In the ensuite we have two LEDS on one light switch,have 8 LEDs sometimes we get 8 LEDs some time 4 LEDs.Same in shower recess .We have 4 down lights in bedroom one is only 4 LEDs rest are 8 LEDs ,that is the same sometimes 8 next day 4 again.Anyone got any solutions,thanks for any information 

Just movin dust ,safe travels 

Just wondering if it's a two or three position switch with poor detents.  We have lights with centre off, one way low and the other way high?  If you can't feel the detents you could be skipping a position?

Trevor,

Are the LED's the newer sealed units or older halogen fittings converted to LED?

If they are a sealed unit or have a glass cover and the cover is touching the LED's then it could be a heat issue, LED's loose their heat through the surface if something like a cover is touching them they can sometimes play up like you've described and eventually degrade. 

If you take some pics of the lights both on and off that might help identify the problem.

Here is a picture of light on and light off .The light switch is just a standard on off switch, no indent.The van is just 4 years old now we are in it 24/7,but the ensuite light has been doing this for 2 years on and off .The one in the bedroom only started on Saturday so I am wondering if it is old age catching up and time to renew.

Movin dust,safe travels 

Thanks for any input  Trevor 

ants_oz wrote:

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Sounds like dry joints on the circuit board - intermittent contact being made by the board-mounted LED's. If you are at all handy with a soldering iron, disassemble the light, remove the PCB and re-solder all the board-mounts for the LED's. Cost = zero. Effort = minimal. Chances of fixing? I reckon better than average ;)

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 Yes, that's a possibility but you'd need a really fine tipped iron and an extreamly steady hand and that's after you break apart the sealed fitting which in many cases has been glued. If you've got plenty of time its worth a try but be prepared for breakages (been there done that).

I have modified some sealed LED downlights for a few people and added a G4 socket which could then be fitted with replaceable G4 Side Pin LED Discs, but it's fiddly, time consuming and again you risk the fitting being broken just trying to do it.

So, my advice would be to replace them, they're playing up now and eventually they'll stop all together.  From the pics and given their age, yours look like 5050 SMD Leds and 5 SMD's would be lucky to produce 80 Lumen of light. IMHO roof downlights should be a minimum 12 SMD's (180 Lumen Min) or if its under overhead cabinets you could use 9 SMD's that is if you stick to 5050 type LED's. 

You can buy replacements that use Cree technology (really bright), but if you do that make sure you get the ones that fit the same hole size and have a heatsink built into them ensuring there's enough cavity space in the roof for them to fit plus some air space around them so they can disapate the heat effectively.  Given how many you have a 3 x 1 Watt Cree (300+ Lumen) would be ideal to replace the 5 SMD's and a 3 x 2 Watt (600+ Lumen) would be ideal to replace your 8 SMD's.

With any direct replacement you still have the issue if it fails again, you'd need to replace and rewire the whole fitting again, because they're still a complete unserviceable sealed unit.  However, another option which could work out cheaper would be to buy the old style Halogen Type downlights that have a side fitting G4 pin halogen globe and retro fit them with G4 side pin Disc LED's to suit. Looking at your pics these should fit straight in the existing hole.

The Halogen Type downlight fittings are still available in most lighting shops and maybe flea bay if you shop around. Because they are almost obsolete these days they're really cheap and even with adding the LED's to convert them it would still work out cheaper than a sealed non serviceable unit. Then IF the LED's should fail anytime down the track your just replacing the LED which just plugs in and not the fitting itself.

Hope this info overload helps.

Steve.

Thanks for your replies,I will give the soldering iron a workout later this week if no good have to spend some money,which I don't like to much,

Thanks again Trevor 

macka17 wrote:

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Steve.

Question OFF topic.

LED torches.
Cheap enuff and some real good.
But those multiswitches are very iffy.

I have 5.
2 good. 2 with dicky switches.
and one Cree with "burnt out?" LED.

Are there switches. Straight on\off to replace them with.
or just throwaways jobs.
The one burnt out is real good torch.
is it viable to change over LED (T6\C6?)

Just wondering.
Time and patience I have plenty of.

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 Sometimes with switches its just a bit of dust or dirt on the contacts. Try carefully removing the rubber boot then spray some WD40 into the switch, give it a few clicks then let it drain out & dry before assembling. This trick also works good on the entry lights on caravans & motorhomes, replacements for these can be excee from parts places.

Another thing that lets torches go is the contact spring on the bottom, sometimes it compresses but doesn't fully come back up, so giving it a slight gentle stretch sometimes helps.

Replacement switches???, had a quick look in some catalogs but couldn't really see anything but if you weren't worried how ugly it looked you could probably modify it with a micro toggle or push switch. Anyway with 5 you should have some spares that you could tinker with.

RE: The one burnt out is real good torch. is it viable to change over LED (T6\C6?
In terms of light output, a Cree is pretty hard to beat so I'd say not, you might be able to find a replacement Cree chip on Flea Bay or Jaycar/Alltronics. Good luck with soldering it back in though.

-- Edited by madaboutled on Monday 9th of January 2017 07:01:50 PM