LED light is an ideal lighting solution for the modern world with many outstanding advantages and an incredible lifespan of up to 50000 hours. However, nothing is completely perfect. In the process of using, besides the benefits, sometimes the LEDs can also encounter some troubles. If you are wondering about 6 common problems with LED lighting, this article will give you a more specific look at and how to fix these problems.
#1. LED Lights Stop Working
Are your LEDs advertised as having a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours but suddenly stop working after just a year, a few months, or even just a few weeks or days of use?
This is really a problem because there are so many possible causes. Unless you’re an LED expert or a professional electrician, figuring out the cause won’t be easy.
As we all know, LEDs are not “burned” (broken filament) like incandescent lamps, but only dim (reduce brightness). However, they can still be damaged due to the burning of other components (except for the led chip) due to negative reasons from the current and installation.
Heat buildup, screwing bulbs too tightly, or placing LEDs in improper electrical circuits and accessories are common causes of LEDs stopping working.
In addition, poor quality capacitors, drivers and diodes are also leading factors in reducing the life of LED bulbs.
So how do we fix them?
The first thing you need to do when the LED suddenly stops working is to check the circuit breaker. If there is no problem, turn off the power and check the internal parts of the lamp such as capacitors, drivers, etc.
3 Reasons The LEDs Lights Stopped Working & How To Fix Them
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Reason 1. For poor quality capacitors or drivers: replace them yourself if you can or hire an electrician to help you. Or if they are too difficult to repair or replace, you can also replace the LED bulb.
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Reason 2. For improper current or accessories: The best solution to prevent this is to replace all the bulbs with new accessories at the same time, bundled together so that they are compatible with each other and creating a smooth and efficient system. This will significantly reduce the risk of too high radiant heat and therefore higher light efficiency.
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Reason 3. For the bulb screwed too tightly: If the copper vortex is bent, you need to turn off the power and use the needle-nose pliers to bend it forward (at an angle of about 20 degrees from the bottom of the socket).
And to avoid similar situations, you need to note a few things after installing the bulb: Do not screw the bulb too tightly, do not screw too fast, just turn it on until the light is on then stop.
*** See more: Top 11 Expert Picks Best Floor Lamps For Bright Light
#2. Led Light Not Change Color
Your LED lights do not change color possibly due to a bad pin connection or faulty pin. A bad pin connection also includes a backward connection or reversed polarity.
LED strip lights usually have 2 sides: one side has a positive charge (noted with a dash) and the other side has a negative charge (usually noted with the manufacturer’s logo).
The arrow on your connectors should point to the plus sign on your strip lights. If your LED strip light doesn’t change color, it’s likely having this reverse polarization problem. In this case, try to flip the strip lights around and reconnect.
#3. LED Lights Burn Out So Fast
Modern LED bulbs often have impressively lifespans and can be lit up for many years if used properly.
However, if your light bulb burns out so fast before its advertised lifespan despite following the installation instructions, it could be due to the following 4 reasons:
Reason 1: High voltage
The consumption voltage of the LEDs is much lower than the voltage of the home grid you are using. Therefore, the LEDs always come with the led driver which is responsible for converting the power source from alternating current to direct current to have the right voltage for the led chip to operate.
If the LED lights in your home get burned very quickly, it could be due to the sudden surge in voltage. When the voltage is suddenly high, the led driver fails to adjust in time, leading to a light bulb burn, even other electronic devices in the house also fall into a similar situation.
To fix this problem, you can ask an electrician to check the voltage in your home or you can contact your electrical supplier for help.
Reason 2: Bad connections
Bad connections can cause your LED to quickly be damaged. It may be due to the bulb screwing up too loose or too tight, the worn contact points, or the loose cord connection. When encountering the above problems, you can fix them as follows:
- With loose bulbs, you can tighten it so that the contact points are snugger. In case the bulb is screwed so tightly that it makes the socket tab depressed, you can fix it as instructed in the previous section.
- With worn or corroded contact points, you can replace the socket or get a new fixture. And if the problem is caused by a loose wire connection, you can have an electrician repair it or do it yourself if you can afford it.
Reason 3: Overheating
LEDs are especially sensitive to temperature. It does not generate light by using heat but can become overheated when used in incompatible fixtures. Usually, each type of fixture will have one or several compatible bulbs, and not any LED bulb will be able to fit it.
In addition, the installation of a bulb of an improper size (too large or too small) compared to the fixture even if the base fits well will cause the lamp to overheat.
When the bulb overheats but the radiator is not working effectively, which can shorten the life of the lamp. Besides, the ambient temperature is also a factor affecting the durability of this lighting device.
This problem is often seen in recessed led lights because they have a tail light design hidden in the ceiling leading to a buildup of heat that can burn your bulbs.
To fix this problem, you need to find out what type of LED bulb is compatible and the right size for your fixture. For recessed LEDs, it is recommended to arrange vents in the ceiling, with plaster ceilings when the design needs to pay attention to this. Also, make sure your bulbs choose to have the best cooling system.
Reason 4: Low quality LED bulb
If you have checked and found that the LED is not damaged due to the above reasons, there is a high probability that you have purchased a poor quality bulb. To ensure your interests, you should check the warranty of the LED light and contact the supplier as soon as possible.
*** Refer to a useful article for you: How to Wire Light Fixture and Switch – Sharing Experts
#4. LED Lights Gone Dim
There are many causes of your LED light to dim. Here I will give some typical causes that many people often encounter.
4 Reasons The LEDs Lights Gone Dim & How To Fix Them
Reason 1: Due to electrical circuit overload
During use, if the LED blinks every time you turn on other devices, it is most likely a sign that the circuit is overloaded. When there are too many devices being used at the same time, the current must be broken down to balance, so the light will be weak. Overloaded circuits can cause fire, explosion and electric shock.
In order to fix this problem, you need to separate a device to reduce the circuit load. The long term solution is to have a professional electrician move to a separate circuit.
Reason 2: Due to damaged or loose wires
Old or damaged wires are also the cause of the LED dimming. Wire contacts can corrode over time, resulting in poor power and reduced brightness.
In addition, damaged cord is very dangerous to human life, because it can cause fire, explosion, electric shock, etc.
The only workaround in this case is to forcibly replace a whole new wire before it causes a major problem.
Reason 3: Due to a grid problem
A problem with the grid is also the reason why the LEDs are dimmed. For example, the unusually high demand for electricity, or due to the influence of the weather, transformer malfunctions… has a great impact on the normal operation of the LED. This problem requires the support of electrical technicians to solve it.
Reason 4: Lamp life has exceeded
Another important cause of LED dimming is because the bulb has been over the life of the lamp. The LED bulb during its lifetime will not burn like an incandescent lamp but only get dimmed. Usually, this dimming is only found at the end of the committed life (if the normal operation does not encounter any technical errors during use).
In theory, the average lighting time of LEDs is about 25,000 hours and after this time the brightness will be reduced by about 70%. In this case, you should replace the new LED bulb before it exceeds the lamp life. Using LEDs with too dim light is not good for your eye health.
#5. LED Strip Light Remote Not, Working
The LED strip light remote offers a lot of conveniences to use and is extremely easy to set up, however, it may encounter a few malfunctions during your use.
If your LED remote control suddenly stops working or the light starts blinking, please check its batteries first. It may be due to a low battery, in this case, try to replace the new battery for your LED strip light remote.
If replacing the battery does not solve the problem, it could be because the controller disconnects itself from the receiver due to loose connection, radio interference from an external source,… You may need to reset and re-pair the remote controller as follows:
- First of all, please disconnect your power source for safety.
- Then, you need to unplug the dimming cord from both the power supply and the LED strip light.
- Next, plug the power supply and LED strip back into the receiver unit and reconnect the power supply to power.
- Hold the “SPEED +” and “SPEED -” on the LED remote control simultaneously for 3 seconds. The indicator light will blink once to indicate that you made the correct move.
The remote control and receiver must now be paired and the light strip must be controlled by the remote.
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#6. LED Lights Not Turn All The Way Off
If you turned off the switch and your LED still dims a bit before turning it off completely, it could be for some of the following 4 reasons:
Reason 1: Wrong wiring
This is the most likely you will encounter. Normally, the hot wire will be connected to the switch, the wrong connection with the cool wire will cause this phenomenon.
If an incandescent bulb is used, it will not light up, but the LEDs only use a low voltage source, so when the switch is turned off, there will be dim light.
In this case, you only have an electrician reconnect the standard circuit to overcome.
Reason 2: Excess energy leaks into the bulb
This occurs if the LED bulb in the circuit is operating at a lower capacity than the current flowing in the circuit, or if the circuit is too old to correct the current properly.
Classic incandescent bulbs won’t light up if there is only a small amount of electricity flowing through them, so you will never notice this current, but LEDs are more efficient and only use low voltage sources, as it is. may glow dimly before turning it off completely
To solve this problem, you can install an LED dimmer in the circuit, or update the wiring in your home.
Reason 3: LED bulbs use phosphorus powder
In theory, LED devices do not need a phosphorus powder to emit light like fluorescent lamps. LEDs light up thanks to the LED diodes attached to the circuit board.
However, modern LED chips today are still coated with a blue and white fluorescent powder to create a more realistic light color, closer to nature, and this powder also acts as a shielding and protecting the chip. LED.
New types of LEDs such as shaped LED aluminum bars are no exception, SMD LED chips all have fluorescent powder coating. And they are widely applied for different lighting purposes such as interior, exterior, public lighting…
You have to wait for it to fade. If you want to fix it, please switch to another brand. If you are not satisfied with this phenomenon, switch to another brand that does not use this powder.
Reason 4: Energy from capacitor
A capacitor can provide enough electricity for the LEDs to glow for a short time. You can mitigate this effect by using a power source with a smaller capacitor.
Top 4 Frequently Asked Questions [2022]
#1. How can you tell if a LED light is bad?
You can test if the LED is good or not by applying a power source, either using a battery or a multimeter.
With a multimeter, switch it to the diode test setting if available or set it to the lowest value in the range for testing resistance. Connect the positive lead from the multimeter to the anode (positive) lead on the LED and the negative lead from the multimeter to the cathode (negative) lead on the LED. The LED should glow dimly, indicating it’s working. If the LED does not light, swap the connection to the LED leads. The LED should now light, if not the LED is faulty.
#2. Why do LED lights have 3 wires?
For example, running and brake, running and blinker, or brake and blinker. These LEDs will usually have a red (the positive(+)), black (the second positive(+)), and white wire (the ground(-)).
#3. Can LED lights be fixed?
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Can LED lights be fixed?
YES. Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, modern LED bulbs allow for almost everything to be repaired. What you need to do is to find out the problem and take reasonable action to repair, or replace some damaged parts of the LED bulb, your lamp can work properly again.
This will help prolong the lifespan of an LED bulb and reduce the costs of having to replace a new bulb completely.
#4. Is it OK to sleep with red LED lights on?
The answer is YES. Red light may aid in creating drowsiness. It might work in conjunction with melatonin, known as the “sleep hormone,” which helps regulate sleep and circadian rhythms. So sleeping with red LED lights on helps to improve your sleep quality and make you wake up more alert the morning after. You can easily test this!
Conclusion:
Hopefully, in this article, you can find helpful information on the common LED light problems you have. Remember that when such problems occur, you need to patiently find out the cause of the problem to get a reasonable remedy.
And most of all, always be safe for yourself, disconnect the power supply when fixing the lights, and only repair when you are competent and knowledgeable about that issue. Otherwise, hiring a professional electrician will be the most optimal and safest option for you.
