Galley Lights

[Steven Harper]

I have a 2008 Beaver Contessa.  I have two of the galley lights above kitchen that are burned out.  I can not figure out how take cover off to replace the light bulb.   Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Karen
712555

[Mike Humble]

Take a very thin blade, like from a penknife, and gently pry the small center metal ring down.  You may have to work it a little.  The center ring and glass will come out.  Be careful, if the glass falls and breaks it may be hard to find a replacement.  Then just replace the light and put the ring and glass back.  The fixture is keyed, so make sure the prongs line up in the openings.
Mike

[Jim Shaw]

Karen,
If they are like the ones on my Monterey which are small round covers you just turn the covers counterclockwise to remove them. They take a halagon bulb. The bulb just pulls pulls out with no turning. When installing the new bulb do not touch it with your fingers, use a napkin or scott towel so you do not get any oil from your fingers on it. It will just push in with no turning. Put the cover back on by turning it clockwise. The bulbs can be bought at Lowes or Home Depot I use the 10 watt as the 20 watt would probably burn the lense. Hope this helps.
Jim

[Jerry Carr]

Hi Karen

The heat from the Halogen Bulb is the root of the problem the glass covers tend to bond to the ceiling material. by prying down the fixture, the result is you break the bond at the ceiling and it will allow you to get a better grip on the glass.

I have changed some of my lights to the LED style, the LED will not generate any heat, the down side in these bulbs are that they cost a lot!

You can buy the LED's on line( we have a link on the form for this) and the other issue is the LED really does not like to be in a dim circuit they will flicker.

I have used the LED bulbs in areas that I never dim like above my desk, they work great and you can not tell them from the halogen(be sure to get warm white led bulbs)

The LED's don't use any power to speak of should you enjoy dry camping and they don't produce any heat. The hockey puck style lights will fit right into the existing fixtures with no problem.

I don't think I would change all of our lights for 2 reasons, first we do dim some of the lights and we camp in parks that include electricity therefore we are not paying the bill's so to speak the cost of the LED if you buy them domesticly is around 10-12.00 per bulb, if you do buy from the web link they are a lot less(1.30 each + shipping)  then Halogen.

[Joel Ashley]

I'd be careful prying the ring down, Karen.  Though Mike may be correct, I've never tried to remove them that way.  As Jerry said, the outer ring can be pretty tight to the ceiling material, for whatever reason.  Some installations have the fixture inset a millimeter too far, so the outer ring is too snug to the ceiling and aggravating to try and twist off and on even with only an eighth of a turn.  

You may have to work at it a bit, trying to grip the thin outer edge, or try some tacky material such as anti-slide sheets commonly used in RVs, and get the ring to turn counterclockwise until it disengages and drops down.  That said, Mike's idea might work if only to pry an edge slightly down enough to get an adequate edge grip for turning;  but that may only serve to make the engagement ears tighter, whereas pressing upward should help disengage them.  Each fixture will have its own balance point and proper technique.

As Jim said, install new bulbs without touching them - as with halogen home or automotive lamps, skin oil on the glass will burn in and shorten their lives.  In the past, I've just opened the package and grasped the bulb through the package to insert it in the fixture.  The two little bulb wires can be a bit hairy sometimes to align correctly and insert, but don't force them.  Using LEDs that don't get hot and rarely have to be changed may be an optimal solution, though I've heard some complain they aren't quite as bright.

-Joel

[Jeremy Parrett]

Read my post on replacing these halogen bulbs/lamps with LED . The bronze  ring can be turned anti clockwise and it may need some persuasion. You must remove the 3 screws from the fitting when you get the lens and ring off . Prying   off the backing plate will allow you to hold the socket when you installed the LED .  Make sure all the spade connections are clean when you pull the wiring loom down to make this job easier.If the LED will not light,reverse the connectors.  Good luck.

[Gerald Farris]

I think that there is a little confusion here with the late model lights like the ones in the 2008 Contessa referred to in the original question that Mike Humble referred to in his answer and the earlier model ones with the gold twist lock bezel. There are several different designs of the halogen light fixtures.

Gerald

[Bill Sprague]

I have good luck with gripping the twist lock bezel using cotton work gloves with rubber palms and fingers.   Some are better than others.  The ones I like the best are made by Atlas and have grey rubber.  They are useful for gripping filters too!

[Joel Ashley]

Thanks for clearing that up, Gerald.  I had presumed all bezels were twist-off.

My Bad
- Joel

[Tim Westman]

Karen, we had a similar problem in our '09 Contessa.  At Moultrie, I had a Monaco tech replace one that I simply could not get off.  He indicated that pushing up while turning CCW usually helps.  He did indicate that ceiling lights can be problematic due to the downward pressure caused by the ceiling material.  Hope this helps.