch to each new porch light. The
red dot is the LED indicator light. NOTE: Each light fixture
needs to be grounded. I prefer to use wiring for grounding
rather than mere attachment to the trailers body. To keep the
diagram simple the ground wiring has not been included but is
necessary. One ground wire looping the trailer is sufficient. (The
other colored lines represent wires installed in step #4, fig.2.)
Connect the fifth wire to the LED indicator light & install.
14. Again, I prefer to solder wires going directly to switches and light fixtures and attach these wires to each
other via wire nuts. The use of wire nuts allows for easy disassembly and reassembly if troubleshooting or
repair is called for. Soldering wires to fixtures (where screw connections are not available) provides a better
connection against vibration that naturally occurs with trailer movement.
15. Prior to reinstalling the microwave, etc., test your wiring to see that everything operates as expected. If not,
trace where your wiring is incorrect. A first step should be to check for proper grounding, which accounts for
the majority of 12VDC wiring problems. Also check to see if your abundance of wires have not become
attached to the wrong circuit. Though I have not mentioned this previously, it is important to check your wiring
at various points in the installation process rather than waiting until the end of the project to find youve made
an error.
16. Assemble all items necessary to complete this project: reinstall microwave, cabinet countertop, seats &
cushions, etc. Make sure all wires are attached to some framework or other stable surface to prevent
dangling wires that will eventually pull apart and break. Use insulated telephone wiring staples to secure
wires, or other suitable plastic or metal fasteners. I do NOT recommend the use of simple construction
staples from a staple gun as these staples have potentially sharp edges that often cut through the plastic
insulation on electrical wires leading to cut wires or powered wires grounding and shorting out. Do not
secure with adhesive tapes (nor duck tape).
4-Way Exterior Porch Lights Project
17. Though this project involves simple electrical circuits and basic wiring, soldering and woodworking skills, it
can become rather involved if you allow it to get to that point. By reading through these directions several
times, closely scrutinizing the diagrams, and determining your personal trailering needs, you should be able
to decide if this project is worth your efforts and expense. We have used this lighting system for several
years and have found it to be worth my time and resources as it has enhanced our camping enjoyment and
nighttime safety.
HAPPY CAMPING ! !
Wiring diagram of
porch light system
common / to ground