Quote:
Originally Posted by dwall
Update: I checked everything that was suggested and all checked fine. I noticed my ground wire coming from the battery to the frame looked rusted and loose. I cut the wire and put a new connector on it. Cleaned the frame off and replaced. All is working now. Not sure if this is the whole problem but it’s working now. Going on a week long trip in 2 weeks so I’ll see. Thanks for all the help.
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Yep, a bad ground would show exactly what you experienced. Electricity has to FLOW, like water. If you are pumping more INTO a circuit than can get out the other end (the ground) then the devices in that circuit will not have a full flow through them, hence, a dimming effect.
I surmise that changing the bulbs to LEDs exacerbated the problem, since LEDs don't make light the same way as a resistive bulb does. An LED creates light by exciting electrons. A resistive bulb has an element that heats up to a white hot temperatures, and light comes from that heat. That is why LEDs aren't hot, but traditional bulbs do.
So, with your old bulbs, there WAS a dimming, but you didn't notice it as much because LEDs require a particular threshold voltage to operate, otherwise they work with a noticeable dimming or not even at all. A resistance bulb (one with an element wire inside) will glow even with a small amount of voltage flowing through it.
Once you fixed the ground, you allowed all the full potential voltage (13+ volts) to flow through your lighting circuits.
Glad you got it fixed!
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