The most common reason for your LED light not turning on can be a faulty power supply. However, that’s not the only reason. There are a few other reasons why your LED lights won’t turn on. Other reasons also include a faulty switch or maybe a sudden electric upsurge.
Even though LED lights are meant to last for a long time like 8-10 years, you can still face this issue! However, this is not related to the quality or manufacturing defects of your lights.
To give you more perspective, here’s a brief breakdown of all the reasons why your LED lights won’t turn on.
7 Reasons Why Your Led Lights Won’t Turn On
1. You May Simply Have a Faulty Power Supply
The first thing to check when your LED lights stop working is whether you have encountered a faulty power supply. A faulty power supply may often break the circuits. And the light cannot connect with the power source properly.
You can check it by yourself. Just remove all the power supplies on the circuit breaker, one by one. Do not take it out altogether. Now reconnect each one one by one. Right the moment the breaker trips, you get the one that is causing all the trouble.
If you have brought an LED strip light or trying out a project by connecting multiple LED lights using an additional circuit board, then check the power supply on that external breaker as well.
2. Pin Connector Is not Inserted Correctly
Some LED lights, especially the LED Strip Lights are usually preconnected with a connector cable. If the pins are not inserted correctly into its input socket, then it won’t turn on.
So, while troubleshooting your LED light strip when it doesn’t turn on, crosscheck the connection. If necessary pull out and insert it back in for a few times to make sure.
3. Sudden Upsurge in Your Domestic Power Supply
Although rare, if your house power supply experiences a sudden surge of electricity fluctuation, it might damage the diode of your LED light.
Such fluctuation may increase the voltage by 10-15% all of a sudden. And this sudden spike of electric waves may permanently damage your LED light. There is a fair amount of chance that you will never get to recover the light.
The same goes with an external circuit system. If somehow, the inrush current gets too high, it will damage the LED lights. The only way to prevent this is to ensure a whole-house surge protection system.
4. The Input and Output Voltage Power Doesn’t Match
Whenever you are thinking of buying an LED light, check the specification of the light as well as the requirements of your home power supply. You should find the information somewhere on the packaging of the product.
It’s really important to check and match the instruction before you install an LED light because when a lower voltage power supply (12V) goes into a higher voltage LED light (24V), the light will get less power than it requires. Eventually, it won’t be able to offer you its highest brightness.
At a point, due to the high pressure on the power supply, it may get a power surge or get damaged. However, for a higher power supply (24V) going into a lower voltage LED light (12V), it may light up brighter than it should be. Then the pressure will be on the light and it may stop working.
But, in this case, you can solve the problem simply by using a converter. A converter will convert the higher power supply(24V) into a lower power supply (12V) that will process and supply only the required power to the light.
5. Faulty Light Fixture
Another possible reason can be that your switch or light fixture is broken. And it’s not your LED light that’s creating the problem.
So, if your LED light suddenly stops working or doesn’t work at all, try checking on the fixture you are installing the light into. And pick the right light base for the right type of fixture.
6. Incompatible of Defected Switch
Another reason for your LED light is not turning on can be a faulty switch or an incompatible switch. Some LED lights are dimmable and compatible with a specific dimmer switch.
If you want to install a dimmer switch with your LED Light, make sure you are choosing the right switch. A switch that is not compatible with the exact LED light model, is not supposed to work. Although both the light and the switch work just fine individually, it won’t work together.
7. Your LED Light might Have a Problematic Motion Sensor Device
Well, that’s another known problem. It’s often heard that Motion Sensored LED Light has stopped working and it won’t turn on. Don’t be so quick to judge the light itself. The motion detector device may have been the culprit.
So, before investing in a motion-sensor LED Light, do not forget to research the performance of the light and its motion detector capability individually.
Conclusion
Any of these five possible reasons may be the cause of why your LED light is not turning on. Take your time to examine and find out what is the exact reason in your case.
As per the result of your home test, you can come to a solution. Although sometimes, you can be unlucky and your Light may have got permanently damaged. But, do not come to a conclusion without a proper investigation.
I installed 4 dimmable LED bulbs into a ceiling fan. There is a regular wall switch (20 years old) that would turn the incandescent lights on and a remote control for dimming the lights and operating the fan. Now the switch alone will not turn on the LEDs. Only the remote will do it when the wall switch is on. What could be the cause of this? Is there a remedy?
It is possible that the wall switch is not compatible with the LED bulbs, especially if it is an old switch designed for incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs require much less power than incandescent bulbs, and some switches are not able to provide the minimum amount of power needed to turn them on.
To confirm this, you can try replacing one of the LED bulbs with an incandescent bulb and see if the wall switch is able to turn it on. If it does, then the problem is likely due to the switch not being compatible with LED bulbs.
I have dimable LED lights on my upper wall perimeters. We had a power outage, and my LED started malfunctioning. For example, I left my LEDs on for about a minutes before the outage. The color was a turquoise-blue. After the outage, it became red and wouldnt respond to the remote to change it back. After I unplugged the LED and replugged it, the remote stopped working all together. Now it won’t turn back on. Is there a cause for this?