Causes of LED strip flashing during operation
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LED strips have appeared relatively recently and have already managed to gain consumer confidence, their popularity is rapidly gaining momentum. LEDs are designed for a large number of hours of operation, but, like everything on the planet is still imperfect. Why does the LED strip blink for many is a question, we will tell you why there is such a phenomenon and how to fix this problem.
Danger
Do not leave without attention such a breakdown! You can not be in this room for a long time. You read or work, write papers or sit at the computer, your eyesight is concentrated, and the flickering light aggravates the load. Develops increased irritability, fatigue, therefore, the strain on the whole body increases.
A working LED strip of constant voltage (12 V TO 24 V), in contrast to AC power strips (220 В), gives a low ripple factor of less than 4%. According to the norms of SP 52.13330.2016, this result is quite safe for humans, we can say the optimum. Therefore, it is necessary to respond to flicker immediately and eliminate the cause of the problem.
Causes of flicker
With a stable voltage supply, the service life LEDs is very high. Often blinking LED strip because of a breakdown in the power supply unit. Most manufacturers of Chinese adapters deliberately overestimate the characteristics, so that the product can be sold more expensive.
Similarly affected by poor contact in the circuit. There is a definite tendency: if you observe the LEDs, you can understand what the cause is. Uneven flickering indicates more likely a bad contact, and uniform about a faulty controller or power supply.
Power supply
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Start with the main thing - follow basic safety rules. All work should be done with the power completely disconnected. This will save your life!
Power supply - the most important element of the circuit in the LED lighting of the room. It is worth focusing on its selection. Only a high-quality device will provide a stable and reliable supply of 12 V - 24 V voltage to the consumer.
Failure can be a capacitor or diode bridge - precisely because of their presence in the design of the power supply and get a constant voltage at the output. Elimination of such faults requires proper qualification and skills, and not everyone will be able to cope with such work. In such a case, it is necessary to replace the power supply unit with a new one. To check its functionality is simple: disconnect the unit and connect the circuit to a known good unit.
Never try to do the opposite! Do not connect a faulty power supply unit to a working consumer. You may damage its performance.
The power supply can fail because the load is too high. Check the load consumption and measure the current in the circuit. Two 5 meter long ribbons connected together can draw currents in excess of 12 amps and consume more than 250 watts of electricity from the power supply. Power supply reserve should be more than 20% of the applied load.
Video: Luminaire troubleshooting. Power supply capacitor replacement.
Controller
Inexpensive RGB controllers fail quite often. The fact is that they are designed using low quality radio elements, so the life of such equipment - a maximum of one year.
Due to the malfunction of the controller such phenomena as independent switching on and off, blinking of the LED strip can be observed. It is also worth noting the control panel: check the effectiveness of its work, replace the power supply, if the problem is not eliminated, perhaps its chip is in disrepair and it is the cause of the problems.
It is recommended to check it by excluding the controller from the circuit. Connect the directly connect the LED strip to a power source and make sure it is working.
Connection points of the strip
The cause of incorrect operation of the strip can be a bad contact of the connections. The following is considered correct connecting LED strip connection in two ways:
- Connector - this connection is considered reliable and easy to handle. Unfortunately, the disadvantage of such a connection is oxidation. The contact stops conducting electric current and becomes a source of additional resistance. Such a breakage is simple to fix: clean the contacts with alcohol and reassemble the connection, in case the contact has crumbled, replace it.
![LED strip connection with a connector.]()
Connecting the LED strip with the connector. - Soldering - is considered the most reliable and durable connection of conductors and provides a quality contact. Such connections very rarely fail, mainly the reason is the improper handling of flux and solder during installation. It is forbidden to use acidic media when soldering. Over time, the acid destroys the contacts because it cannot be removed completely. Link to the video below on how to properly solder the LED strip.
Video lesson - "How to solder LED strip".
One LED.
All 12 V and 24 V DC strips consist of so-called modules. The module consists of three LEDs and a resistor. If one LED fails, the other two LEDs start to blink. In this case A burnt out module needs to be replaced. When replacing, it is best to use the same type of ribbon.
Ribbon blinking on shutdown
We have considered the possible problems of the operating mode, but that is not all. Readers have asked why their ribbon keeps flickering after shutdown. We will tell you what the reason is and how to fix it.
Most likely, the LED strip is connected through a wall switch with an indicator light. It is this indicator LED of the switch that has this effect on the strip. This is not a myth, but a reality. Connect the power supplies directly to 220V, not through a switch. Do not use such switches for LED lighting.
Useful video: Eliminating blinking LED lights.
Conclusion
Experience suggests that problems with LED technology arise very rarely. It is most likely due to poor installation and a faulty power supply. Even if something does happen, after reading this article, you can safely say that you know what's wrong.
When purchasing a ribbon. - Make sure you have extra. You can always cut off the extra piece and if necessary replace the blown part with it, then you won't need to choose the color and type of tape. Choose strong power supplies and you won't have to replace the equipment every year.
