2017 model 29VE - Interior light questions

[bobby5832708]

Those who own a 2017 model 29VE could you please answer 2 questions pertaining to the interior lights:

1. For the 2 LED "dome" lights above the driver and passenger seats, do you have switches next to those lights to turn them on and off? Or are they operated by a switch somewhere else in the coach?

2. On the passenger side there is a switch marked "Map Light". Specifically, what light does this switch operate on your 29VE?

Thanks in advance.

[202235f]

Don't have your model, but mine has a map light switch on the driver's and passenger side that operates the 2 dome lights.
Hope this helps......

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by bobby5832708

Those who own a 2017 model 29VE could you please answer 2 questions pertaining to the interior lights:

1. For the 2 LED "dome" lights above the driver and passenger seats, do you have switches next to those lights to turn them on and off? YES Or are they operated by a switch somewhere else in the coach? NO

2. On the passenger side there is a switch marked "Map Light". Specifically, what light does this switch operate on your 29VE? The single light above the Passenger's head

Thanks in advance.

Please ignore my response if I should have ignored your question... I don't have a 2017 29VE.



I do have a 2019 29VE and I use to stay in Holiday Inn Expresses before I bought my RV

You didn't ask, but it is implied your question is really does anyone know where the switch is above the driver side? If so; that switch is part of the scroll dim light adjustment that is on the far left of steering wheel on dashboard; the part of the switch pad that turns headlights on/off; park etc. If you think in terms of turning (scrolling) dimmer as bright as possible that light above driver head will come on; if it is built like the 2019 29VE

Good luck.

[Reniram]

that switch is part of the scroll dim light adjustment that is on the far left of steering wheel on dashboard; the part of the switch pad that turns headlights on/off; park etc. If you think in terms of turning (scrolling) dimmer as bright as possible that light above driver head will come on; if it is built like the 2019 29VE

Good luck.

That is the same setup on my 2018 29ve kinda comfusing why they didnt install a switch as they did for the passenger side l dont know.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Reniram

That is the same setup on my 2018 29ve kinda comfusing why they didnt install a switch as they did for the passenger side l dont know.

IMO; they designed it to be what you can do in most vehicles today on drivers side. Scroll to dim lights on the dash display and make it as bright as possible and with a little click on the map light comes on. One less switch and one less place to fumble around while driving. Also it does not disturb the passenger if they sleeping or something.

For passenger it is obvious, switch labeled map light; so they may work when it is dark and not affect the driver.

[Ken Mitchell]

I have a 2018 29VE The switch on the passenger arm rest controls the light over the passenger seat. The other light over the drivers seat should be controlled by a rolling dial next to your headlight switch. This dial also controls the brightness of your instrument panel.

[Reniram]

Thats all very well but when you are sitting at your fav rv resort 3 or 4 months of the winter like I do in Florida, the drivers seat becomes an essential part of the living area and is rotated 180* and if you need a little o/head light to read your book... that silly rotating switch is virtually impossible to get at...if the switch was located by the windshield shade up / down switch life would be so much better....Don't these designers ever go camping and realize their mistakes..and don't even mention the sewer drain hose that won't fit through the hole until you modify it...I feel better now..thanks.

[202235f]

What Reniram said.....

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Reniram

Thats all very well but when you are sitting at your fav rv resort 3 or 4 months of the winter like I do in Florida, the drivers seat becomes an essential part of the living area and is rotated 180* and if you need a little o/head light to read your book... that silly rotating switch is virtually impossible to get at...if the switch was located by the windshield shade up / down switch life would be so much better....Don't these designers ever go camping and realize their mistakes..and don't even mention the sewer drain hose that won't fit through the hole until you modify it...I feel better now..thanks.

That is why I quit reading a long time ago

We have never spent more than 2 weeks in our RV so that thought hadn't registered yet. Seem like it would be pretty easy to disconnect the wire from the Ford switch and add wiring and your own switch. I replaced 10 of my switches through out the coach with dimmer switches which made a big difference, because I always though the coach was too bright. Oddly the one we are discussing was the only one that had a dimmer which I thought was pretty cool. It is amazing how folks see things from different perspectives.

[bobby5832708]

Thanks everybody for the replies. I've got this dome light/phantom power draw situation figured out now and it seems that I'm on the receiving end of some previous-owner-modifications.

Really Long story:
I bought this 29VE from a consignment dealer last September for a fantastic price. One reason for the price was that every time I went to view the RV the batteries were completely flat. A jumpbox and charger temporarily brought things back to life. Previous owner also had a Noco charger hard-wired to the Ford battery. However, with the RV sitting on a dealer lot without being plugged in, there was nothing to keep the Ford battery and the house batteries charged and the slow drain from the dome light circuit flattened the batteries in a few days (didn't know about the dome light issue at the time, only that something was draining the batteries). So I bought the RV anyway (I do all my own work and needed a challenge). And the price was right.

At home the RV is always plugged in. Using a diode and a Chrysler-style ballast resistor to allow some electricity to flow from the house batteries to the Ford starting battery now ensures that the Ford battery doesn't go dead (I did that mod to my previous RV and for 14 years the starting battery never went dead). I used the RV a couple of times and everything seems fine as it's always plugged in or driving.

A couple of months later I am replacing the radio speakers and just to the back of the opening for the left speaker I find a socketed relay that is warm. I took off the top panel of the rectangular opening above the drivers seat and to the rear of the speaker for better access and also find a 5 amp fuse in the wiring bundle. Being loose and just flopping around, the relay was the source of an intermittent tapping noise when driving over rough road. But why was it energized and warm? What did it control?

Eventually I found that the dome-light-on position on the headlight switch dimmer roller actuates a relay on the Visteon instrument cluster which actuates the relay in the upper area next to the left front speaker which applies power to the dome light circuit in the base of the bed which allows power to flow to the dome lights into which the previous owner had installed rocker switches to switch them on and off. Also, the right dome light circuit that is controlled by the switch on the passengers side was cut and capped and the remaining wires rewired to get power from the left dome light circuit (I knew this wasn't factory wiring because of the Scotchlock wire splices).

So apparently the dome light switch on the dash was left on and both dome lights were individually controlled by the rocker switches next to them. Problem being that, with the dome light dashboard switch being always on, the relay on the instrument cluster and the relay near the speaker were always consuming a bit of electricity and there was no visual indication because both dome lights were turned off by the owner-installed rocker switches. There's the small power consumption that was draining the batteries after a few days.

The fix (so far):
I removed the relay near the speaker and jumpered the power in and power out wires and just use the previous-owner-installed rocker switches to operate the dome lights. I also installed a small light in the top panel of the rectangular compartment above the driver and wired it to the wires that used to actuate the relay so I now have a visual indication if the dashboard roller switch is in the dome-light-on position. Maybe I will rewire the right dome light back to how the factory had it so the co-pilot can operate it via the switch to the right of her seat or maybe just add another light to be controlled by that switch. Yeah, maybe someday.

Next, I will have to start another thread about the phantom power consumption of the outdoor speaker system.

It's always something!