LED Issues

santis00

santis00

So I purchased some LED strip lights from Amazon. What a disappointment... 
 
First off, the lights didn't seem new at all.. After the first 3 sets of LEDs there was a 3LED set that was soldered together in between. Then further down the strip was another soldered joint. 
 
Either way, I used an old PC power supply and was able to get converted. The amperage was giving out 12 amps, 5 and 3. I used the 5 amp just to test out the lights. They would not turn on. I used the wiring already on the first set of LEDs. I used a multi meter to the set of tabs to ensure the power was getting through and indeed it was. So I assume bad lights? Well I thought, maybe i just dont have enough amperage. But when I was going to try out the 12 amp circuit BAM spark comes from their soldered joints. Shorted out my power supply (Might just be a fuse but I was so pissed I walked right over to my computer and wrote up a review of the product and asked for a refund).
 
Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong? I am going to cut off after the soldered joints, just cut out a 2 inch strip and test again this weekend. I ordered some more LED lights also. Wasnt impressed from the get go on these ones.
 
Ill post a picture of the strip in a few.
 
one thing i will say is that led strip quality differs between sellers. Even if you use a USA seller they could just be reselling the cheapest strip they could find in china that they bulkordered. There are no real brand names on the strips so it's easy to mix / confuse them since sellers aren't transparent about where they got them. Some of the 5630s therun  leds are lengthways and run room temp. Then i got some that are sideways placement with different value resistors inline and pretty hot. Some had 3m adhesive, some where just no name adhesive. They are all Ce RoHS certified. They don't state what bin they got the leds from or the CRI or anything super detailed like that. Some of the strips are 1 continuous run. Others are 1m strips soldered together. (i guess the factory for this brand manufactures bulk 1m strips then assembles them to whatever length, maybe it's cheaper for them).
 
Anyway all of them worked fine for me, even the one i accidentally spilled some coffee on burnt out the 3 leds where is spilled it but the rest of the leds around it still worked fine. Maybe you just got a lemon, i hope you get a refund / replacement. 
 
The amps shouldn't matter just as long as its 12vdc powersource. The strip will only pull the amps it requires.
 
ps. ok i wait for picture just sounds like a short.. maybe a bad solder joint?
 
So your power supply is set to do 12 amps at 12 Volts? What do the specs on the lights say for power requirement?
 
santis00 said:
Here is the actual product I purchased. Even with my review and you will see the picture in there that I took. I tried to contact them for the power consumption (it just states 12v) but nothing, so I started with 5a. Was going to try 12 before it shorted out my PC Power. 
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017EG9GOS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01
 
it does show 
 
Working Current/Meter: 1.5A 
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yeah just cut that end off and start fresh. weird for them to only solder a 3 led chunk on their must have been used or a quality problem like you said.
 
 Those LED strips are cheaply made. Unless your purchasing a spyder LED strip that's another story. Hopefully you can get it all worked out.
 
SvtCobra said:
 Those LED strips are cheaply made. Unless your purchasing a spyder LED strip that's another story. Hopefully you can get it all worked out.
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Yes this was my first experiment at an LED system so didnt want to spend to much on a small hobby that could go wrong ha. Still expected it to somewhat work.
 
santis00 said:
 
Yes this was my first experiment at an LED system so didnt want to spend to much on a small hobby that could go wrong ha. Still expected it to somewhat work.
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  The big LED's work well. However as you said they are not cheap.
 
santis00 said:
New ones came in today, the quality is 10x better than the other order. Going to play with them today.
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ssen as they r rated for 1.5 amps try not to run 12 amps through them this time lol
 
take the 3 amp output of the power supply and run 2 strips in parralel halving the current to a perfect 1.5 A
 
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