Odd Problem With Leds

[Ralph Priest 18]

As I was taking down my Christmas show, I noticed that one half of a 100 ct. C6 LED string was no longer lit. What is really puzzling is the unlit end is the lead--attached to the male plug. Half way up and past the resistor, the lights work just fine. So--what gives? BTW--these are pro quality lights and only five years old.

[merrymidget 42]

could be a defective rectifier or a bad led itself.Are these sealed,1 piece leds or the replaceable bulb type?

[JR Kahuna 0]

I had the same thing happen with the C9 LEDs I bought at Lowes. They were the blue labeled GE brand. Must have thrown out over 15 strands of 100 ct. All with same problem. Half way up burnt out.

[timpwk 8]

Have you tried using the LED keeper?  Twice this year I had the same issue you describe with LED icicle lights and the keeper helped me locate and replace the bad bulb in less than 5 minutes.  If your bulbs are sealed the keeper comes with pods you can use to fill in for the bulb you need to cut out.

[Ralph Priest 18]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, these lights are the commercial quality, sealed C6 bulbs.

[Zman 45]

Ralph, this is a typical failure of LEDs. If you  got  5 seasons worth out of them, I consider that about average for the life span. We demand a lot out of them, blinking tens of thousands of times a season.  As pointed out, it is either a bad bulb, or most likely the rectifier.

[Ralph Priest 18]

Thanks ZMan. I had already resigned myself to canning these lights; but, had hoped for a small miracle just the same. The issue that bothers me is the manufacturers claim a lifespan of many years when compared to incan.'s; but, I've found the opposite to be true.

[LED Keeper 0]

http://www.ledkeeper.com/4-minute-demonstration-video/

[EWTalley 18]

++++1 for the LED KEEPER

[Zman 45]

Ralph, while vendor claims of LEDs lasting 20-25K hours may be fairly correct, remember something else. An LED is a DC component. To make it work when you plug it into an AC circuit, manufacturers have to put electronic components around it, and China builds it. If a cheap rectifier, resistor or cap goes, there goes the string. THAT is what most do not fully comprehend with LEDs. I have about 11yrs experience with them now and have seen all matters of failure, to include dead shorts from those components.

 

With that said, if you can isolate the problems to the rectification circuit, those are fairly easy to rebuild if you choose. Dennis Eaton (Eaton Puck) and others have come up with material to fix these. If it does turn out to be a specific socket/LED, you can isolate them with the LED Keeper and remove and replace the bub. Myself, I quite frankly, don't have the time to fix strings with my display logistics. So I just keep spares on hand.

 

I donate my failed strings to a local commercial non-profit organization, Garden D'Lights. They do a fabulous Christmas display and I used to volunteer with them. Again, my time has gotten so squeezed of late, the only help I give them is my failed strings and they in turn recycle them for $$. Keeps them out of our landfills. Something everyone should look into.

Edited January 16, 2014 by zman

[merrymidget 42]

Also,I am now quite sure {from looking at pictures of other peoples displays on the net} that some {many?} strand failures are simply due to mechanical stress harsh winter weather often brings....I have seen pictures of strands covered in 1/2 ice,hanging from mega trees under their own weight plus the weight of all that ice,being subject to extremely high winds,etc......Something that many of use cant imagine in our own rather temperate climates{including mine}. The rather lightweight 22 gauge wiring and its connections to each and every LED takes a beating with all that tension applied to them! 

[Ralph Priest 18]

Thanks again ZMan and MM, whatever the cause might be, it's almost certainly not weather related. Snow around here is about as rare as an honest politician.

[Python 10]

 Garden D'Lights.

 I just Googled this. Holy Moly. What a display.

[Zman 45]

Python,

 

For some reason the "Quote" response is not working.

 

Dallas and Sharon Graham, the couple responsible for that show are retired older folks. They are some of the best people you could ever meet. They have absolutely fantastic directions laid out to re-create every element of their display. It goes into incredible detail in how those flowers et al are made. It is quite impressive. We network at one level among ourselves, they network with the likes of Disney, Universal, Bush Gardens etc... for insight. I wish I had more time for that again, as it is a phenominal reward to see that come together, and it is all static.