Lighting troubles

Kmikesell · 09-22-2021, 02:35 PM

Howdy folks....Fist time posting.

We are the proud owners of a new (to us) 2006 TM 2720 SL. She is in pretty good shape and I have been sprucing her up a bit. Although I am new to a TM I am no neophyte. I have owned three pop up trailers, so I know my way around a little.

Q: I was trading out all of the 1141 bulbs for LEDs and I noticed that the two lights that are under the from storage cabinets were not working. I looked at the wiring diagram in the "Owners Manual" and see that they are on their own circuit with a switch at the front vent. All seems well and good, any ideas where a ground might be?

Any help would be appreciated

.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 09-22-2021, 04:06 PM

I don't know offhand where the ground is, but I will say that I have had problems with the light switches in the front shell corroding a bit, such that, when closed, they don't make sufficient continuity. This is more of an issue with LEDs than the incandescent bulbs because the LEDs draw so much less current, and so the resistance in the corroded switch is sometimes enough to not power an LED at all, but an incandescent will seem fine.

So you might check the voltage before the switch. If there's voltage there but not the socket, the switch is at fault.

Dave

**Kwantau** · 09-22-2021, 04:38 PM

Make sure that the switch located in the right hand vent as you face the front of the TM. It is a small switch that puts power to both of the lights. Mine switch is black in color and right on the forward inside edge of the vent. Hope that fixes your problem. It is a common problem that newbies have. Good luck.

Kmikesell · 09-23-2021, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwantau

Make sure that the switch located in the right hand vent as you face the front of the TM. It is a small switch that puts power to both of the lights. Mine switch is black in color and right on the forward inside edge of the vent. Hope that fixes your problem. It is a common problem that newbies have. Good luck.

BINGO! (What a newb!)

I looked up the schematic in the "Owners Manual" and saw the switch.... LOL

**Kwantau** · 09-23-2021, 02:45 PM

I'm glad that you found it. Easy fix.

Kmikesell · 09-27-2021, 09:30 AM

After taking her out for our first shakedown trip I discovered another problem. Exterior lighting. The outside light at the Curbside front works....But the amber "door" light, front light and street side "dump light" do not....What gives?

**Bill** · 09-27-2021, 01:17 PM

The three lights that are out are on a common circuit. The curbside light is on a different circuit. As a quick start, pop the lens off all three of the failed lights, and remove and replace each bulb. They are subject to corrosion, and this may rub the corrosion off.

The fact that the whole string of three is out suggests a single problem.
1. There may be an interior switch for these lights, on the wall near the door. I'm sure you've made sure it is ON. (The lights may also have an individual switch on each fixture.)
2. A common problem is a bad ground. A quick test is turn on all the lights, pop off the lens of one of them, get a short piece of wire, touch one end of the wire to the shell of the bulb and the other end to a known-good ground, such as a screw protruding through the aluminum skin of the trailer, or the cut edge of the hole in the skin (which is ground). If the problem is a bad ground, this will light up the lights.
3. There is a possibility that the master switch is bad. Pull the switch out of the wall - this will expose the two wires that carry the power to the lights. Do not let these terminals touch the aluminum skin at the edges of the hole. As above, get a short piece of wire and touch the ends to the two switch terminals (and NOT to ground, which would blow a fuse).

Let us know what you find.

Bill

Kmikesell · 09-27-2021, 01:58 PM

There ARE three out, but according to the schematic all but one are on the NON switched circuit and of the two curbside lights the amber light closest to the switch is the one NOT working. If you look at the picture all the ones in green are out.
https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...pictureid=2092

**jagizzi** · 10-02-2021, 07:36 AM

Is that "Owners Manual" that you talk about online somewhere? I would love to have something like that to reference as we rebuild our 2005 2720.

**Bill** · 10-02-2021, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

There ARE three out, but according to the schematic ...

I hope you are having some luck with the issue. I should point out that although the schematic is helpful, it is not to be taken as gospel. Over the years, TM added some outside lights and removed others, and modified the wiring to accommodate. As is true in most RVs, and in contrast to automobiles, changes can happen at any time in a model year, instead of only on model-year boundaries. As a result, there is no single schematic that is guaranteed accurate even within a model year.

Bill