42 thoughts on “LED Ceiling Lights for Van Conversion: Acegoo 12V (3 Watts) Dimmable Recessed Puck”

1. Great write up. Why not use lights that can be shut individually? Maybe sometimes you only need one light on instead of four? Did you Guys consider that?

   • We considered it but we didn’t go that route… personal preference!

2. Hi, I was wondering…You mentioned that with a 12v system you should wire the lights in parallel. Does that include wiring in parallel the strip LED lights to the puck lights?

   • Yep, especially if you have a separate switch for the strip LED.

3. Hey! So I followed your led design and went with all the same components. But now that I hooked my lights up they flicker and sometimes go out. What do you think I should do? Before they were just wired into my fuse box and never flickered… so I know it’s not my wiring..

   • Hum, you’re the first to mention this. I know if you wire the LEDs in series it doesn’t work, but parallel should work. I think you should check your connections to make sure the crimping is OK. That’s all I can think of…

   • That happened to me as well, one side flickered and the other was fine. At charging voltages the flicker slowed, but still continued. switch circuits and the other flittered, so the circuits are fine. I am asking for a new unit, maybe one they tested first?? We’ll see….

4. Do you have any photos from the rear of the van facing the front? I am interested in how you built the roof panels near the cab bulkhead and specifically how you secured the ends near the roof liner section and what this process looked like. Thanks!

5. I have had these wires in my van for almost 2 years now, but recently, one of them has been getting super hot to the touch. Have you had any issues with this?

   • What wire exactly?

6. How do you calculate the wire run length when wiring LEDs like this? Do you add the length of all the wires or use the length of the longest path?

   • We used the total length (positive+negative) and total amp. It’s oversimplification, but the current is so low it doesn’t really matters. For example 12V, 1.3A, 60FT = 16 AWG recommended. But we used 14 AWG because we had a roll of that.

     Hope that make sense!

7. Do you notice any detectable noise from the lights when using the dimmer? I bought the lights (through your link ) and a different dimmer on amazon. I can hear a faint Hugh frequency buzzing when not at full brightness, it’s subtle but that kind of thing annoys me. Have you noticed anything with the superbrightleds dimmer?

   Thanks guys!!

   • There is a very subtle noise, but it’s so subtle we barely hear it; so we don’t mind.

     Is your dimmer PWM?

   • Chris, you’re saying the lights buzz, not the dimmer, correct? Have you found a solution? That would annoy me as well.

8. Hey! I’m still confused on the wiring like many others as well. You have a wire going from the fuse box to the switch then up the wall and to the back of the van? Then you splice in each light on it’s own wires? How does the dual dimmer work if it’s not isolated from another set of wires. I think a quick post on this would be very helpful.

   • I just updated the wiring diagram above (under “Electrical Wiring” section). Does that help? I don’t think I can explain better, but if you still have question let me know!

9. Thanks, also looks like my other comment didn’t make it through maybe because it had a link. Do you know if those blue splicers are available on amazon? I found some that look very familiar but wanted to confirm since it seems like you use amazon links when possible

   • Thanks for trying, but the ones sold on Amazon don’t have gel to prevent corrosion. So we didn’t listed them from Amazon (here’s the link anyway: amzn.to/2JLpP2S).

     Thanks again for using our links, it’s much appreciated 🙂

     Have a good one!

10. Oh and if I wanted to have a dimmer in the front and the back how would that change the wire diagram, would both switches wire into the fuse box or would you splice between the first switch and the fuse box?

    • The easy way would be to make two separate runs; in other words, two switches = two fuses.

      Good luck!

    • Hi Chris –

      I am looking at doing the same thing in my conversion – basically the same setup used here but with a dimmer in the back that I can reach from the bed, as well as a dimmer in the front that I can turn on while walking in.

      I take Antoine’s comment to mean that there would be two separately wired systems – the lights above the bed on their own circuit and own dimmer, and the lights in the front on a separate circuit/separate dimmer.

      This would mean that the lights in the back can’t be controlled by the dimmer in the front and vice versa. Did you figure this out in a way that allows all the lights to be controlled by both dimmers or are is each set separate?

11. Hey Guys! In the final step of connecting the lights, it looks like you have some sort of quick connect/disconnect attached so that in the event the lights go bad you can swap in another without cutting wires. Am I seeing this correctly? Is that some sort of spade terminal? Thanks!

    • Hi Kipp,

      yeah we used 14-16AWG disconnect fittings (http://amzn.to/2GST16G); we folded the small LED wire a few times onto itself so it holds better into the disconnect fitting.

      Have a good one!

12. Hey guys! This website is awesome, we are in the process of building out our Promaster and it is all so exciting! I am working on the lights right now and have decided to go with the same lights and dimmer switch. Now the wire I am using to connect all the lights in parallel is 14 AWG, the lights are 22 AWG and switch 18 AWG, I will put a 5A fuse so that should not be a problem. Is that what you guys did? If so, I was also wondering how you connected the 14AWG main wire to the lights that have 22 AWG? Did you also use the quickslice tool for that?
    Thanks for the awesome website, this has been very helpful for me who is a complete newbie at this!! I can only guess the amount of time that you have spent on the website, and I cannot appreciate it enough! 🙂

    • Hi Marlene!
      Thanks for the kind words 🙂

      That’s correct.
      We used 14-16AWG disconnects (http://amzn.to/2GST16G) to connect the LEDs to the 14AWG wire; we folded the small LED wire a few times onto itself so it holds better into the disconnect fitting.

      Hope that helps!

13. Hi again,

    How hot do these lights burn? Would they be okay touching the EZ-cool? What about cloth?

    Thanks!

    Vlad

    • They’re warm, not hot. I can leave my hand indefinitely on them. I would not worry about that!

14. HI Antone:

    I have my acegoo lights ordered through your link (thanks!) as well as the dimmer switch from SuperBrightLEDs. But I’m still struggling (clueless, in fact) with the wiring. What type of wire (looks like it has a white housing?) did you use from the fuse block to the final light? And did you use the same type of wire to “T-off” to the three extra light?

    Looking forward, eagerly, to Part III of your electrical write-up — wiring, sockets, etc.

    • THANKS for using our links 🙂

      Each LED is wired in parallel.
      We ran a “main” 14AWG wire (similar to this: http://amzn.to/2x2nE8i) from the fuse panel to the dimmer, then to the last LED, and we spliced the main wire for each LED using this:
      https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/3M/804C.html

      If I recall correctly, it’s the same wire from the “main” wire to the LED lights.

      About part III of the electrical write-up, can you please define “etc”?! I need some inspiration..! Be specific and I will try to answer all your questions! Thanks! 🙂

15. Hi Antoine! Your build journal has been something of a Bible for me in planning my own build, thanks so much for the detailed directions and amazon links, very helpful! One thing that has been keeping me up at night (literally) is how to go about wiring the acegoo led’s in parallel…can you provide some pointers?

    Just looking at your photos it looks like you guys used quick connector spade terminals for each light fixture…how did you wire those into the main wire from the fuse box?

    Thanks so much for the information and best of luck on your upcoming road trip!

    • Hi Eric, so glad the website is useful!!

      We used 3M ScotchLok (with gel): https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/3M/804C.html

      I cannot really recommend those connectors; not that we had problem with them, but because I don’t think they are as reliable as the rest of our electrical system… we used them anyway because they are easily accessible and we could at worst re-do the connections.
      The proper way is to use crimp cap: http://amzn.to/2vrdH28

      So basically we run an electrical wire from the fuse box up to the last LED and we use the 3M connectors to “tap” into that wire to connect other LEDs.

      Hope that make sense!
      antoine

16. Not sure what journal build to ask this in, but could you tell me exactly how much interior height you have in your living space? (Walkway between kitchen area)

    Cheers.

    • I just measured 76.25″

      Antoine

17. Hey Antoine, what did you guys do with the lights that were already installed on the frame of the cargo area when you bought it? It looks like your wood paneling is going over them at this point. I’m trying to think of my plan of attack for it right now.

    • We removed the lights and the wiring as well; it quite easy to disconnect them from the main van harness (no need to cut the wire, if I recall. It’s just a plug).

18. Your website is fantastic. Definitely using for a primary resource in my build

    • Nice, thanks!
      Glad it’s helping 🙂

      • Hey Antione,

        Did I miss the page where you go into wiring of your lights? Have been trying to find a reliable method of stinging them up, no tutorials as clear as yours though… thanks!

        • You’re right, we still need to write about that!

          Each LED is wired in parallel.
          We ran a “main” 14AWG wire from the fuse panel to the dimmer, then to the last LED, and we spliced the main wire for each LED using this:
          https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/3M/804C.html

          Hope that makes sense?!

19. We bought the same lights for our van and are debating on installing dimming switches. With the dimmers you listed above, do they require additional on and off switches?

    • We REALLY use the dimmer a lot! It helps save power and create an ambiance too 🙂
      No need for on/off switch: off = sliders fully down.

      Cheers!
      🙂

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