LED Light Suddenly Dim? – Fix In Minutes!

Does your LED light suddenly dim? No worries! In this guide, we’ll get the issue unwrapped.

One of the most useful and widely used technologies is LED.

In contrast to other lights, users choose the LEDs because of their many benefits, such as their dimming capabilities, long lifespans, heat compatibility, and energy efficiency. 

Even though LED lights have many advantages, sometimes they have drawbacks like light dimming. The problem mainly occurs due to power insufficiency from the light socket to excessive heat exposure or even failed hardware components.

Now that we have a brief introduction to the problem, let’s proceed with learning why?

Why Are My LED Lights Dim?

Your LED lights suddenly dim for a variety of reasons, including low voltage, damaged LED chips, capacitors, or a loose connection between the wires and the bulb.

Let’s discuss the causes in detail so that we can move forward toward the solutions. 

Here are some reasons why your LED light becomes dim:

Loose Connection!

There could be a problem with the wiring or bulbs if they are not connected correctly, which would indicate that the power supply has not reached the bulbs.

Maybe the LED bulb is loosely connected to the light fixture. That’s why LEDs do not get the power to operate properly.

Excessive Heat Exposure

Whenever LED bulbs get excessive heat from the environment, they get too hot and their internals gets damaged.

This is because LEDs are made of sensitive material and they can’t handle high heat exposure. Perhaps that’s why the LED light starts dimming.

Insufficient Power Supply

Sometimes there is less voltage coming from the current providers, and that voltage divides in each appliance that is in use.

In this way,  your LED does not get enough voltage, and its light starts dimming, especially after a power outage. Test with other light bulbs!

Incompatible Dimmer Switch

First of all, not all of the LEDs are dimmable. Sometimes when any dimmable LED is connected to an unsupported lighting dimmer switch, the controller is unable to respond to the voltage!

Improper Internal Components

Whenever any faults appear in any of the LED internal components such as capacitors, LED chips, and LED rays, the light becomes unable to get enough power supply and their light becomes dim. 

Let’s next proceed with learning how the problem is solved in a matter of minutes!

How To Fix Dimmed LED Lights – Easy Solutions!

Now it’s time to move on to the solutions. Remember not to skip any steps or methods to get the most out of this guide.

Let’s get started! 

Solution #1 Change Power Source!

LEDs operate on electricity, and obviously, they get power supply using wires. But when any problem happens with the wiring, the LED does not get power.

In your case, maybe the problem is due to the AC line (electrical installation), therefore this would be our first move!

Let’s begin with the inspection thoroughly:

1. Disconnect the LED lights from the power source.
2. When using a LED Bulb, answer the device from the light socket.
3. Allow the device to cool-down, down, and be disconnected for at least 5 minutes!
4. Reconnect the Power Adapter to another power source.
5. Screw the LED Bulb into another (proven-to-work) light socket.
6. Turn ON the light all the way up (when using a dimmer switch).

In case the LED lights are now working the way they are supposed to and there is no dimming, good for you, problem solved.

However, you should inspect the previous power source and prevent plugging any devices into it until the issue is discovered and solved.

Tip: Avoid using power dividers since they are one of the primary reasons for dim lights.

Solution #2 Replace The Dimmer Switches

The dimmer switches are used to handle the voltage power supply for dimming LEDs.

If you use a dimmer switch for your LED, then maybe the problem is due to a fault in the switch, thus, we’ll need to learn how to replace the units and prevent the dimming of our LED lights.

Here is how to remove the old and install a new dimmer switch:

1. Turn OFF the electricity from the circuit breaker!
2. To remove the switch you’ll need to unscrew both screws.
3. Then the old switch will come OFF the wall.
4. Disconnect both wires from the old unit (the Negative and Zero wires)
5. Losen to connection points screws to be able to insert the wires.
6. Connect the Negative and Zero wires into the connectors.
7. Tighten the screws to make sure that the wires are attached properly.
8. With a conductor wire connect the Negative wire to a metal surface on the switch.
9. Install the new dimmer switch into the wall box.
10. Turn ON the electricity from the circuit breaker and test!

Alert: In case you’ve never replaced a switch before, seek help!

Solution #3 Clean The LED Bulb Socket

This solution would only help users with LED bulbs so with LED strips, jump to the next step! 

When the LED light suddenly dims out of the blue we should know that with time, the bond between the bulb and socket becomes corroded due to dust.

There is a possibility that if there are too many obstructions between the wire and socket, hence the connection is constantly interrupted. 

In such cases, the lights will either flicker or become dim and regain their brightness shortly.

Unscrew the bulb, clean the socket and the bulb connector and check for the dim issue!

In case the problem is now gone, congratulations! The job is done. However, in case the light bulb is still becoming too dim without proper reasoning, proceed with the next solution!

Note: In case you still haven’t tested, now is the time to use another light socket in your home!

Solution #4 Install Surge Protector

One of the best options is to install a Surge Protector at your home. It not only prevents LED from voltage spikes but also preserves other home appliances as well.

Surge protectors protect your LED from high voltage because they need a certain amount of voltage to operate. 

Here’s how to set up a surge protector:

1. From the main switch, shut OFF the power supply.
2. Connect a Surge Protector strip to the wall outlet.
3. Reconnect your LED bulb from the light socket.
4. In case you’re using a LED strip, connect the device to the Surge Protector.
5. Turn ON the power from the circuit breaker.

When you’re ready, test whether your LED lights will be dimmer, now when we’re confident that the power is not fluctuating.

In case the problem persists, maybe the device is due for replacement.

Alert: For surge protectors that are mounted on the breaker, you’ll need professionals.

Solution#5 Replace The LED Bulb

Your LED bulb is dimming or not functioning properly simply because the device might be old and the lights are nearly dead.

Now it’s time to replace your LED with the new one, but before purchasing the new LED bulb, make sure to reach what’s next to be aware of the requirements.

Here are some beneficial factors to know before purchasing new LED lights:

• LEDs mainly use 3-volts, therefore can be plugged into a household wall outlet.
• Some LED lights are NOT COMPATIBLE with a dimmer switch.
• Excess voltage is dangerous for LED lights.
• LEDs are easily overdriven by high voltage.
• Never expose LED lights directly to sunlight due to overheating.

It’s also recommended to test your light fixtures with regular bulbs and inspect whether the wall outlets used for your strips are not malfunctioning.

This will help you understand the problem with the dimming even further and be able to prevent the issue from appearing in the future!

Tip: It’s recommended to use LED lights only indoors due to a lack of water resistance!

Quick Recap:

There are many solutions that you can apply whenever your LED lights become dim, such as checking the light fixture, dimmer switch, capacitors, socket, etc. Users should power cycle the LED lights device and change the power source to solve the issue!

Wrapping Up:

Now that we’ve learned why LED light suddenly dim, we can inspect the entirety of our setups and draw a conclusion on where the problem is coming from.

Once the true cause is identified, we can simply avoid the possibility of appearing in the future and preserve our LED devices!

We hope that this post was helpful and for more relevant content, check our blog!