My LED floodlights are going bad after 18 months

**rocdoc1** · 12-10-2014, 07:50 AM

We remodeled our kitchen in early 2013 and put in recessed LED floodlights. 2 weeks ago I came home and one was flashing. I replaced it, but last night I came home 2 more are flashing. The first one works fine in other fixtures, and the replacement works fine in that fixture which I think is pretty strange. I thought these expensive bulbs were supposed to last many years, has anybody else run into this problem?

JinDesu · 12-10-2014, 08:10 AM

Depending on what specific LED tech you bought (and how old it actually is), it may have the LED literature saying it lasts forever - but it actually doesn't because the driver (ballast) is an older tech that burns out pretty quick. They put out LED literature back in the early days of LED tech to say that it lasts forever because the LED chips themselves are pretty long lasting - but the driver/ballast does not.

The newer LED fixtures are much longer lasting with fewer issues.

Nowhere Matt · 12-10-2014, 11:22 AM

During the early moments of a rain storm, I was recently reminded of that old "low voltage device, high voltage surge" thing when a lightning strike seemingly very close to our house damaged two of our barely four month old LED bulbs. They were the only two on at the time and the only two that were fried.

reeftool · 12-10-2014, 11:35 AM

They don't live up to the hype, do they? When the LED lights first began showing up on large trucks and trailer, all the manufacturers proclaimed that light problems were a thing of the past and all the lights would last the life of the vehicle. That means about 6 months. LOL. We change LED lights on vehicles just as often as the old incandescent lights and the LED's are twice the price or more. The problem is not the LED but in the connections, whether the light to the fixture or the internal connections within the light itself as there are probably several LED's making up your light. Cheap manufacturing and poor quality control. It also doesn't matter whether the lights are AC for the home or DC for mobile. Also, as JinDesu has mentioned, LED's run on very low current so there are internal controls (ballast, for lack of a better term but not like a fluorescent one) and they fail.

12-10-2014, 07:50 AM	#1
rocdoc1 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: New Mexico Posts: 9	My LED floodlights are going bad after 18 months We remodeled our kitchen in early 2013 and put in recessed LED floodlights. 2 weeks ago I came home and one was flashing. I replaced it, but last night I came home 2 more are flashing. The first one works fine in other fixtures, and the replacement works fine in that fixture which I think is pretty strange. I thought these expensive bulbs were supposed to last many years, has anybody else run into this problem?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Are all Pentax DA L 18-55mm this bad?	millsware	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	84	11-19-2013 04:39 AM
sooo my firmware upgrade is going bad...help	spectamaniac	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	22	02-14-2013 09:02 PM
K-5 problem or are my eyes going bad???	Ubuntu_user	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	26	08-07-2011 10:34 AM
My take on the K-7 after a few months.	pcarfan	Pentax DSLR Discussion	11	10-14-2009 10:41 AM
Are my eyes bad?	ftpaddict	Pentax DSLR Discussion	11	07-16-2008 07:22 PM

12-10-2014, 08:10 AM	#2
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	Depending on what specific LED tech you bought (and how old it actually is), it may have the LED literature saying it lasts forever - but it actually doesn't because the driver (ballast) is an older tech that burns out pretty quick. They put out LED literature back in the early days of LED tech to say that it lasts forever because the LED chips themselves are pretty long lasting - but the driver/ballast does not. The newer LED fixtures are much longer lasting with fewer issues.

12-10-2014, 11:22 AM	#3
Nowhere Matt Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Nowhere Land Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,362	During the early moments of a rain storm, I was recently reminded of that old "low voltage device, high voltage surge" thing when a lightning strike seemingly very close to our house damaged two of our barely four month old LED bulbs. They were the only two on at the time and the only two that were fried.

12-10-2014, 11:35 AM	#4
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,554	They don't live up to the hype, do they? When the LED lights first began showing up on large trucks and trailer, all the manufacturers proclaimed that light problems were a thing of the past and all the lights would last the life of the vehicle. That means about 6 months. LOL. We change LED lights on vehicles just as often as the old incandescent lights and the LED's are twice the price or more. The problem is not the LED but in the connections, whether the light to the fixture or the internal connections within the light itself as there are probably several LED's making up your light. Cheap manufacturing and poor quality control. It also doesn't matter whether the lights are AC for the home or DC for mobile. Also, as JinDesu has mentioned, LED's run on very low current so there are internal controls (ballast, for lack of a better term but not like a fluorescent one) and they fail.