LEDs that led me up the garden path

[BCNZ]

Just wondering if anyone else has ever bought any 12 V leds off Ebay.

The type I am referring to are these:



I've bought various types from different sellers, some to put in my marker lamps, some to put in the heater control panel and the rest to put in the speedo cluster.

After a period of time, they either just die, or they start flashing erratically.
Sometimes they won't light at all, on a particular trip, and then they'll start working again some other time.
Often if they do, they'll start doing the random flashing thing.

I realise they're probably all made in china, and I bought them knowing this, but I'd really like some bright white/blue/green lamps in
my car that actually stay working!

The effect I was trying to achieve in the speedo cluster was to make it like the ones in the late model cars that light up really
bright white.

[beer4life]

Do you mean these ones?

This is how you do it with ebay:


[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/100x-Blue-LED-Dashboard-Speedo-Side-Light-Bulb-T10-W5W_W0QQitemZ220444918034QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item33538a8112&_trksid=p3286.c0. m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|293% 3A1|294%3A50[/url]

[BCNZ]

[LEFT][COLOR=Blue]Do you mean these ones?

Yeah, thanks.. sorry I'm tired and forgot the tags. It's been a long day

[beer4life]

Yeah, thanks.. sorry I'm tired and forgot the tags. It's been a long day

I've dug up the data sheets for you.
They say RED and MONO. That should be same for the blue?

[Uncle Fester]

Those data sheets are for SMD LEDs without resistor and I see no reference to the ones described on that Ebay link.

I am curious about your problem too Stu and I hope somebody who actually knows these types can shed some light.

I have had problems with cheap white LEDs, sold with and without resistor.

I have done tests with LEDs salvaged from LED cluster lamps that are often available in shops like Crazy Clarkes and they hardly survive a few hundred hours even at only 15mA,
while in the configuration they are sold as battery lamps, each LED can exceed 50mA with full batteries.
I was trying to use clusters of these LEDs as orientation overnight illumination for areas like the staircase and around the fridge, as I can't get 3W CFLs any more.

A 1W white LED sold at Dick Smith had dropped from F8 to F2.8 on my camera after around 500hrs, using the same time setting and distance of course.
The LED is rated @250mA and I had it only running on 180mA, naturally with reg and heat sink.

However Monochrom LEDs seem to work very well and I have been using a cluster of 40 as a night light made up of four colours salvaged from a LED christmas decoration for more than a year, which equates to about 4000hrs. Each LED running at 18mA.

Looks like we are still a long way away from cheap and reliable LED illumunation, or somebody is interested that it doesn't happen yet too soon.
I really wish we would skip this CFL scam and go straight to LEDs.

On a side note I have Ebayed cheap Lumiled type LED flash lights from China that are painfully bright, solid metal build and the batteries last quite long too. Some running on a single AA cell.

[SystemRat]

You might want to try this guy I've bought stuff from him and he is very good.

[Uncle Fester]

Nice prices, but unfortunately for the interesting stuff it is:
"Sorry, out of stock, more coming soon" (whenever that might be)

Some interesting info about handling LEDs on this



Up to now I have not considered LEDs as static sensitive devices.
...and in most stores I do not find them packed as such.

[SystemRat]

I have Tritium markers from led sales on a few doors here so I can navigate the house at night without lights on which is pretty cool and works really well.