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LED flicker when water pump runs


starman

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Some but not all the boat leds flicker when the water pump runs. Indeed on one circuit one light flickers and the other doesn’t. 
Most are the old school switched central dome light with down lighters in the galley. All the wiring is new and oversized for its job. No dimmers etc. 
Could it be bulbs? The flickerers all the tower type, the ok ones flat circular with an attached connector. These came from Bedazzled, the others I have no idea. 
 

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Some, if not all, LED bulbs include electronic circuitry to provide the light-emitting elements with the correct voltage. Possibly interference spikes generated by the pump are affecting the bulbs. Fitting a suppressor  might provide a solution.  A simple capacitor connected across the pump connections might be enough. Looping  the pump connection wires through a ferrite ring would provide additional suppression.

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2 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Most likely the flickering ones use resistors to limit the current, not electronics. The former are typically specced for 12v, the latter usually something like 9 - 30v. You need the latter type so that the voltage fluctuations are controlled by the electronics.

That sounds a pretty convincing explanation to this electrical numpty - is there any visual difference; no markings on the bulbs.  

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19 minutes ago, starman said:

That sounds a pretty convincing explanation to this electrical numpty - is there any visual difference; no markings on the bulbs.  

The relevant visual difference would be that the small PCB for the latter would contain several components including an inductor (coil). But whether these are visible or hidden, I can’t say. The former would just have a resistor.

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6 hours ago, starman said:

Some but not all the boat leds flicker when the water pump runs. Indeed on one circuit one light flickers and the other doesn’t. 
Most are the old school switched central dome light with down lighters in the galley. All the wiring is new and oversized for its job. No dimmers etc. 
Could it be bulbs? The flickerers all the tower type, the ok ones flat circular with an attached connector. These came from Bedazzled, the others I have no idea. 
 

 

Just to throw a curve ball in.

 

We had this with a previous Swift caravan. Running the pump would cause the dimmable LED lights to flicker.

 

For that year model (2015) it transpired it was a common problem.

 

It was fixed under warranty by installing a supressor across the pos and neg of the pump (or possibly in line)

 

Edit - just checked and the bit needed was called a 'spike arrestor'. 

Edited by The Happy Nomad
To correct which lights were affected
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5 hours ago, nicknorman said:

the latter usually something like 9 - 30v. You need the latter type so that the voltage fluctuations are controlled by the electronics.

The important parameter to control for LED's is the current. Too much will kill them. The sort that @nicknorman describes typically have a small integrated circuit, an inductor and a couple of other components on the circuit board with the LED's themselves to set the current flowing through the LED's. They will produce the same light output with input voltages across the entire range from 9 to 30V, so are immune to the state of battery charge, still lighting when the battery is essentially flat. Not that this is a good thing to try! Cheap LED's use resistors to limit the current, but the current then depends directly on the input voltage. These will dim as the batteries go flat and can be killed by high voltages and spikes.

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Radio spares do a 15V zener that will do the trick for pennies. 

12 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Just to throw a curve ball in.

 

We had this with a previous Swift caravan. Running the pump would cause the dimmable LED lights to flicker.

 

For that year model (2015) it transpired it was a common problem.

 

It was fixed under warranty by installing a supressor across the pos and neg of the pump (or possibly in line)

 

Edit - just checked and the bit needed was called a 'spike arrestor'. 

Sorry,  the above should have been associated with this quote. Wattamilike eh?

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