I went to change a lightbulb for my mother but found this. I was expecting a flourescent with a ballast. What and how this thing?
I went to change a lightbulb for my mother but found this. I was expecting a flourescent with a ballast.
I went to change a lightbulb for my mother but found this. I was expecting a flourescent with a ballast. What and how this thing?
A thread died for this.
I bet it was a real good one, too.
We need to bring back woodworking general.
>We need to bring back woodworking general.
Why didn't you make the thread instead of posting that drivel.
Led with ballast
It's probably a half wave rectifier with a smoothing capacitor. Although I've only seen LED tubes (2') connected straight to mains with the CFL lighter replaced by a straight shunt... those must have all the current limiting inside the tubes and perhaps LEDs in both directions to avoid rectifying?
I've only changed ballasts in stairwells where the ladder can't reach and your coworker keeps fricking with the ladder, and when it wobbles your butthole sweats because you don't want to die at work from a 8 foot fall. And of course your hands are sweating because youre working it hot because good luck ever finding breakers for stairwells. Shits tied into elevators exit lights and 8 random plugs. I am handyman who knows just enough to get in trouble.
That is an LED light fixture and the black rectangle is the driver. If you have confirmed that the voltage is correct and the switch operates properly, then you should replace the entire light fixture. It is not cost effective to replace the individual parts in those types of lights unless you are a pro.
>replace the entire light fixture
I hate LEDs so god damn much.
You're more than welcome to replace the driver, it'll just cost as much as the entire fixture
It's the driver. Fluorescent tubes have either mechanical ballasts (very old, large and heavy) or electronic drivers (called ballasts but they are more sophisticated). The electronic drivers are close in size to what's in your photo, but they are for gas tubes that need a pulse of energy to start them. LED's obviously do not. LED's need drivers to limit current, because once you've reached the threshhold to energize the LED, it's like a direct short. Your power source must have self-limited current.
LED's themselves have excellent MTBF. However, the chinese mfg will cheap out on components in the driver, in the kind of setup you photographed, leading to driver failure, well-before the LED's fail.
I would explain that to her, above, simply, and the solution as
said, and
wrote, and go get a 2-lamp LED 4-ft fixture. It will come w T5 or T8 LED lamps, that are direct-wire replacements for fluorescents. Each tube has it's own driver, and if either fail, it's trivial to get one at the hardware store and replace it, just like you would replace a fluorescent lamp. It's unlikely that the driver will fail in the decent quality direct-wire LED tubes.
Pay attention to the kelvin rating on the lamps. For most uses, 4000 to 4500 kelvin is good.
> t. gutted several different kinds of T8/T12 fluorescent fixtures, replacing the tombstones and removing the fluorescent driver (ballast), reconfiguring for direct-wire LED.
In more than 90% of the cases where I repaired LED lamps, it was always the LED assembly which was broken. The drivers did still work. While LEDs can work very long if not overloaded and well cooled, this mostly does not happen in consumer stuff.
You can see, though, in OP's photo, that those LED's are directly on the metal backplane, which should make for a heck of a heatsink.
>LED's themselves have excellent MTBF. However, the chinese mfg will cheap out on components in the driver, in the kind of setup you photographed, leading to driver failure, well-before the LED's fail.
From my experience LEDs die faster than driver.
Heat is one thing, other is running them at (or above) max current. Also kills them.
It kinda sucks there is no standard for PCBs.
12V LED strips suck. They waste around 25% on heat just for no reason.
Higher voltage strip you get, better it would run.
Also, it is really important to glue them to metal frame with some other adhesive than whatever they come from factory, since it is not 3M its shit.
if it is in the kitchen or workbench, get 95+ CRI LEDs. Preferrably sunlike ones
It's an LED fixture.
You can't replace LEDs... easily that is, but you can find dead LED (usually has a black spot) and short it out, which would make this thing work again for some time.
Take your multimeter, see if the power supply is delivering power. Fixing this is marginally more difficult than fixing a string of Christmas lights.
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO INSTALLED THIS SHIT, THEN TELL HER TO ANNOY THEM.
otherwise as said, check if it's getting power at all - if is, and stays dark, disconnect it and replace entire fitting with something longer-lasting, like a candle.
1) Get these 12V LED stripes they sell everywhere on Amazon and eBay.
2) Get a 12V 5A power supply from the same source or from a thrift store (Laptop brick).
3) remove present LED strips, install new ones
4) treat the power supply the same way
5) connect AC and DC cables.
6) good boy points earned.
7) pro tip: To avoid a brightness gradient due to voltage drop along the LED strips, power the (+) contact from one end and the (-) contact from the other end.
> 7) pro tip: To avoid a brightness gradient due to voltage drop along the LED strips, power the (+) contact from one end and the (-) contact from the other end.
connect positive and negative on both sides
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OP here. An update on this, it wasn't even the light, it was the wall switch.