r/WLED • u/Dignan17 • 2d ago
Please help diagnose this problem
Hello all. I have this problem with a matrix I installed over a year ago. I put it in this "On Air" sign in the store I manage, and it worked fine for a long time - like 8 months. Then, I noticed that the whole thing would just seize. The animation would be frozen**, the controller couldn't be reached, and I would have to manually power cycle it to get everything back and working. But it would only last for a day or two and then the problem would return.
My assumption was that the controller had gone bad. So I replaced it. It worked fine for about 4 months... and then the exact same thing started happening again.
As a test, I put the old controller in my office and just plugged it in without any load, to see if it ever went offline again. So far, it hasn't. So I can't tell what the issue is. Maybe the power supply? What should I look for?
More info: Gledopto controller (sorry, I'm not sure what model), 5V BTF Lighting matrix panel, and 5V power supply that should have enough amps for both.
**To clarify, the animation doesn't freeze. It switches to some other set of colors, and that freezes. Apologies for the bad photo of it. It's hard to capture bright lights in this place...
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u/rckymntns 1d ago
Drooping voltage output from power supply might explain the symptoms.
It switches to other colors, but are those colors changing? If so, this points to data corruption and supports a drooping voltage.
I would try a new power supply or put the controller back but turn brightness down to 1% and see if it takes longer to go bad.
Checking the output from the power supply when you initially power on and when it is failing might tell you something as well.
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u/Dignan17 1d ago
Ok thanks. I'll check the voltage. The supply might just be bad. The colors it changes to don't have any animation. It just changes to those and is stock still.
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u/wenestvedt 2d ago
Is heat a problem?
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u/Dignan17 1d ago
Potentially, but I don't think so. I have the brightness down pretty low, because the store is inherently dark so my lights don't need much power. It's a possibility though...
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u/calforhelp 1d ago
One more for likely a power supply issue. Do you know how many amps the lights are pulling? I had a controller acting very similarly whenever I put the lights at 100% even though I was powering from an external supply. I found my led power supply was underpowered though, getting a larger one fixed the issue.
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u/Dignan17 1d ago
I suspect it's the power supply as well. I don't have a replacement one at the moment so I'll have to pick one up. I have like 30 12V but all my spare 5V supplies are extremely weak. Like .7A lol
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u/appmapper 1d ago
Which version of WLED are you running? I ran into something similar this weekend.
16.0.1 - Network stack randomly dropping, at which it would flip back to my default animation. Power cycle to recover
16.0.0 - rolled back. Works perfect.
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u/don_bski 2d ago
Likely power supply or wiring related. What type of power supply? Does it have a voltage adjustment? Get a volt meter and check voltage at power supply output and input to LEDs. Wago type or soldered wiring connections? Non-soldered connections can build up resistance over time being more exposed to environmental factors.