Low Voltage Track Lights

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SPierce

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Nebraska
Had a project where we installed a bunch of track with low voltage track heads that take a 12volt, MR16 lamp - 75w max. We installed 7w, LED MR16 lamps, and in the first 1-2 months have already had several go bad. The counter salesman at our local wholesale house said that the 7w lamp wasn't enough load on the track head xfrmr - that there's a minimum load you need on them otherwise you get what's happening to us - the lamps fail prematurely. Got on the track head manufacturer's website along with the LED lamp manufacturer's website and can't find any data to support this. Have you ever heard of this? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Sounds like a good way to sell more fixtures :)
Have you checked the voltage on the low voltage side ?
 
LED lamps are not usually as sensitive to high line voltages as incandescents since they usually incorporate a voltage or current regulator in the driver.
They are sensitive to hear buildup and the head design might be causing a problem with air flow.
Poorly designed or built LED assemblies might have a problem, but I agree that a good place to start is to measure the no-load and loaded voltages.
 
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