LED strips kept burning out ... what to do ?

[FELIXY69]

hi guys
i came across a problem with LED strips kept burning out on me
i put a strip of LED inside my headlight, and after a week i notice some of the LED are flickering then it went out.
i am not sure if i hook them up wrong, it goes on constant.
here are the strips i bought.



Flexible LED Strips

[Fit4Trav]

Maybe too much power to them? causing them to blow?

[SumYunGai]

Says they come ready to run on any 12v power source. Did you cut them? And if you did, is it possible that some water may have come in contact with the cut portion?

[FELIXY69]

Originally Posted by SumYunGai

Says they come ready to run on any 12v power source. Did you cut them? And if you did, is it possible that some water may have come in contact with the cut portion?

didt cut them !!

[SumYunGai]

I don't know then. Only thing I can think of is contact Oznium and tell them what's going on.

[billmus86]

usually its the heat that gets to them..

[billmus86]

ps=- i got my strips from superbrightleds.com-
i get everything from them and havent had any probs with my strips
granted they are on my doors, but still-
prolly a heat issue in the headlight

[Jazz GD3]

its mostly a power overload.

I had LED running lights (daytime lights)(the lights above the housing), and it went out just like you said: worked fine, flickered, then went out.

Since my old set was a led plug in bulb for the top light which isnt a blinker, it was on constant, and went out, with a black smokey mark on the plug in portion. So yeah, power overload.
I switched to Polarg Hybrid B1s after that, but

I think you need to add resistors or something to control the voltage or wattage, because the wiring is not set up to work with LED's even though its 12 volt.

Good luck.

[accordguyintake]

they are prolly rated at 12v and cant handle 14v or whatever the rating is when the engine is on.??

[CTR]

The reason why most LEDs burn out on cars is mainly to do with heat dissipation. However voltage fluctuations can damage them as well. LEDs are quite sensitive to heat, so its best to mount them on something that can dissipate heat away such as the chassis or installing a heat sink/aluminum strip behind the LEDs.

[chubbykai]

if you're running them while the car is up and driving, voltage fluctuates based on how fast youre driving. This is caused by the alternator which is driving by belt, which is then determined by how fast your engine spins (rpm). usually when you are cruising at 70 youre prolly at 13.5 volts. LEDs are VERY sensitive to the correct amount of power they recieve. what you really need is a voltage regulator... can make one yourself or just buy one and put it inline. i think the heat should be okay, wont affect the LEDs that much.

[CTR]

Originally Posted by chubbykai

what you really need is a voltage regulator... can make one yourself or just buy one and put it inline. i think the heat should be okay, wont affect the LEDs that much.

Quite the opposite in my opinion. I have been working with LEDs for a long time now and they are definitely very sensitive to heat which is why when the original 501 fitment nichia type LEDs came out they were blowing very often in cars. More so with the newer SMD type LEDs which generate more heat. This together with the heat from halogen headlamps and the engine in an enclosed space damages the LEDs over time. If you look at the development of LEDs over the last 10 years or so, manufacturers are becoming more and more aware of this and putting heat sinks in their LED torches (flashlights), LED house bulbs and now even LED car bulbs.

Voltage fluctuations do affect the longevity of the LED bulbs but in this situation this is rarely the factor that dominates. I have voltage regulators in both our cars (jazz and EP3-R) it doesn't help with the LED durability at all. Heat dissipation is the way to go.