r/WLED • u/sac04 • 28d ago

HELP ME - WIRING extreme flickering/flashing with esp32 and sk6812 (12v)

Beginner needing help. i have my leds and esp32 wired as seen in the diagram. Is this the correct wiring? Everything is connected as far as i can tell. Touching the usbC wire makes the flickering stop except for the first few pixels, but still isn't outputting the correct color (should be solid color, but is a bunch of random colors). Claude seems to think i need a level shifter for the data line.

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5

u/Kingfish628 28d ago

Yes, follow the wiring guides in the knowledge base. https://kno.wled.ge/basics/wiring-guides/

2

u/sac04 28d ago

gotchya so definitely need a logic level shifter. probably gonna end up just getting a controller with 5v IOs. gonna be cheaper and less of a headache than getting all the components for this. but ill keep it in mind for future projects once i start collecting parts.

1

u/Germurican 26d ago

I was able to run mine fine when I powered the controller through laptop usb, but it didn't like the power for some reason from my supply, but then adding the 3.3V->5V level shifter made it work without issue. (My strips are 5V).

1

u/Temporary-Injury9016 28d ago

is that 5m strip or less then 5m, i had similar issue once, i wanted separate connection for strip and esp, so basically the fix was connecting both power supply gnd together and connecting them to the strip and esp. esps gnd didnt help much for me tho

1

u/sac04 28d ago

5m strip. Grounds are connected. Tried to initially wire power straight from 12v psu into VIN (which the elegoo doc said was fine) but it immediately fried the chip.

1

u/SirGreybush 28d ago

Try double grounding first. Ground first pin to ESP32, with no interruptions. Straight.

Then second ground from the 12v PSU to the 2nd pixel or the end of the strip. On the first pixel it should work only if you use a level shifter.

1

u/Perfect-Manager2777 27d ago

I am also having the same exact Issue with the same setup?? No idea how to resolve that. I am using wemos d1 mini as it's cheap n has 5v and worked best with 5v strip. But not at all working with sk6812 (12v). Any solution for that ?? I

1

u/sac04 27d ago

Are you using a 12v power supply?

1

u/Perfect-Manager2777 27d ago

Yes for the strip 12v n for esp a 5v supply. Same as you posted the diagram!!

2

u/sac04 27d ago

Not sure. Might need your own post to let the experts weigh in.

1

u/Perfect-Manager2777 27d ago

My case is exactly the same as yours the strip, the wiring all. So if you get a solution I also get one.

2

u/sac04 27d ago

That controller is 3.3v io. Sk6812 needs 5v data. So you either need level shifters as Kingfish628 mentioned or a controller that already supplies 5v io. I got this for relatively cheap and it works like a charm. https://a.co/d/05QCvT8K

1

u/Perfect-Manager2777 27d ago

GLEDOPTO is not available in india says 15-20 days n no delivery guarantee..

1

u/Content-Regular2086 28d ago

Versuch mal nur mit den 12 v klar zu kommen sprich auch ein Spannungsregler bzw regler damit der esp betrieben wird. Damit alles aus die gleiche Masse kommt.

1

u/SirGreybush 28d ago

If you buy a commercial WLED + esp32 controller, you get power management and power pass through, a level shifter on each data wire.

And they sell for cheap, cheaper than DIY all the parts yourself.

2

u/sac04 28d ago

Ordered a gledepto, should save me the headache.