Flickering light (LED) circuit

[Tipiford]

I have introduced RC circuits to two LED lamp circuits on the same electrical leg (the RC circuits prohibit the LEDs from blinking when turned off on a dimmable switch). When either lamp circuit is turned on, it behaves normally, but when both are turned on, the one circuit with two LEDs simultaneously flicker; the other circuit with 6 LEDs remains solid. Any ideas here?

 

[duke37]

C2 is shorted and does nothing.
Circuit2 is shorted, so how does it work at all?
I suspect that interference on the power line is upsetting the timer in circuit2. You may have to investigate and fit some suppression components.

 

[Tipiford]

Oops, Please forgive, I had redrawn my initial schematic and took out the leg on Circuit #1, but overlooked Circuit #2. I edited the OP and inserted an updated graphic.
If line interference is causing the flicker, shouldn't it do so on both circuits, or even circuit #2 when energized alone?

 

[Arouse1973]

What colour are your LEDs? Try switching both on and covering up the 6 LEDs with your hand, does this help?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

The LEDs are all 2,700K, dimmable, the 6-lamp circuit is spaced some 8x6' on the ceiling (track lights) and the other two are hanging lamps over a kitchen bar (they're all the same, BR30 bulbs).

 

[Arouse1973]

It must be a loading issue then. If the voltage is dropping by a small amount this may not be noticed so much by the 6 LEDs as compared to the 2 LEDs. Can you disconnect some of the 6 LEDs and see if that helps?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

Thanx, Adam, but I still get a flicker with two and two.

 

[Arouse1973]

That's very odd. Not sure then. Their not on a dimmer by any chance?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

Here's a video of what's happening, I had to make it pretty small to conform to the forum's file size limit.

 

[Arouse1973]

Here's a video of what's happening, I had to make it pretty small to conform to the forum's file size limit.
View attachment 18554

Looks like both are flickering?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

Yes both light circuits are on dimmer switches. I added the RC circuit to control some pretty erratic behavior, such as when the circuits are de-energized, all of the bulbs would blink in random order. I'm hoping to find a solution to this so as not to have to replace the dimming switches.

 

[Arouse1973]

Ah you can't dim all LEDs, they need to be dimmable types. Are they?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

Those two flickering are on the one circuit, the 6-bulb circuit remains steady (if you can see it--it's a pretty small video--there's one can on the track light on the ceiling that's steady).

 

[Tipiford]

Yes, all are dimmable, that's why I'm trying to keep the switches. I could put in regular singles and 3-ways to correct this; but hoping not to.

 

[Arouse1973]

Some of the issues that may occur when a dimmer is incompatible with an LED lamp are:

• Flickering - Lamps will flicker (can also occur if a non-dimmable lamp is used)
• Drop-out - No light output at the end of the scale
• Dead travel - When the dimmer is adjusted there is no matching change in light output (light may not dim to acceptable level)
• Not smooth - Light output may not go from dim to bright linearly
• Multiple lamps - issues may become apparent when multiple lamps are added
• Damage or failure - LED driver, circuit or LED is damaged or fails.
• Load below minimum - The power load of the LED lamp is below the minimum required by the dimmer
• Mixed models- Different models of LED will likely have different drivers - since drivers behave differently this could result in dimming issues.

Adam

 

[Arouse1973]

Yes, all are dimmable, that's why I'm trying to keep the switches. I could put in regular singles and 3-ways to correct this; but hoping not to.

But the dimmer switch needs to be the right one also
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

According to some, what I am looking for is a network that will correct this without spending $100 on two switches.

 

[Arouse1973]

How many dimmer switches do you have?
Adam

 

[Tipiford]

There's a single pole on the 2-lamp circuit and a 3-way on the 6.

 

[Arouse1973]

So it's only two light banks then? have you looked into the prices of the dimmers are they that exspensive?
Adam