I have one led light that has died (all twelve leds) and another one which has a couple of leds dead and a couple that are dim
Have been told by another person that this does happen
Is this normal?
Heat build up is a big problem with LED'S, as heat build up effects their longevity. When selecting LED'S try to pick ones with a decent aluminum heat sink, or ones that you can mount on an aluminum heat sink your self. The sort the just hang free in long strings don't seem to last at all. Properly cooled your LED'S will obtain the life figures that the makers claim. Cheers Gemmybob
-- Edited by gemmybob on Monday 1st of June 2015 08:35:15 PM
some leds /smds are a true 12v and when used in a caravan at a free site is ok but when in a caravan park and on shore power the charger in the van pushers more than 13 + volts into the battery thus over heating them. I,ve even had those little fried egg things drop off onto the bench,,,,, check them yourself leave them on for a while on the house battery (no 240v going into the van) check them for heat, and then plug in the 240v leave on for a while (ten minutes +) and check again.. if hot while 240v is on , change them for ones that can handle more than 12v
Greg9 - I'd take them back to where you bought them from, or if that's not convenient just ditch them and buy new ones - they are very cheap on Ebay even from Australian suppliers with a guarantee. I've used plenty of them over the years and only had one batch of bad ones.
Good Luck.
I agree with hako on this one. We had small reading lamps (LED) over our bed. The lights started to flicker and then no joy at all. Turns out they did in fact get very hot and expired.
Because we use these lamps every night I have purchased a cheap pair from eBay and will install them when they arrive. By the way if you are going to install your own disconnect the 12 volt supply at the fuse first and make sure you get the polarity right.
I guess when you live in the van 24/7 it puts unexpected stresses on all the equipment.
Cheers
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Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
Maybe a stupid thing to ask
is there something so you can get only pure 12 volt out of your batteries for the lights
As I had the same problems with the LED lights
If you own a Jayco the Setec unit controls the voltage to the lights, always 12volts even hooked onto 240volts. Ours is a 2011 and we live in it fulltime, haven't had any problems with Led's. I pulled out the tungsten unit over the lounge and put a good quality Led light in, no problems with it, except that if I decide to lie down on the lounge and I look up I blind myself LOL.
LEDs are getting better. We have 12v downlight thru the house (a legacy from the prior owner/builder). The halogen globes were sending me poor. The 12v circuit had the correct electronic transformer for LEDs. The first lot I got were pathetic and randomly expired but were the best available at the time. Then I tried some CFL globes. Even worse however the retailer took them back and I got a refund. Apparently CFL globes were still in their infancy and had lots of problems. I think they've been abandonned now in favour of LEDs. The downlight LED's I have now are quite good. LEDs have various shades of white (cool, bright etc.) various numbers of LEDs in a globe, beam angle etc. However, every now and again a few flicker randomly. I now have LEDs installed in most of my house and they are brilliant. As Dave4Cris said - look at them and they will bid you. As the fluoros die, they get replaced with LEDs.
I've bought all my LEDs on eBay. From what I can tell, they are brand name ones in plain packaging.
Maybe a stupid thing to ask is there something so you can get only pure 12 volt out of your batteries for the lights As I had the same problems with the LED lights
Cheers John
No not stupid at all. Power supplies to caravans should have a voltage regulator in the circuit, this means that the voltage will remain at 12 volts over a variety of load situations.
Im of the opinion that the LEDs are of various qualities which affect their length of time operating. For me, I just suck it up and get another unit of eBay, if they last two years like the last one I'm happy.
Cheers
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Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
Battery powered devices should be designed to work over the range of voltages you expect from an alternator charged battery system. That is 11.5 to 15 V. A goood quality battery is an excellent filter for low frequency components from a battery charger. Where they fall down is the VHF and UHF components. Often the inductance in the cable from the charger to the battery is enough to prevent any filtering the battery may have, and that if the particular battery is capable of filtering these, however they will be of very small voltages.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
My power suply to my caravan is the solar pannel or my Ctec 15 to the battery
so the power is always more than 12 volt
so what can I put between the lights and the battery to keep 12 volt and no more
Cheers John
John, look for an electronic DC to DC converter that is variable on the input say from 10v to 24v and adjustable on the output so you can set it for 12.2Volts. Then all you need to do is put it on the lights power lead just after the fuse. Personally I'd add another in-line fuse and put it between the two. The cheaper converters need manual adjustment via a trim pot using a screwdriver and a multimeter so you need to know what you are doing. However, the more expensive units are adjustable via a lockable dial and have a built in meter.
Hope this helps Regards Steve.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
