Interior Lights Problem (Roo Hybrid)

[Wayfarer]

Obviously some little part ain't working right.  Problem is, I can't figure out which part it is.  Up until our last trip everything electrical was working fine as far as lighting goes on our Rockwood Roo Hybrid.  All lights on/off as they should.  When we arrived at the campground the light that turns on with the switch by the door...the light in ceiling in front of sink (in Roo) would not come on.  The outside "porch" light which works off the same light switch panel worked fine.  Also, the light over the dinette was not working.  All other lights worked as designed.  Because we were on top of a mountain in Arkansas and the wind was about gale force we did not spend time looking for the problem.  The next morning I checked fuses - all good.  Checked wiring I could see and nothing seemed out of place.  The second day of the trip the light just outside the rear bunk decided not to work.  Yes, I also checked all bulbs and all were good - even switched bulbs with those lights which were working to be sure.  Later in the day I noticed the bathroom light would come on very[/i] dim and then in a few seconds light up to normal.  

When we got home I started checking switches and wiring.  Found nothing obviously out of place, but after taking switch loose from wall and checking it with a bug light, then removing ceiling plates and checking connections, etc., things worked when I screwed everything back in place. ()

I didn't do anything that I know of.  Didn't remove and replace any wires.  Didn't find anything out of place or connections loose.  Didn't do anything I know of to correct the problem.

Does this make sense to anyone?  I'm happy all the lights are burning normally again, but am afraid this might happen again.  

Any suggestions?

[rccs]

It sounds to me like you had a bad connection at the switch, either loose or the switch itself not working good. I was an electrician for a appliance store for 29 years and ran into similar problems with house wiring. Sometimes it could drive you to drink because it worked fine after checking to see what was wrong without actually finding the problem. One thing that was a problem more times than not was switches or receptacles that the wires were just pushed into holes in the back rather than screwed in place. Many times the push connections just didn't make a good enough connection and just moving the switch a little would re-possition the wire enough to make it work. If the switch you checked out has the wires just pushed into holes in the back to make the connections that was most likely your problem. If that is the case it would solve future problems with it by replacing the switch with one that has screws to make the connections.

[mike4947]

Intermitten electrical problems are really a b*tch. We've found it rairly a wire break or a problem in a place you can't reach.
Our families solution to these is to break out the screwdrivers and retighten EVERY connection we can reach.
The one that does worry me is that one that came on dim and then light up fully. That shows that most likely heat was generated and that made the connection. Pay particular attention to that fixture. We've found that type of "short" can cause heat damage and that's not a good thing.

[Wayfarer]

Thanks to both rccs and Mike4947 for your replies to my post.  Since original post things have changed a bit for me:  Emergency Room, 5 days in Hospital following almost complete collapse of respiratory system.  Looks as though I'll be laid up for awhile as even thinking of moving completely zaps me.  Electrical problems will naturally have to wait...but will hopefully get fixed sometime down the road.

Meanwhile, I will be lurking around the boards but not likely doing any posting.
See y'all....whenever.....

[tgawel]

Thanks to both rccs and Mike4947 for your replies to my post.  Since original post things have changed a bit for me:  Emergency Room, 5 days in Hospital following almost complete collapse of respiratory system.  Looks as though I'll be laid up for awhile as even thinking of moving completely zaps me.  Electrical problems will naturally have to wait...but will hopefully get fixed sometime down the road.

Meanwhile, I will be lurking around the boards but not likely doing any posting.
See y'all....whenever.....

It is probably a ground wire that is loose or a bad connection. The tip off was, you mentioned that the lites were dim for a while (clasic bad ground wire) and then came back on. I just fixed a problem like this for my neighbor's trailer. His brake lites would come on then off and when they did work they were dim. A bad ground will drive you crazy. I would check all of your ground connections (it is probably on the chasis of the trailer) to make sure they are clean and tight.