Dimming those LED strips

[Folkranger]

Anybody done this? Our van has so called mood lighting made up of concealed and diffused LED strips. Unfortunately these are the brightest lights in the van. Not the mood I want when settling down with a glass of wine and some nice music. Not to mention the battery drain.

 

[Badknee]

We have a dimmable outside light. It’s from Aten Lighting and has a control box with a key fob.

 

[Richard n Ann]

You can get cheap dimmer modules for them on ebay

 

[Guigsy]

If the LED module isn't built with dimming in mind, it'll either cut out completely at a certain level like an on/off switch, or it'll flicker like crazy.

 

[pelican]

seems to be standard on Autotrail led strips

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[Folkranger]

If the LED module isn't built with dimming in mind, it'll either cut out completely at a certain level like an on/off switch, or it'll flicker like crazy.

Apparently led strips work differently and can accept dimming. The clever bit is finding the right dimmer module for the type of power supply

 

[Folkranger]

You can get cheap dimmer modules for them on ebay

I'll have a gander.

 

[tonka]

Took me 5 years before I found out my Autotrail had dimmable lights found out I needed to hold my finger on the button !!
Guess what, only 18 months to find same thing on my Burstner.. hold finger on button and lights dim up and down..
Check in case you have something similar.

 

[jollyrodger]

I've got an older version of this one

DC 12v/24v 30a led switch dimmer controller for led strip single color black FT | eBay

There is a black knob, just twirl it to adjust the brightness of LED lights. PWM digital dimming, avoid rush current, protect your LED lights. Adjust the light soft and stable, no flickering. Due to the difference between different monitors, the picture may not reflect the actual color of the item.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Folkranger]

Took me 5 years before I found out my Autotrail had dimmable lights found out I needed to hold my finger on the button !!
Guess what, only 18 months to find same thing on my Burstner.. hold finger on button and lights dim up and down..
Check in case you have something similar.

Will do

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[Lenny HB]

Anybody done this? Our van has so called mood lighting made up of concealed and diffused LED strips. Unfortunately these are the brightest lights in the van. Not the mood I want when settling down with a glass of wine and some nice music. Not to mention the battery drain.

With the LED dimmers you have to wire them in series with both the positive & negative feed to the LED's.
You have a DL I was going to fit dimmers to my DL but I have not been able to find a negative feed that is common to all the LED strips.
Your van is a diffent layout to mine so you may be luck, just make sure you find both neg & pos feeds before wasting money on the dimmers.

 

[Folkranger]

With the LED dimmers you have to wire them in series with both the positive & negative feed to the LED's.
You have a DL I was going to fit dimmers to my DL but I have not been able to find a negative feed that is common to all the LED strips.
Your van is a diffent layout to mine so you may be luck, just make sure you find both neg & pos feeds before wasting money on the dimmers.

I suspect they'll be much the same in this respect withstrip around the top cupboards and the bottom of the bed. I suppose you could disconnect the negatives and run your own common one but That sounds a lot of work finding routes for cables. Think I'll just get a little table lamp like my first van.

 

[Lenny HB]

I suspect they'll be much the same in this respect withstrip around the top cupboards and the bottom of the bed. I suppose you could disconnect the negatives and run your own common one but That sounds a lot of work finding routes for cables. Think I'll just get a little table lamp like my first van.

Mine are around the bed and cabinets, under the edge of the kitchen worktop then on the other side of the van above the TV and in the cubby hole below the TV.

Edit:
Just looked at the layout of your van TV with lighting in the same position as mine. Looks like the same problem of trying to find a common neg feed.

 

[Folkranger]

Mine are around the bed and cabinets, under the edge of the kitchen worktop then on the other side of the van above the TV and in the cubby hole below the TV.

Yep. That's the same.

 

[pappajohn]

I've got an older version of this one

DC 12v/24v 30a led switch dimmer controller for led strip single color black FT | eBay

There is a black knob, just twirl it to adjust the brightness of LED lights. PWM digital dimming, avoid rush current, protect your LED lights. Adjust the light soft and stable, no flickering. Due to the difference between different monitors, the picture may not reflect the actual color of the item.

www.ebay.co.uk

View attachment 624344

Says 'colour black' then a pic of a white one.
Wouldn't trust that seller.

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[jollyrodger]

White one and off white one

 

[the2ofus]

Anybody done this? Our van has so called mood lighting made up of concealed and diffused LED strips. Unfortunately these are the brightest lights in the van. Not the mood I want when settling down with a glass of wine and some nice music. Not to mention the battery drain.

 

[the2ofus]

How about wearing sunglasses and imagine you're on a sunny beach? Only joking! As others have said you'll need to investigate the dimming route.

 

[Folkranger]

I was wondering about sticking some kind of semi translucent/coloured tape over them. Googling this, all advice is NO! as this will stop the dissipation of heat. I think it should be alright because they're covered with diffusers and so wont touch the led strips. Just need to find the right tape. Any suggestions?

 

[Landy Andy]

I covered mine with white electrical tape which worked, but then bought a remote dimmer from eBay. Was silly cheap, and never thought it would work, but it does, and brilliantly. Been on for a few years now. Don’t have to alter each time, it just remembers previous setting.

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[Landy Andy]

12V-24V/8A Wireless RF Remote Controller Dimmer Switch for LED Strip Light | eBay

Output current: <8A. Down arrow button: to decrease brightness. Output power: 5V <40W, 12V <96W, 24V <192W. Mainly used to adjust the brightness of single color LED lights. Up arrow button: to increase brightness.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[activecampers]

You can get remote control units which dim/flash for under £5 - I have one on our outside strip, and we have a remote control for our mood lighting (RGBWW) which sorts dimming, flashing, party mode - that was maybe £7. Works well and also ensures the voltage is +12v rather than +VB+ which could be 14.4v - as the strips *will* fail above 12v if they don't have a regulator/driver on them

 

[Folkranger]

You can get remote control units which dim/flash for under £5 - I have one on our outside strip, and we have a remote control for our mood lighting (RGBWW) which sorts dimming, flashing, party mode - that was maybe £7. Works well and also ensures the voltage is +12v rather than +VB+ which could be 14.4v - as the strips *will* fail above 12v if they don't have a regulator/driver on them

The outside light is easy but how do you find a neutral for the mood lights? There won't be one at the switch. Post above by Lenny HB mentions the difficulty finding a common neutral foor these.

 

[activecampers]

The outside light is easy but how do you find a neutral for the mood lights? There won't be one at the switch. Post above by Lenny HB mentions the difficulty finding a common neutral foor these.

The remote (for single colour) only needs +- and could go post switch. So if you find the wire (+-) going to the light, you could simply snip and insert the device (its quite small - maybe AAA battery size)
When power to switch is off it will be off, and when on it will revert to the last settings.
Thats how ours is set up.
*generally* earth should be easy to find - its anything metal attached to the van lol and all earths will be common.

I have this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32422742...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1 for the outside, and https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18448652...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1 for the moodlight (different sellers than I used, these were quick searches)

 

[Lenny HB]

The remote (for single colour) only needs +- and could go post switch. So if you find the wire (+-) going to the light, you could simply snip and insert the device (its quite small - maybe AAA battery size)
When power to switch is off it will be off, and when on it will revert to the last settings.
Thats how ours is set up.
*generally* earth should be easy to find - its anything metal attached to the van lol and all earths will be common.

I have this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32422742...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1 for the outside, and https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18448652...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1 for the moodlight (different sellers than I used, these were quick searches)

You are missing the point as I said earlier the negative ine & the positive needs to be in series with the LED's you can't just connect to any ground.

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[Fdhadi]

We have a dimmable outside light. It’s from Aten Lighting and has a control box with a key fob.


View attachment 624320


View attachment 624321

Hi Paul
Could you post a link to from the Aten website for the lights and any other parts need for the setup you have. I do like the look of them.

Thanks
Frank

 

[Folkranger]

You are missing the point as I said earlier the negative ine & the positive needs to be in series with the LED's you can't just connect to any ground.

Is this the case with all dimmers. Do some only switch the positive and only use the neutral to allow the dimmer to power itself? Rather than your explanation of a two pole switch? If I don't understand its because I'm confused.