LED Flicker

[smiffy1989]

Got a crazy/wierd problem with my headlight switch LED.

I bought the kit off of crazy LEDs and soldered the top one in. Its been fine for months but now all of a sudden its started flickering like crazy. It flickers really fast for a while then goes off, then comes back on and so on. If i turn the ignition off and on it works ok for a few seconds then starts flickering!

I thought it might have been a dodgy connection so i heated the solder joints back upto make sure they wernt dry but it still does the same thing.

Could it be the LED/Resisitor?

Does anyone know what voltage runs through the headlight switch? If its 12V i can order a 12V ready LED for a quid. If its something daft ill have to buy another crazyled kit for £8!

[3AM]

Sounds like the solder joints may be coming loose ?

Did you have the same problem as me in that the big LED that you change at the bottom is much bigger than the old one and the unit is an extreamly tight fit ?

[smiffy1989]

Sounds like the solder joints may be coming loose ?

Did you have the same problem as me in that the big LED that you change at the bottom is much bigger than the old one and the unit is an extreamly tight fit ?

As i said i checked the joints and they are fine, i heated them back up just to be sure.

The bottom one fit in the hole perfect. Had to cut a small bit of the dash out behind the light switch though.

[3AM]

Yea, thats what I meant, LED fits fine, but when you go to put the unit in the car again it dont fit all the way in properlly

[smiffy1989]

Yea, thats what I meant, LED fits fine, but when you go to put the unit in the car again it dont fit all the way in properlly

I just cut out a small square from the plastic.

[Nutkin]

Led is nearing end of its life they start to flicker, My front sidelights did the strobe effect before they dies as the resistr burnt out from the Hids.

[smiffy1989]

Led is nearing end of its life they start to flicker, My front sidelights did the strobe effect before they dies as the resistr burnt out from the Hids.

Ive just realised what the problem is, i think anyway. The pre-soldered LED + resistor from CrazyLeds is foooooked.

The resistor is on the negative leg! I'm about 80% sure the resistor has to be on the positive leg. Im suprised its lasted as long as it has!

[Rocky]

i need to change mine , mine is flickering a bit now :(

[Oddjob]

Doesn't matter which leg the resistor is on TBH, the flickering is called strobing and as said it means it's going to fail soon. It's usually as result of heat, possibly caused by fitting an LED in a confined enviroment and not enough air movement around it but most likely the wrongly rated resistor that's been fitted. Most companies supply 470ohm resistors which is ok for 12v but not for cars whose voltage can go as high as 14.4v. The extra voltage reduces the life of the resistors severely, causes more heat etc. I personally only advise 510ohm resistors for 3v LEDs and 560ohm for 1.9v LEDs, even those can be a little on the low side but they seem to last.