In our last Tech Talk, we talked about the difference between Snap connectors and Seamless connectors. This week, we’re going to be covering the steps to troubleshoot a static fixture.
When you’re experiencing issues with your LED Neon Flex fixture, it’s important to know the troubleshooting steps. An issue can arise from a power supply or the fixture, so you should start by checking that the problem isn’t from your power supply.
Isolate the power supply
The first step in troubleshooting a static fixture is to isolate your power supply. You want to ensure that there is no input to or output from the power supply. Once you have disconnected everything, reconnect just the power supply to power and test that it is outputting the correct voltage using a multimeter.
Identify an issue
With other fixtures, there are many issues that can arise. With a static fixture, however, there are two main issues that could arise:
Shorts
In a static fixture, one of the issues could be that there is a short along the light. This can be identified when a fixture is connected to a known working power supply and it will not light up. Depending on the power supply, you may also hear a faint ticking noise coming from the unit.
Shorts can be caused by improper bending and handling, water ingression, or misaligned connector pins.
Broken cutting unit
The second issue that could arise comes from a broken cutting unit. This issue can be identified by parts of a fixture working as normal while other parts are unlit.
Typically, a broken cutting unit is the result of improper handling or bending of a fixture, but could be a result of water ingression.
(The above image shows a fixture with 4 broken cutting units. The cause of the break was bending the end of the fixture against the specified bending direction.)
Having trouble?
Contact our tech support team if you have any problems troubleshooting your fixtures. Our team is happy to assist you!
Check back in for our next Tech Talk; we’ll be covering troubleshooting DMX decoders!
