Reasons for flashing LED strip during operation
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LED strips have appeared relatively recently and have already won the trust of the consumer, their popularity is rapidly gaining momentum. LEDs are designed for a large number of hours of operation, but, like everything on the planet, they still remain imperfect. Why the LED strip blinks for many remains a question, we will tell you why this phenomenon is observed and how to fix this problem.
Danger
Do not ignore such a breakdown! You can't stay in this room for a long time. You are reading or working, writing papers or sitting at a computer, your vision is focused, and the flickering light exacerbates the load. Increased irritability, fatigue develops, therefore, the load on the whole organism as a whole increases.
Good constant voltage LED strip (12 V - 24 V), in contrast to the AC tape (220 V), gives a low ripple coefficient, not exceeding 4%. According to the norms of SP 52.13330.2016, such a result is a completely safe indicator for a person, we can say it is optimal. Therefore, flickering must be dealt with immediately and the cause of the problem eliminated.
Causes of pulsation
Under the condition of stable voltage supply, the service life LEDs very high. Often the LED strip flashes due to a breakdown in the power supply. Most manufacturers of Chinese adapters deliberately overestimate the characteristics so that the product can be sold at a higher price.
Similarly, bad contact in the circuit also affects. There is a certain trend: if you watch the LEDs, you can understand what is the reason. Uneven flicker is more likely to indicate poor contact, and uniform flicker indicates a malfunction of the controller or power supply.
Power Supply
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Start with the main thing - follow the basic safety rules. All work is carried out with a completely disconnected power supply. This will save your life!
The power supply is the most important circuit element in LED room lighting. It is worth paying special attention to his choice. Only a high-quality device will provide a stable and reliable supply of 12 V - 24 V voltage to the consumer.
A capacitor or a diode bridge can fail - it is thanks to their presence in the design of the power supply that we get a constant voltage at the output. Eliminating such malfunctions requires appropriate qualifications and skills, and not everyone can cope with such work. In this case, you need to replace the power supply with a new one. Checking its operation is simple: disconnect the block and connect the circuit to a known-good block.
In no case do not try to do the opposite! You can not connect a faulty power supply to a working consumer. You may damage its performance.
The power supply can fail due to too high a load. Check the consumed load and measure the current in the circuit. Two connected 5 meter long strips can generate currents in excess of 12A and consume more than 250W of electricity from the power supply. The supply of the power supply must be more than 20% of the applied load.
Video: Troubleshooting a lamp. Replacing the power supply capacitor.
Controller
Inexpensive RGB controllers fail quite often. The fact is that low-quality radio elements are used in their design, so the service life of such equipment is a maximum of a year.
Due to a malfunction of the controller, phenomena such as independent switching on and off, flashing of the LED strip are observed. It is worth noting the control panel: check the efficiency of its operation, replace the power supplies, if the problem persists, perhaps its microcircuit has become unusable and it is it that causes the problem.
Checking is recommended to be carried out by the method of exclusion from the controller circuit. Connect direct the LED strip to the power supply and make sure it is working.
Tape connections
The reason for the incorrect operation of the tape may be poor contact of the connections. It is considered correct compound LED strip in two ways:
- Connector - this connection is considered reliable and easy to use. Unfortunately, the disadvantage of such a compound is oxidation. The contact ceases to conduct electric current and becomes a source of additional resistance. It is easy to fix such a breakdown: clean the contacts with alcohol and assemble the connection, if the contact has crumbled, replace it.
![Connecting the LED strip with a connector.]()
Connecting the LED strip with a connector. - Soldering - is considered the most reliable and durable connection of conductors and provides high-quality contact. Such connections rarely fail, the main reason is improper handling of fluxes and solders during installation. It is forbidden to use an acid medium when soldering. Over time, the acid destroys the contacts, since it cannot be completely removed. We will leave a link to the video below, on how to properly solder the LED strip.
Video lesson - “How to solder the LED strip”
One LED
All 12 V and 24 V DC tapes consist of so-called modules. The module includes three LEDs and a resistor. When one LED fails, the other two start blinking. In such a case you need to replace the burned out module. When replacing, it is better to use the same type of tape.
Ribbon flickering on shutdown
We've looked at possible problems with the working mode, but that's not all.Readers have been asking why their tape keeps flickering after being unplugged. We will tell you what is the reason and how to fix it.
Most likely, the LED strip is connected through a wall switch with an indicator. It is this indicator LED of the switch that has such an effect on the tape. This is not a myth, but a reality. Connect power supplies directly to the 220 V network, and not through a switch. Do not use these switches for LED lighting.
Useful video: Eliminate the blinking of the LED lamp.
Conclusion
Experience tells us that problems with LED technology are extremely rare. Most likely, this is due to poor-quality installation and a faulty power supply. Even if something does happen, after reading this article, you can safely say that you know what it is.
Buying a Tape - stock up. An extra piece can always be cut off, and in which case, replace the burned-out part with it, then you will not need to select the color and type of tape. Choose powerful power supplies and you won't have to replace equipment every year.
