Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino

Thank you. it has been bugging me for quite some time..

so much for deceiving graphs.. and stupid no nothing engineers.. ;)

It was bugging me too. I kept looking for a "real" spec sheet instead of the marketing data sheet that is posted for this item, I don't think one exists. So in stead of waiting I just bought one and tested the output myself. I'm sure someone at MeanWell would have been quicker at getting to the answer but now I have a cute little bench-top scope to play with. :)

Krazie :jester:
 
It was bugging me too. I kept looking for a "real" spec sheet instead of the marketing data sheet that is posted for this item, I don't think one exists. So in stead of waiting I just bought one and tested the output myself.
Out of curiosity you built a scope??

I'm sure someone at MeanWell would have been quicker at getting to the answer but now I have a cute little bench-top scope to play with. :)

Krazie :jester:

they had weeks if not longer.. and most answers were, in this light, misleading at best wrong.., flat our wrong as worst..
 
I finally got my new controller in today after frying the last one. I got everything hooked up and all channels are working great except one. I made a closed loop with my multimeter from that driver but I'm not getting any power. Every cable is connected correctly. Do y'all think I burned the driver too or maybe a restrictor on the driver board?
 
Very likely. Are your LDD's socketed on your driver board or soldered in? If they are socketed then you can swap two of them and see if the failure follows the driver or the channel. Remember that LDD's will self destruct if you turn them on with no load. So using your meter as the only load is not a very good idea. I would keep your LEDs connected and just measure the voltage across one of them to see that you are getting voltage out. Krazie :jester:
 
Very likely. Are your LDD's socketed on your driver board or soldered in? If they are socketed then you can swap two of them and see if the failure follows the driver or the channel. Remember that LDD's will self destruct if you turn them on with no load. So using your meter as the only load is not a very good idea. I would keep your LEDs connected and just measure the voltage across one of them to see that you are getting voltage out. Krazie :jester:

It is also not "good practice" to energize the LDD's (or any driver for that matter) and hot attach it to an LED string.. Bad things can happen..


I have yet to lose an LDD w/ it not being attached to a string.. though I don't doubt it can happen.. wiring them backwards.. well a totally different story.. ;) or so I am told..
 
Very likely. Are your LDD's socketed on your driver board or soldered in? If they are socketed then you can swap two of them and see if the failure follows the driver or the channel. Remember that LDD's will self destruct if you turn them on with no load. So using your meter as the only load is not a very good idea. I would keep your LEDs connected and just measure the voltage across one of them to see that you are getting voltage out. Krazie :jester:

So I made the executive decision after I posted the other night and ordered a new board and driver. I figure I'll use either one eventually so why not. We will see tomorrow which one was the culprit. I didn't know that about running LDDs without a load, though. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Just out of curiosity, if I run the LDD and the LED string is broken for some odd chance, it will burn the driver immediately?
 
So I made the executive decision after I posted the other night and ordered a new board and driver. I figure I'll use either one eventually so why not. We will see tomorrow which one was the culprit. I didn't know that about running LDDs without a load, though. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Just out of curiosity, if I run the LDD and the LED string is broken for some odd chance, it will burn the driver immediately?

No. The LED's will still present a load to the LDD just no path for current flow. If the string is broken (meaning a wire is not connected) prior to the first LED in the string then it could damage the LDD. Most current LED's have a shunt built into them so that if the LED goes bad they don't actually present an open to the circuit but a very large resistance to prevent circuit damage. Krazie :jester:
 
Alright so I got he new board and driver in today. I switched all of the other drivers and cables to the new board and replaced the one in question. I'm beginning to think it might be the LEDs themselves. Is there any way to test them?
 
Last edited:
Yes, get any 5v walwart rated at 750mA or less and just strip the wires back. Then you can touch (quickly) the positive wire to the + terminal and the negative wire to the - terminal on each LED. Use your volt meter to figure out which is which. If you see a bright light and spots in your eyes then that one is good. As long as you don't hold the wires on for more than 15 seconds this will not harm the LED at all. Krazie :jester:
 
Yes, get any 5v walwart rated at 750mA or less and just strip the wires back. Then you can touch (quickly) the positive wire to the + terminal and the negative wire to the - terminal on each LED. Use your volt meter to figure out which is which. If you see a bright light and spots in your eyes then that one is good. As long as you don't hold the wires on for more than 15 seconds this will not harm the LED at all. Krazie :jester:

Sorry, I forgot to specify, I have the tester and know how to use this on regular LEDs. This application is for a radion puck. Perhaps I should ask that in the other thread. I'm just not sure how to test those. I tried all kinds of combinations of touching the tester to the pads on LEDs that I know work but haven't gotten any results.
 
The radion pucks work the same way. Make sure your tester puts out at least 4v or it won't turn on some of the LEDs on the the Radion puck. the LED's on the puck are three terminal LEDs so you may have to add a jumper to your tester so that you can apply it to both outer connections at the same time. I believe that the two outer are + and the center is - if I remember correctly. Is it the pro puck or the non-pro? If it's non-pro you can use one of the empty pads in the center of the board to test and make sure. Krazie :jester:
 
I have the standard two AA battery tester from rapidled. Is that enough to test the whites? Also, it's the non-pro puck. I'll try out what you said and see if I get any results.
 
That's only 3v with brand new batteries. I believe the forward voltage on the LED's on teh Radion pucks is 3.3v-3.9v. If you had brand new batteries in it it might be enough to turn them on.

5v would turn them on for sure. check the empty LED locations to make sure which pads are which and then try using your tester. The other components on the Radion puck may be using some of the voltage from the tester as well. That could make the voltage low enough to not turn on (in circuit). I would recommend a 5v walwart if the tester doesn't work. Krazie :jester:
 
3v should be plenty to make them glow at a few mA at least bright enough to see on all, even the violets which will have the highest forward voltage, unless your room lights are very bright anyway.
 
I have a wiring question. I'm using the 4up Pcb and connecting the PS. Red to + and black to -. Where do I connect the ground from the PS to?
 
Back
Top