Are these "smart" LED downlights faulty? Or am I the faulty one?
November 25, 2020 1:13 PM Subscribe
I bought some "smart" GU5.3 6V LED downlights for my living room. When I install them and flip the switch, nothing happens — no solid light, and no flashing light for "pairing mode". The old "dumb" LEDs work fine. What's the problem?
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We have GU5.3 LED downlights in our living room and kitchen. My wife would like dimmable lights in the living room, so rather than get an electrician in to install a dimmer switch, I thought we should try some "smart" LED bulbs.
So, I ordered 4 of these.
The instructions are to install them, power them on, check that they are flashing so that they can be paired, and then use a smartphone app to set them up via wifi. If they just switch on but don't flash, there are instructions for switching the light on and off several times to enter pairing mode.
My problem is that they don't turn on at all. Not flashing fast, not flashing slow, not solid light. Nothing. I've tried all of the bulbs in two different sockets, no luck. I tried one in the kitchen (on a different circuit), no luck there either.
If I put the ordinary (dumb?) LED bulbs back in, they work fine.
Am I missing something? What else should I try before I complain to the retailer?
--------------
We have GU5.3 LED downlights in our living room and kitchen. My wife would like dimmable lights in the living room, so rather than get an electrician in to install a dimmer switch, I thought we should try some "smart" LED bulbs.
So, I ordered 4 of these.
The instructions are to install them, power them on, check that they are flashing so that they can be paired, and then use a smartphone app to set them up via wifi. If they just switch on but don't flash, there are instructions for switching the light on and off several times to enter pairing mode.
My problem is that they don't turn on at all. Not flashing fast, not flashing slow, not solid light. Nothing. I've tried all of the bulbs in two different sockets, no luck. I tried one in the kitchen (on a different circuit), no luck there either.
If I put the ordinary (dumb?) LED bulbs back in, they work fine.
Am I missing something? What else should I try before I complain to the retailer?
Response by poster: Sorry, yes — I said 6V but that should have been 6W.
And yes, I'm fairly sure it's a 12V AC system — this is the bulb that works in the same socket, and it's a 6W 12V bulb.
posted by robcorr at 1:38 PM on November 25, 2020
And yes, I'm fairly sure it's a 12V AC system — this is the bulb that works in the same socket, and it's a 6W 12V bulb.
posted by robcorr at 1:38 PM on November 25, 2020
Your link says the bulbs are 85-265V; around here GU5.3 is generally paired to a 12V socket. Check your old bulbs for operating voltage. If it's 12V then these bulbs aren't compatible with your fixtures.
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on November 25, 2020
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on November 25, 2020
Best answer: And on non-preview: your ebay bulbs are the wrong voltage.
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on November 25, 2020
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on November 25, 2020
Response by poster: Dang, you're right! Thank you — that saves me looking like an idiot by demanding a refund!
posted by robcorr at 1:52 PM on November 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by robcorr at 1:52 PM on November 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by nickggully at 1:31 PM on November 25, 2020