LED GU10's blowing almost straight away

Redturborocket · May 8, 2014

Basically I have around 40 down lighter's on one circuit.

i have just replaced 20 low voltage, with mains voltage, fire rated down lighters, and 12w LED bulbs.

but they seem to be blowing straight away! Within the first day 6 have blown, whilst tripping the MCB!

now what could be causing this?

i can't see it being this many faulty bulbs?

it can't be overloaded, as all lights now have either 9w or 12w LED bulbs.

could it be a wiring issue?

they are not the silly cheap eBay specials, they are the aluminium shelled, dimmable ones with 4 LED's each.

any advice would be much appreciated.

shanky887614 · May 9, 2014

are they on a dimmer and what is the supplied voltage? is the voltage locally stable or does it fluctuate?

davesparks · May 9, 2014

Bad batch of bulbs?

R G · May 9, 2014

Silly question but have you removed the transformers ??

Other question is 12 W led lamps are quite powerful , are the fitting suitable for these lamps ??

I tend to use a one piece fitting with lamp combined like JCC led7 myself and have no problem,,,

Richard Burns · May 9, 2014

I bought some aluminium shelled 4 LED B22 12W lamps to try out and I had a 90% failure rate, (not getting themf or customers)
So it does depend on where they are from and who makes them.
But also check that the specifications are not for 110V or something like that.

Octopus · May 9, 2014

12w LED lamps - really??

R G · May 9, 2014

Everything is made in China these days even the once repeatable makes ,its a gamble really ,,

shanky887614 · May 9, 2014

Murdoch said:
12w LED lamps - really??

sounds a bit suspicious for downlighters.

what brand is it?

Octopus · May 9, 2014

shanky887614 said:
sounds a bit suspicious for downlighters.

what brand is it?

Found some on ebay - they look like gerkins!

MCB has to be inrush issues!

Redturborocket · May 9, 2014

Thanks, I think i will send them all back and get something else.

Yes they are 12W (4X3W), and TBH they were rather bright, half the light would have been fine.

Im thinking of getting some around 6/7W and see how i get on, and if they start blowing, i will know there is defiantly something wrong with the circuit.

Although to be fair, no more have blown since yesterday afternoon, and the lights have been on pretty much constant.

I will check what the voltage is, but it was around 242V when i checked a good while ago.

And no not on a dimmer at the moment.

And yes i defiantly removed the transformers!

nickblake · May 9, 2014

only buy my LED lamps from LED supplies / light rabbit top notch they are 5 year guarantee , 1.2 watt sounds more realistic

Richard Burns · May 9, 2014

This is a 12W B22 (one of the failed ones) this is 45mm wide by 75mm high and could easily be supplied with a GU10 connection instead of the B22.
There are 4 LEDs at apparently 3W each.
From the brightness of the light I would say it was actually about 8W for a reasonable efficiency LED, but anyway in my case the circuit boards overheated and burnt out on 9 of the ten lamps.

[ElectriciansForums.net] LED GU10's blowing almost straight away

R G · May 9, 2014

Looking at that IMO I would say LED for their size and wattage are probably reaching their maximum , with the over heating issues , there must be a limit , The op has tried 12W in an enclosed fire rated GU10 fitting ,,,

I suppose with any new more powerful lamps entering the market it may be worth waiting a while until any glitches are sorted before using them ,,,

specs · May 9, 2014

Try Lustrum lighting, use them all the time, terrific range. I have never had this sort of problem with them and there prices are good.

shanky887614 · May 9, 2014

Richard Burns said:
This is a 12W B22 (one of the failed ones) this is 45mm wide by 75mm high and could easily be supplied with a GU10 connection instead of the B22.
There are 4 LEDs at apparently 3W each.
From the brightness of the light I would say it was actually about 8W for a reasonable efficiency LED, but anyway in my case the circuit boards overheated and burnt out on 9 of the ten lamps.
View attachment 24634

how much were they and what brand cause they look cheap and horrible