Under-Cabinet lights flickering

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Old 11-07-2017, 08:12 PM
The Chipster The Chipster is offline
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Default Under-Cabinet lights flickering

Our two year old home in Dunedin has flickering LED lights under the kitchen cabinets. Any ideas?
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Old 11-07-2017, 08:30 PM
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Yes, you probably have mechanical connections at the ends. Try this, when the LEDs start flickering apply some finger pressure at the end where the wires connect, if the flickering stops you have found your problem. Now the bad news, I do not have a fix for this short of removing the faulty connector, and soldering the wires. I have installed several sets of under and over cabinet LED strips, and I always solder the connections, I do not like the mechanical connections.
Hope this helps.
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Old 11-07-2017, 11:09 PM
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Call Warranty...anyhow. You might just be surprised how helpful they are, even if your time has expired for free fixes.
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Old 11-13-2017, 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by The Chipster View Post
Our two year old home in Dunedin has flickering LED lights under the kitchen cabinets. Any ideas?
If installed by The Villages: Chances are they are not LEDs but rather "Malibu" incandescent bulbs. found on line or in the outdoor landscaping lighting area at lowes or home depot.

The fixtures are: cheap, inefficient and not very bright. I just replaced mine with LEDs. The entire fixture. To check hold your hand next to them are they hot like an old fashioned light bulb? Bingo!

Edit to add: those cheap Malibu lights use 180 watts, the LEDs use 36 watts and don't burn out!

Last edited by Toymeister; 11-13-2017 at 01:27 PM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 01:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
If installed by The Villages: Chances are they are not LEDs but rather "Malibu" incandescent bulbs. found on line or in the outdoor landscaping lighting area at lowes or home depot.

The fixtures are: cheap, inefficient and not very bright. I just replaced mine with LEDs. The entire fixture. To check hold your hand next to them are they hot like an old fashioned light bulb? Bingo!

Edit to add: those cheap Malibu lights use 180 watts, the LEDs use 36 watts and don't burn out!
Our under cabinet lighting is six years old and not one bulb has burned out. I am satisfied and don't agree about cheap. They use good recognizable brands like Kohler and Kichler.
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Last edited by graciegirl; 11-13-2017 at 01:47 PM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 02:19 PM
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Default Under-Cabinet lights flickering

Yellow lights such a faux pas, lol

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Last edited by Wiotte; 11-13-2017 at 02:31 PM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:58 PM
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Our under cabinet lighting is six years old and not one bulb has burned out. I am satisfied and don't agree about cheap. They use good recognizable brands like Kohler and Kichler.
I threw those in the trash can yesterday, they did not have a brand name on them. The light pictured in the first post is most certainly a Malibu incandescent light.

Kohler and kichler do not make light fixtures. They make plumbing fixtures. I can assure you the villages installed fixtures were quite cheap. Don't be ridiculous and defend every aspect of your home simply because it is in the villages.

The reason the bulbs do not burn out is two fold, they are 12 volt and the are dc, the mitigating factor is you may not be using them much. None of this excuses their use in newer construction when inexpensive LEDs are available. That said they will burn out and those bulbs are difficult to find. That bank of lights was the second largest consumer of lighting energy in my home. Wasteful!

Last edited by Toymeister; 11-13-2017 at 11:04 PM.
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Old 11-14-2017, 12:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
I threw those in the trash can yesterday, they did not have a brand name on them. The light pictured in the first post is most certainly a Malibu incandescent light.

Kohler and kichler do not make light fixtures. They make plumbing fixtures. I can assure you the villages installed fixtures were quite cheap. Don't be ridiculous and defend every aspect of your home simply because it is in the villages.

The reason the bulbs do not burn out is two fold, they are 12 volt and the are dc, the mitigating factor is you may not be using them much. None of this excuses their use in newer construction when inexpensive LEDs are available. That said they will burn out and those bulbs are difficult to find. That bank of lights was the second largest consumer of lighting energy in my home. Wasteful!
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Old 11-14-2017, 08:17 AM
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Old 11-14-2017, 10:49 AM
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A question was posted from one guy who had a problem with lights. One guy has offered a solution.

Many people have opinions about lights, it seems, but one guy has a problem and one guy has actually who offered a solution is also the same guy had has his hands on them, and removed them. This weekend in fact. To take it a step further the same guy even measured the actual power consumption of the light fixtures.

I would spend less time on the keyboard and replace the lights with LEDs.
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Old 11-26-2017, 01:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
A question was posted from one guy who had a problem with lights. One guy has offered a solution.

Many people have opinions about lights, it seems, but one guy has a problem and one guy has actually who offered a solution is also the same guy had has his hands on them, and removed them. This weekend in fact. To take it a step further the same guy even measured the actual power consumption of the light fixtures.

I would spend less time on the keyboard and replace the lights with LEDs.
I've replaced all the bulbs in my home with LEDs. The good news is like most electronic devices the price is falling dramatically. The bad news-they claim a 20 year life.
After 3-4 years I have ten bulbs that have failed. The issue seems to be cooling. Also, you need to have dimmers designed for them or they will make noise. Also, if you like the fact that incandescent bulbs go warm-yellow orange-when you dim them the led bulbs stay the same color as they dim they just put out less light.

Is it worth the trouble????? I read somewhere the payback period in electricity is TEN YEARS. I doubt that counts the cost to replace dimmers or TEN bulbs having failed.
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Old 11-26-2017, 03:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
I threw those in the trash can yesterday, they did not have a brand name on them. The light pictured in the first post is most certainly a Malibu incandescent light.

Kohler and kichler do not make light fixtures. They make plumbing fixtures. I can assure you the villages installed fixtures were quite cheap. Don't be ridiculous and defend every aspect of your home simply because it is in the villages....
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Old 11-26-2017, 09:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by suesiegel View Post
I've replaced all the bulbs in my home with LEDs. The good news is like most electronic devices the price is falling dramatically. The bad news-they claim a 20 year life.
After 3-4 years I have ten bulbs that have failed. The issue seems to be cooling. Also, you need to have dimmers designed for them or they will make noise. Also, if you like the fact that incandescent bulbs go warm-yellow orange-when you dim them the led bulbs stay the same color as they dim they just put out less light.

Is it worth the trouble????? I read somewhere the payback period in electricity is TEN YEARS. I doubt that counts the cost to replace dimmers or TEN bulbs having failed.
It is probably worth it to the guy who had the problem. It was worth it to me. I had a problem, I fixed it with a solution that will last longer than I will. It may also be a viable solution for others as well, but not all

In terms of cost pay back analysis most of us would not live in the manner we do if it was all about money, would we?
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