flashing led ribbon

The Led light strip flashes. It’s annoying. First, however, we need to specify what kind of flashing is happening. Is it visible (to the eye) flashing or invisible (to the camera). LED strip lights are delicate, yet flexible.

The Led strip is flashing, but why?

There can be many different reasons that cause the LED strip to flash. Let’s go through them next.

Causes of Led strip light flickering

  1. bad connections, i.e. check the tape connection cable
  2. incompatible parts with led lights
  3. overloaded or faulty voltage source for led strips
  4. led-ribbon transformer, which is for creating wireless control in pairing mode
  5. or a faulty LED strip.

The above are therefore divided into visible and invisible flashing. What is the difference?

How to fix VISIBLE led flashing lights?

Check the connections

First, make sure that all connections – including cables, connectors and LED transformers – are safe. Poor connections can produce excessive resistance, overheat and even start a fire. As a result, the LED strip lights flicker. So it is important to check all the connections.

Are all the wires securely connected? The Led strip light flashes if the connection is loose.
Are all the wires securely connected

Are the parts compatible?

Secondly, you need to replace incompatible parts, such as LED controls and dimmers. Dimmers and LED controls are the parts that are most likely to be incompatible. An incompatible dimmer will therefore cause the flashing. In order to identify possible faults, it is important to have relatively easy access to the controls for checking them. That is, service hatches, etc. the places where the transformers are placed should be designed so that they are accessible.

Is the power supply powerful enough?

Use a power supply with a higher power rating than the amount of power required by the LED, or replace a faulty LED power supply.

Led driver markings

You can see the power rating of the transformer from the nameplate.

Input: 180-240V: means that the led driver can be supplied with AC power between 180 and 240 V. In Finland, the mains voltage is 230 volts. The alternating current symbol is “~” or the symbol “AC” (Alternating Current) Output: 24V 0,83A 20W: Means that the output voltage of the transformer is 24V DC, and that the transformer is capable of supplying a maximum load of 20W. The DC voltage symbol is “=” or a symbol with a solid line at the top and a dashed line at the bottom “⎔”, or the symbol “DC” (Direct Current) The maximum load can be calculated from the indicated Ampere rating (Voltage x Power = Load) : 24V x 0,83A = 24,83W. In this case, the manufacturer has specified a slightly lower recommended load of 20W, but the transformer would be able to handle a little more.

The transformer says on it the maximum power rating. The LED strip light will flash if the transformer is underpowered.
On the transformer it says its maximum power rating

Please note that if the power of the led driver is insufficient, it is not possible to connect the same led striplight to several led drivers. Led transformers have different starting times, so the transformer that starts first and has insufficient power will trigger an overload protection, shut down and then restart. Then each controller will continue to start and stop the non-stop loop is complete.

Led strip light power need

The transformer of the Led strip light should always be 10 – 15% larger than the calculated power requirement. This is because the cables also cause resistance, and if the transformer is not used at 100% power all the time, it will last longer.

If you have 10 meters of 14.4 W per meter of LED strip light, you need a driver that is 10 x 14.4 x 1.15 = 165 Watts minimum. The transformer can be oversized no matter how much, when we are talking about LED strip lights which are always BALANCED. Link to an article on whether to choose a constant current or DC transformer.

Led strip disconnection and bad connection

Cutting the Led strip is easy. You only cut with scissors. The cut-off ranges of the LED strip are well marked. If you cut off the LED strip at the wrong point, the LED circuits in the cut-off area will go completely dark. When the led strip flashes at the point of the connection you made, you know you’ve made a bad connection.

If you have done it with a quick connector, I recommend soldering. The so-called cold soldering causes flashing because the current does not pass through properly.

This also manifests itself in the fact that when you turn on the lights, for example, the rest of the film is dark. But when the lights are on for a short time, the rest of the LED strip lights up, because thermal expansion occurs and the loose parts make contact. Of course, this phenomenon can also be reversed.

Is the LED strip light twisted or broken?

A damaged Led strip light must be replaced, either completely or for the damaged part. The Led strip should be replaced if it is bent or twisted in such a way that the power supply is disturbed. The instructions on how to replace a damaged piece of led strip lighting are described in the section on how to cut the led strip lighting with pictorial instructions. A high quality led strip will break just as easily as a cheaper one if not well cared for. Here are the most common causes of visible flicker. If you want to know more about the technical basics of how to fix flickering led strip, read our comprehensive article.

How to fix an INVISIBLE LED strip light flashing?

So-called invisible flicker can appear as a faint buzzing or crackling in the light or on ballasts. Vibration can also be detected through the camera lens. People are individuals, and there are differences in how flicker is perceived. Here are tips on how to get those invisible flashes under control.

Why do the led lights flash on the camera
Why do the led lights flash on the camera

Use high quality components

If possible, use high quality LED drivers and low voltage (12V or 24V) LED strip lights, selected with a sufficiently large load reserve.
Led driver contribute to the fact that led strip work without flicker by converting high-voltage alternating current into a constant low voltage.

Use high frequency PMW transformers

In most cases, the culprit is an LED transformer operating at too low a frequency, which causes the LED lights in the camera to blink. PWM is the technique of switching the LED on and off very quickly at rated current. The human eye can detect the cycle as a flicker if it is not fast enough. The duty cycle, the amount of time the LED is ON in relation to the total time of one full cycle, determines the brightness level of the LED. We have written more about PWM dimming in our article.

Use high quality dimmers with a high refresh rate, close to 1 kHz, with the driver.

If you want to know more about why Led lights flicker on the camera? Read our article below to find out the technical reasons and how to fix it.

Led strip light installation guides

Led strip lighting specialist

LedStore has been an expert in LED lighting and lighting design since 2010. We have our own product design, so our products are technologically state-of-the-art. Products have quarantee for up to 7 years. We also carry out lighting maintenance.

We focus on temperature-controlled and high colour rendering lights, so they work brilliantly and last a long time. We do around 500 lighting designs for our clients’ sites in a year. Read more here or order a design. Did you know?
LedStore offers lighting design from 169 euros for the whole house!

Made to measure Led strip lights

We offer a service of custom-made led strips, i.e. custom-made led strips in aluminium profile. Also installed.

Remember that we are always ready to offer our help to you along the way, by email (myynti@ledstore.fi) and by phone (045 251 4510). Feel free to share photos of your own projects on social media #ledstorefi on IG and ledstore.fi on FB. We love to see the cool things being made with our LEDs, and it helps to provide inspiration for those who are not yet sure about the power and awesomeness of LEDs.

Did you know that we already have over 3 500 pictures of our LED installations in our Gallery!