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myredracer's avatar
myredracer
Explorer II
Jun 18, 2018

LED awning strips and connector type?

Need to replace our awning LED strip. Had it replaced once already under warranty at 1-2 years old because only about 1/2 the LEDs were working. Now, another couple of years later, same thing has happened again as in the photo below. Nice huh?

I ordered a new 16' strip off ebay and thought I'd get one with an IP67 rating which means it's protected from immersion in water. Cost just $8 including shipping so thought the IP67 rating would be a good thing. Except what I received only had an IP65 rating which means it's protected from low pressure water jets. I have no idea if it really matters on these awning strips or not. The seller offered to refund me $3 so now am proud owner of an IP65 strip for a mere $5 total...

So I went to pull the old strip out and found that it has a different type of connector as in the 2nd photo. The new connector looks like the 3rd photo. Any reason why not to just splice the new LED wires onto the old connector? Is one connector type more waterproof than the other? Couldn't find any info. on google on these and don't know if there is a standard or if it depends on the IP rating? Was thinking of just soldering the splice and using heat shrink tubing on it.

I was working on this in a CG so I plugged the old strip back in to fix it back at home. But now the strip won't come on at all. I see that the power wire is sewn into the awning fabric and it is extremely light gauge wire. Has the wire maybe broken in the existing connector? Haven't checked with a voltmeter yet.

3 Replies

  • It seems that all the LED strips I have purchased came without a connector. I make my own. all you have to make sure about is the polarity.

    I put 12" amber strips under my steps and have them actuated by little remotes. I took off the wire supplied by the seller and put my own on, Isealed the shrink tube after shrinking using hot glue.

    The connectors aren't as significant as the class of the LEDs.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Like you, I’ve had poor service out of the LED strips that half the chips stop working in a couple hundred hours. Fortunately I used 48 5050 chip panels when I converted my fluorescent lights. I would not use the strips except where easy to replace.
  • The connector in the middle photo is superior as far as water intrusion goes.

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