Many people have LED strip lights as a part of their home decor as they create a special atmosphere. Many people like turn on blue and green colors on their LED strips when they are sleeping since they seem to be calming and relaxing.
But after several months of usage, you may ask “Why do my LED lights change colors by themselves?”.
There is no need to worry since it is a common issue that can be caused by several factors. Usually, it may be affected by signals from other devices or it may be problems with the LED light strips themselves or with the remote controller. However, the most common reason is a combination of overheating and poor lighting quality.
So when your LED strip changes colours by itself or turns on for unknown reasons, or you may connect more than one strip and the other strips lose their colors, it doesn’t immediately mean that it needs to be replaced.
Let’s study this problem, the factors of its occurrence, and solutions together.
LED strip lights structure
LED lights usually consist of several small, light-emitting diodes, which are fixed on a flexible substrate. The LED lights are connected in series, so when one of them is off the whole strip lights are off. And when they are on they will emit light in certain colors depending on the size and quality of the LED chips used.
LEDs emit light when a direct voltage is applied to their outputs. And the color depends on the band gap of the material used to make the diode. Color-changing LEDs only work at certain frequencies corresponding to the levels of electronic transition in certain materials (such as transition metal compounds).
Why do my LED lights change colors by themselves?
The most common problem is the chances of the frequency that the LED lights pick up the light. For example, tv remotes can be the reason why the lights change to their next set of colors. Moreover, you should check whether everything is fine with the batteries, cause almost dead batteries can send signals to the LEDs.
Usually, yellow LED lights turn orange or red, red color lights may change to green.
The metal rod acts as a conductor or the electronic signals that create the color of the LED strip light. When it sends the signals to the light bulbs, it creates coloured light.
The most common reasons your LED light doesn’t work
There are several reasons why the LEDs change color. The power supply must be strong enough and pretty big to handle multiple strips. Otherwise, the current can heat the strips considerably if proper measures are not taken.
Overheating
To work properly LED strip lights need heat dissipation elements along with the various components that make them up.
To start with, they require adhesive tape (usually it has cooling properties) with ceramic particles which remove heat from the tape and dissipate it from sensitive light diodes. To reduce overheating you can also use the shrouds and conduits that house the LED strips, but this is optional.
The aluminum shrouds act as a heat sink and will help you to prevent overheating so that your LED strip lights will last a long time.
And don’t place the LED strips next to the wooden surfaces since it definitely will lead to overheating. If you place them next to the stoves, TV sets, or consoles it again will increase the temperature of the environment where the LED needs to operate, which is not good for the LED strip lights.
If LED strips overheat they can shut down or start to have power fluctuations, which are responsible for changing colors.
The lack of ventilation
As we said before if LED strip lights are not cooled enough it may lead to color changing. Sometimes the reason is a lack of air ventilation around the lighting setup.
So it is not recommended to place them behind furniture such as sofas and beds, because these spots don’t do not provide conditions for proper ventilation or sometimes there isn’t enough space for it.
Paint in circuits
It is not as common as overheating or the lack of ventilation but it still happens from time to time that people install LED strip lights and then paint the room.
A speck of paint can cause problems with LEDs and they will emit light of different colors (usually dull and faded).
And the most dangerous thing about it is that paint can get into the wiring and circuits, which leads to complete damage to LED strips. In this case, your strip may not only change colors but stop working at all.
Power supply
Sometimes LED lights and the power supply may be not properly connected. If it happens, you should replace a faulty part.
Or it may be that the AC power which goes into your house is not appropriate. You can check it by plugging in different devices to see whether they work. If they don’t, the problem is likely to be in external power which comes from the wall socket.
Wi-Fi
Today people use Wi-Fi and remote control to manipulate all the lights in their homes. The reason may be that Wi-Fi signals may interrupt the work of LED strip lights and cause them to flash and change colors.
To prevent this keep your router outside the main area of the house.
LED strip lights don’t use the brightness and color of the LED strip to change colors in different patterns. It happens due to the circuit and temperature of the current.
Why do LED lights randomly change colors?
There is one possibility that your lights are just old and you need to replace them, but more often you have problems with the wiring or with the switch or it also may be that the issue is in the lights themselves.
When you have several LEDs and want them to work together you need to make sure that their extensions are not from different brands. Otherwise, it is not going to work and your colors will start changing randomly.
Always make sure that you are using the correct type of LEDs, voltage, and current. If there is something wrong with them, the lights are not likely to work properly.
Which colour is better for sleeping?
LED lights emit light of specific colors based on the size and the quality of LED chips used.
If you are wondering which colour is better for sleeping you should know that there is no right answer. Of course, it mustn’t be bright, but different people prefer different lights.
Mostly, people prefer to use blue light when they sleep. However, purple light is considered to be better than blue since it doesn’t bring any harm to the eyes.
Green is also considered to be a good light for sleeping since it is not as bright as for example red.
As you may see everybody has their own preferences.
How much power do LED strip lights need?
To count the energy your LED strip lights require you need to divide the total wattage of your system by 1,000. Your result shows how many hours your LEDs will function without any trouble.
If your LED strip lights start to have some problems after this time, it doesn’t mean you’ve bought lights with faulty components, it means that their time is up.
How do I get my LED light fixed?
There are several ways you can do this.
To fix your LED strip lights you need to turn the power off and disconnect all cables before unplugging each connection from the connector at both ends and then reconnecting.
Sometimes there might be a problem with a faulty dimmer. If you want to stop LED lights from changing their color chaotically, follow these steps. Probably, you will need to see whether everything is right with the power source, and then you restart the dimmer switch and remove unsupported extensions.
Then you are recommended to check the power button on the remote controller and try to prevent the lights from overheating.
The reason may be in the source of power you are using. Sometimes just changing it may solve the problem.
If you want to change the power source to solve your problem you need to unplug and press the power button which will turn the lights off. Then you connect to another power outlet. Be careful to avoid power strips, cause it is likely to cause you further problems.
The reason may be that you’ve just bought LED strips of bad quality. One way to check this is to try replacing the light with simple light bulbs. If they work, this is a sign that your LEDs are bad.
Why do my LEDs turn yellow?
Usually, it happens with LEDs of bad quality. They may be damaged by the heat or blue light of the diode.
It may be that you’ve installed the connections in the wrong way. It is better to set up one LED strip in parallel with another, so the current won’t go through only one strip.
And it is better to choose LEDs that are encased in silicone or glass, cause the sealant turns yellow or even brown with time.
Is it possible to use LEDs outdoors?
You definitely can use your LED strip light outdoors, but you must prevent them to be damaged by water or moisture. For this, you can try to use water-resistant sealant or place them inside a weatherproof box.
Make sure that your power supply is capable of working outdoors and that you have a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) nearby.
Is it possible to use a dimmer to change the brightness of the LEDs?
Well, this is possible, but not recommended, because dimmers are usually not strong enough to control the LED strip lights. If you still want to use it with your LED strip lights you need to buy a special dimmer for LEDs and testify it before using it.
FAQ
Why are my LED lights changing different colors?
There can be several problems. In most cases, LED strip lights change colors due to overheating and poor ventilation. When LED strip light doesn’t have enough space it can also lead to several problems. Sometimes it’s the power supply that is not strong enough to support the entire length of a LED strip. Or your lights are just old and need to be replaced.
Why does my LED light turn on by itself?
This may happen when you turn off LED strip lights but they are still connected to a live source of power.
How do you reset LED lights?
Start with checking whether LED strips are plugged into an outlet. Now you need to press and hold the button on the top of the power cord for at least 10 seconds. After this release, the button waits for one minute. It needs to be unplugged automatically. Then unplug it from the outlet.
Why do my LED lights change colors when I use my TV remote?
LED light and TV remote have the same signal. That is why LED strip lights can catch this signal when you do something with the TV remote.
This may cause your LEDs to turn on or off, blink, or makes your LED strip lights change color.
Conclusion
As you may see there are several reasons why your LEDs don’t work properly. For example, this might be overheating, paint in the circuit, lack of ventilation, bad quality of light strip, TV signal or Wi-Fi interfering with the work of LEDs, and so on.
You should not place your lights close to wooden surfaces, stoves, TV sets, or consoles as they will overheat. If the lights are overheated they are prone to have problems with details that are responsible for changing the colors.
It is not recommended to place your LEDs behind such articles of furniture as beds or sofas, because such replacement does not provide conditions for proper ventilation, and sometimes there isn’t enough place for it.
Be careful when you want to paint the room because a speck of paint can cause big problems with LEDs. The paint can get into the wiring and circuits, which leads to complete damage to LED strips. In this case, your strip may not only change colors but stop working at all.
Sometimes it may be that LEDs catch Wi-Fi signals. These signals may interfere with the work of the LEDs and make them flash colors. To prevent this keep your router outside the main area of the house.
When something is wrong with your LEDs it doesn’t mean you need to immediately replace them. There are a few ways to fix them. For instance, you can try changing the source of power.
If you assume that something wrong with the lights themselves you may check it by replacing the light with simple light bulbs. If they work, this is a sign that your LEDs are bad. Wonder Do LED strip lights attract bugs, read
