interior lighting

[loz]

im working on converting a panel van to a camper, would like some help with the rear interior light. is it possible to connected a new set of wire's to the rear light wires to created a new light in the middle of the van?? or would i have to set a whole new wiring thing from the battery??? have no idea about electric's, any info or examples would be greatly appreciated!!!
many thanks!

[shanco73]

What your suggesting will work but if you have some kind of 12v distribution board ie a zig or similar you will be able to use a seperate feed, if you have no distribution board i would be thinking about how much load is going to be going through these thin wires, although if the light you are fitting is not to big should be fine.

Alternatively you could run a new fused wire in from the leisure battery to the new light.

Thats what i think anyway, im no autoelectician.

Rgds
Steve Hancock

[Mocki]

the interior lighting has a "ring" running all the way around the top of the van in models such as the carvalle , feeding from the fusebox up above the door and right round to the cab door oposite, so no reason why you cannot mimic this for your own lights, just use sensible lights, and the corret size wire, ideally fused inline if you are adding more, although your van may already have this loom....

[loz]

thanks for the replys guys, i love this site, everyone seem so willing to help!!!!!
i should be getting a 110 am leisure battery tomorrow, and hook up a switch rely thingy, im i rite in thinking that there will be the battery then wires from the + to the distribution block (a multiple one) and then from the distribution block i can fit say a light, another light, cd player, house hold plug etc??? the distribution houses the fuses???? i think that joining onto the existing light wires another light is not needed when i have a leisure battery??

many thanks

[CovKid]

Deck lighting can work really well here. Seen a similar thing done in a T2 - lots of sets available with miles of cable from big DIY stores and as you're using 12V you won't need the transformer that comes with them. Consumption is milliwatts so you could run them for days and still start the van afterwards. Few ways you could mount them but off the top of my head, how about a length of plastic pipe screwed to tops of pillars, running the length of the van and cutting holes in the side of the pipe to sink the lights into?

[andisnewsyncro]

thanks for the replys guys, i love this site, everyone seem so willing to help!!!!!
i should be getting a 110 am leisure battery tomorrow, and hook up a switch rely thingy, im i rite in thinking that there will be the battery then wires from the + to the distribution block (a multiple one) and then from the distribution block i can fit say a light, another light, cd player, house hold plug etc??? the distribution houses the fuses???? i think that joining onto the existing light wires another light is not needed when i have a leisure battery??

many thanks

All sounds good apart form the "house hold plug" idea, it will get confusing if you rewire 12v things onto a 13amp plug to fit into the circuit. You can get small square 12v plugs and sockets from caravan dealers, which are a bit more stable than the cig lighter type sockets, if that's any help.

CovKid's suggestion of deck lights is a good one, look good and very low power drain from your battery. The only other thing is what battery are you going to use, it was rumoured a few weeks ago that someone had found a leisure battery to fit under the seats, or are you fitting it somewhere else? If it's going under the front seat be very careful about the dimensions.

[loz]

so i will be able to wire up a socket, aslong as its a 12v???
will be hard to use a 'house hold' socket so get a 'special' type from a caravan shop???

my writing is trebbile 2day, a wee hangover can really mess ur skills ups!! i bought a leisure battery, numax 100am, which lucky fitted under the passenger seats! the rumors are true!! was amazed saved me a whole lot of space for me bench!!

[loz]

now i have a lesiure battery and relay etc, im looking for lights to hook up. im i right in thinking that they need to be 12v lights? could anyone explain? i like the idea of the small deck lights, but they seem small, and havnt seen any in the flesh, do they produce a good amount of light?? if anyone could post examples or types of lighting, would be amasing!!

[CovKid]

Plenty of light - can vouch for that. LEDs (which are what are used in most deck lights) come in varying ranges of brightness - and colours. I note that one ebay seller is offering 100 LEDs plus fitting bezels - at a fraction of the prices charged for deck lights. Think I might get some of those. I've already fitted deck lights into the rear and buddy seat and these are great overnight as you don't need to stagger around in the dark and they don't place any real demands on your battery, leisure or otherwise. In theory you could light the inside up like a night club if you wanted to.

Other options for the energy conscience include those small solar powered garden lights (even £1 shops do them now). I'm sure with some ingenuity these could be adapted to fit.

Type 'deck lights' on ebay - big choice if you want something ready wired but more expensive that way. Otherwise its not too hard to solder a bank of LEDS into whatever you want to light. Also big DIY stores often have deck lights on display so you can guage their brightness but believe me the high-brightness ones are VERY bright. Just don't buy LEDs from Maplins - way expensive there. On ebay, they're well, cheap as chips:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... w=100+leds

For more info on LEDs, look here: http://led.linear1.org/category/led-basics/