G4 to LED kitchen spot lights

[southcote1]

Hi,

I have two PSU each feeding two spot lights, currently there are 2 x 10W halogen spots from a single SY1503A/W lite-tech, which steps down from 240v to 12v Max 4.9A

I bought two

Warm white
12 LED bulbs
Diameter: 25mm
Base: G4
Input: 12V
Power: 0.6W

from ebay.

when I plug them in they flicker but don't come on, if I have one G4 halogen and one LED replacement they both come one.

I'm guessing that the two LED's don't draw enough current to make the PSU work.

Would this be right ? if so why LED spec should I go for ? 1.5W x 2, 2.1W x 2 ?

Or do I need to replace the PSU and wiring ? which would be a pain in the neck.


All suggestions welcome.

Thanks

 

[TicklyT]

Two 0.6 Watt LED lamps will draw 0.1 Amps.

The minimum output for most SMPSs used for TH lamps is probably about 10 Watts, or about 1 Amp at 12 Volts. If the minimum load criteria isn't met, they often just shut down and sulk!
As that's about 10 times the power consumption of your LEDs, you will need appropriate LED drivers to power your new lighting.

I would consider a 1.5 Watt LED array probably comes somewhere near the output of a 10 Watt TH lamp, but the differences in the beam angles and the overall shape of the spectrum of light may differ from your expectations.
Even 2 X 2.2 Watt LED arrays will draw less than 0.4 Amps. That will probably still fall short of the minimum power output of your SMPSs so the correct LED drivers is the way to go.

I replaced ten 10 Watt MR11 TH lamps with 2.2 Watt LED arrays, (and the SMPS with an appropriate driver), and I am quite pleased with the result.

 

[southcote1]

thanks for the reply.

So its probably not a straight swap, hmmmm

I've google'd led drivers and I'm unsure if these are a replacement for the PSU or go between the LED and the PSU, can anyone advise ?

any further advice is most welcome.

Thanks again