LED Flicker Issue

jinx182 · Post by **jinx182** » Mon May 12, 2014 9:24 pm

Hello all,

I'm a really inexperienced when it comes to lighting model kits and electrical in general. I'll try to explain my problem as best I can. I am trying to light the nacelles on the Revell Into Darkness Enterprise. Inside each Nacelle I have Two 12v Led strips about 10 inches running along either side and the two tower LEDs run in series for the pylon spot lights. there is one resister attached to the pair of tower LEDs. I merged the wires from the strips and the tower LEDs, then I merged the wires from each nacelle. I have a power supply where the voltage can be adjusted. I tested the nacelles at 9V and no problem. when I switched to 12 volts, all the lights in both nacelles started to flicker at a steady rate almost like a had some kind of flasher circuit in there. When I test the nacelles separately at 12v, I get no flicker. No idea why that is and any help would be appreciated.

brt · Post by **brt** » Tue May 13, 2014 9:54 am

How much current from the 9 volt source versus the 12 volt source? Maybe there is not enough current to light both strips well from the 12 volt source.

jinx182 · Post by **jinx182** » Tue May 13, 2014 12:01 pm

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure of the current but I'll check that out as soon as I get home tonight.

jinx182 · Post by **jinx182** » Tue May 13, 2014 7:38 pm

I think you're right brt, I hooked the nacelles to a 19v power supply and there wasnt any issue. Thanks for the assist.

Wug · Post by **Wug** » Wed May 14, 2014 10:55 pm

Are the 9V and 12 V power suplies different? If they are the 12V supply is pulsed DC. Somewhere on it you'll see a symbol that looks like a dashed line.

brt · Post by **brt** » Thu May 15, 2014 10:27 am

Wug wrote:Are the 9V and 12 V power suplies different? If they are the 12V supply is pulsed DC. Somewhere on it you'll see a symbol that looks like a dashed line.

He says there is no flicker from the 12V supply when hooked up to just one strip, so I don't see it being a pulsed DC issue. I am thinking that the 9 volt supply has a higher amperage capacity than the 12 volt and that there is not enough current to keep both strips happy on the 12 volt supply.

Tchail · Post by **Tchail** » Thu May 15, 2014 12:58 pm

What is the amperage rating of each power supply?

Keep in mind that there is a distinct difference between amperage and voltage.