LED MR11 lamps flickering

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buzzbar

Senior Member
Location
Olympia, WA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Hi all,

I've got a customer (a jewelry store) that has recently been changing all of their Halogen 20W MR11 lamps, to a Philips LED MR11 (4G4M1AAAEAA) 3.5W lamp. It's on this Juno 'trace 12' low voltage track system, with a couple of remote transformers.

They called me up and said that one set of tracks was blinking on and off, in a regular pattern. It was as if somebody was turning the lights off....wait a second...turn the the lights on....one second...off....on.... and so on. It was a very exact timed on/off sequence.

There were two 300W magnetic transformers, one of which was working fine. I decided to just change the transformer. This time, I installed an electronic transformer since they are quieter.

After I installed the electronic transformer, all of the lights just flicker, constantly. I did some research, and discovered that LED lamps do not work well on electronic transformers, and that I should get a magnetic one. Well, I looked online, and found an LED driver, which (according the manufacturer) is designed for LED lights. I installed this one, and the flickering is STILL THERE!:thumbsdown:

I installed one standard Halogen MR11, and the flickering stopped (the rest of the lamps are LED).

Does anyone have some words of wisdom on this subject? As I don't want this to be the permanent solution.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew
 

sd4524

Senior Member
That standard bulb you installed may have helped by getting to the transformers minimum load. Check the transformer and see if it has a minimum.
Are these real cheap led lamps? I'm sure there could be a bad batch. Is a dimmer involved?
Is 20 watts and 3.5 watts that big of a difference? Those halogen lamps have been helping to sell jewelry for a long time. I hope the LED lamps are really worth the trouble to the store. If it were me I would recommend going back to the halogen lamps but thats just one dumb electricians opinion.
 

buzzbar

Senior Member
Location
Olympia, WA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
The transformer has a minimum of 15 watts, and I have (12) 3.5W lamps, for a total of 42 watts. The max on the transformer is 60W, so I'm within the specs.

The lamps are a brand name Philips 4G4M1AAAEAA, so that shouldn't be an issue.

The difference between the 3.5W and 20W is quite a bit when you figure ALL of the lights in the store. But I believe they want to use the LED because they are supposed to last a lot longer. The Halogen lamps have a very short life in comparison. Besides, the LED lamps look really good (when they aren't flickering!).

Thanks.
 

svh19044

Senior Member
Location
Philly Suburbs
IS it on a dimmer? Just as you will find with the Seagull LED driver, you need to use an ELV dimmer if that's the case.

Another concern is the exact voltage output on the transformers, it needs to be 12, no more.
 
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Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
I have seen this happen but to just one light. Some of these LED's do not need special drivers. I was assured when I installed some low voltage lights that there was nothing needed except a standard transformer. I would check the connection to the track and make sure it is tight. Those Low voltage tracks can be a nuisance.
 

svh19044

Senior Member
Location
Philly Suburbs
I would just use a smaller magnetic transformer since it is on a normal switch. Get a 60w or so xformer and be done with it, or even a 150w should work fine with the load.
 

buzzbar

Senior Member
Location
Olympia, WA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I was hoping to use something that doesn't make a lot of noise, such as a magnetic transformer. I DID use a magnetic transformer originally, and it worked, until it went bad.

Does anyone know of a quiet LED transformer?
 

svh19044

Senior Member
Location
Philly Suburbs
I was hoping to use something that doesn't make a lot of noise, such as a magnetic transformer. I DID use a magnetic transformer originally, and it worked, until it went bad.

Does anyone know of a quiet LED transformer?

Not all magnetic transformers are as loud as you are making them out to be. American Lighting, WAC, and Jefferson all make extremely quiet 150w magnetics for a reasonable price.

The LED drivers should all be relatively quiet especially since you aren't dimming. I KNOW the Seagull Ambiance LED driver is quiet. And it's only around $60.

Which LED driver and which transformers were you using before?
 
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