Russ's 2.1 SED Auto now in Mandarin

[Ciaran]

I have some experience of multicolour LED strings.
Not my fault at all.
A year or so ago my youngest daughter decided to install a cinema room in her house.
The large room had no windows so lacked direct outside light.
Seemed a sensible thing to do.
Projector on one wall with the opposite wall painted as a 4m by 3m screen.
She had previously got her electrician to install LED spotlights, many with dimmers in all the other rooms.
These were playing up and those on dimmers failing.
Time and cost of free replacement was causing some friction.
When she presented the electrician with the low voltage multicolour LED chain strips for the cinema room he quit.
As all the mains wiring was competed we experimented with the LED strings run off a fused mains plug.
It was not easy positioning the LED strings to get the illumination as she wanted.
We ended up having to reflect the lights off the white ceiling.
The LED string had to be dead flat as a few degrees off and you got colour variation on those LED's.
Really noticeable on white and enough to annoy on other colours.
The results from 25 metres of multicolour LED strip are absolutely stunning.
Dimming is superb, she can set the ceiling to any colour, and running the coloured light patterns is time to leave.
The first control module failed after a few months (internal fault) but the exchange replacement is fine.

Wow John, sounds like you've had quite the adventure with LEDs, not your fault as you say!
Why did the electrician quit when presented with the colour strips? Was he worried about failure and replacement after the problem with the dimmers?
The effects are fantastic I'm sure, worth the effort.

Do you think the dimmers are inherently doomed to failure?

All this is 12v stuff and I have a spare controller and a some off cuts of LED strips somewhere.
Will try some experiments when I find them.
Simpler controllers, single colour (R, G or B) and white LED strips are available.
Need to check on how it was wired and run as I think constant voltage and constant current were both critical.
Car battery supply might need conditioning circuitry to provide that.
Multicolour needs 3 separate power feeds for each colour but a single earth.
Dimming I assume is pulsed voltage to always give 12 volts when on.
If so LED bulbs flashing on and off at a rate higher than the eye can see may not be ideal for a driver.
Not visible to the eye does not mean the brain cannot see it.

Surprisingly using this kit for car applications never crossed my mind.

John

Would be very interested in seeing the results of this John, and that's a good point about the pulse rate, it may well be operating faster than the eye can see but that's not a good thing in all cases.

Interestingly with the Christmas lights I saw, as well as doing the usual flashing patterns, one particular sequence faded them from bright to dim, and back again. This made me wonder if they have any tolerance for voltage variance, I.e will they fail to illuminate at all if they don't have the full 12v...

Ciarán

[xmexclusive]

Hi Ciaran

The electrician installed around 70 LED spot lights many on dimmers.
He selected the dimmers that he normally used for LED lights.
The first problem was with the footlights on both flights of stairs.
He had installed square boxes and it was all plastered up.
Lights came with a round plastic tube for installation.
He wanted extra to core drill new holes and strip the plaster to rewire.
I cut the round tubes down and squeezed them into the square boxes.
That ruffled the electrician a bit.
Then a few of the main LED light assemblies suffered random failure.
Electrician had to supply and fit replacements.
Failures on the circuits with dimmers caused so strange results.
Random failures of dimmers and remaining LED lights.
More replacements of LED's and dimmers.
One at a time with a hole in the ceiling while the dead one was exchanged for new.
My daughter rang the LED manufacturer.
The result was a free issue of an entire set of LED lights for the house.
The electrician complained about having to change them all for free.
Now it was just dimmer circuit problems.
I spoke to the LED manufacturer and got hold of the dimmer test results for the lights.
The chosen dimmers had significant limitations with the lights.
Some circuits did not comply with the minimum requirements.
I asked in the local LEDHUT and they sold me a compliant dimmer for less than half the price of the failing ones.

So I think the only dimmers that are doomed to failure are ones installed with loads outside their operating range.
It is actually quite complex to match load and switching circuit.
Some dimmers have load minimums as well as maximums.

On the LED strips the failed dimmer had a poor spot weld on one of the supply terminals.
The burn mark on the join was clearly visible.
I would have soldered it but my daughter sent it back to the UK supplier for replacement.
I had already bought and fitted a Chinese replacement so kept the exchange when it came.

John

[xmexclusive]

Hi Ciaran

The dimmers set used for the LED strings was ebay 400517716410

[russ92xmsed]

Flaming water leaks. This one is odd. I am now getting a seam of water, appearing from nowhere, in the join on top of the passenger door bin. In between where the liner meets the plastic moulded part. There is literally no sign of how it is getting there. Most confused!

[captainhaddock]

Again? I don't exactly understand where the leak is, you've a pic?

[russ92xmsed]

I will this afternoon. I want to wash the bird crap of it. So will take a look. Want to check fluids too.
This is a new leak. On the door, you have a bin under the armrest. And then in front of it a open bin or pocket. Water is somehow collecting in the join on top of the open bin. Anyway a pic will tell you more than me trying to explain it!!

I first noticed it on Tuesday whilst testing Marks switches.

[russ92xmsed]

I think it might be the felt strip in the inside of the door getting so saturated it is dripping in..how I don't know and falling on to the bin. Otherwise this is a curious one. About to wash it so might find out.....

[mds141]

Is the membrane still intact behind the door card?

[captainhaddock]

Not a clue, did you have your window slightly open fiddling with the switches? Or maybe the door seal isn't like new anymore but you'd notice water coming down from higher. I dare say, it is not your sunroof this time

[xmexclusive]

Check the door frame seal across the top of the frame.
Its a "V" section glued on the top inside edge to the frame.
It forms a drain channel running from the "A" pillar to the "C" pillar.
The glue dies with age letting water run down the frame onto the top of the door.
The bottom of the "V" has also been known to split with usage.

John