I recently bought a 5-meter LED light strip from Temu, planning to use about 8 feet of it along a U-shaped aluminum piece for a mobile fluorescent light setup. After cutting the strip to 8 feet and powering it up, I noticed that one end got very hot while the other remained only mildly warm. The brightness was underwhelming, even though I'm providing 20A at 13.7 volts. Interestingly, shorter 1-meter sections from another purchase don't have any issues at all. Could this be a faulty light strip?
4 Answers
I hear you on that! Sometimes, the power distribution can be a pain with longer LED strips. It might help to run a heavier cable to both ends of the strip instead of just one. Remember, a long LED strip can act like its own power line for the whole LED setup. Might solve your problem!
You might want to rethink your lighting strategy altogether. If these strips are proving to be unreliable, a row of floodlights could be a more stable option for your workshop. Just a thought! I mounted mine on aluminum too, just to help with heat dissipation, but I guess it’s not helping that much in this case.
It sounds like there could be a few things at play here. First, could you have accidentally caused a short when cutting? It’s a common issue, but if you cut exactly where it said to, you might be in the clear. Also, those LED strips often have a lot of resistance. To get that consistent brightness, you probably want to connect the power from both ends. You might need a soldering iron and some extra wire for that though!
Also, just to add, make sure there are no hidden issues from your cut. Some strips can only be cut at specific markings, and not following that can lead to problems. Hope you get it sorted out!
No worries there! I cut it exactly at the indicated line, and the cooler end is the one I didn't connect power to. It's strange how it heats up so much closer to the inlet.