CPU/Mobo Need help with LEDs going dim

E

Eazy

Skilled
Recently I noticed that all the LEDs in my 2 Vantec fan - total 16 LEDs - and the 3 case Blue LEDs on my Antec P160 cases front panel have gone quite a bit dimmer. They must be about 60% less brighter than when they were new ? I thought it may have been a LED problem but both the fans as well as the cases LEDs are just as dim. I checked my PSU's 5v and 12v readings and they are the same 5.00 and 11.98 - no changes.

And yesterday a friend who uses a Zebby case and PSU mentioned that in his case too the LEDs from the Vantec fans had dimmed down considerably.

WHAT GIVES ??? Is this a known phenomena ? :huh:
 
Its prolly dust accumulating over the LED's or fans. Cleaning them up should help. Its not common to see them fading. The solder could also be losing quality leading to increased resistance. Otherwise just have to replace them. It shouldnt cost more than a few bucks.

Raghu.
 
Raghunandan said:
Its prolly dust accumulating over the LED's or fans. Cleaning them up should help. Its not common to see them fading. The solder could also be losing quality leading to increased resistance. Otherwise just have to replace them. It shouldnt cost more than a few bucks.

Raghu.
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It is not a DUST problem - I am a cleanliness fanatic - and just 2 days back I removed the fans and cleaned them.

I doubt it could be a solder problem on all 19 LEDs in my system at the same time - you agree ?

Replace the LEDs = I did try other locally purchased LEDs in the P160 case and they too were bright for a while and then became DIM .... so it must be some sort of voltage thing.

I know it makes no sense but its not just me - this same thing happens on a friends computer too and his system is very different to mine.
 
Well eazy most LEDs grow dim over time. How long have you been using these LEDs. Most LEDs will do around 100,000 Hours before they die out or start dimming. Also thing such as voltage fluctuations, temperatures, humidity play in a role in decreasing its life.
 
100000 hrs is a good long time, if on an average PC runs for 12 hrs a day. Thats 833 days, over 2 years, over Eazy's upgrade cycle ;)
 
I have had the Vantec LED fans for about a month now and the cases LED were replaced about 6 months back - I had damaged the original Antec P160 cases 3 Blue LEDs and Antec had sent new LEDs by courier. The original LEDs had got dim too and got damaged whilst I was fiddling with them :)

If I am not mistaken all of the LEDs seem to have gone dim after about a weeks use. And now whenever I switch on the comp the LEDs are slightly bright and withing an hour they dim down quite a bit.
 
Here are 2 pics which will show the amount of reduction in brightness - actually they are the same picture but I made one copy darker to the level of the brightness of the LEDs right now and the other one shows the amount of light the LEDs emitted when new.

LEDOutside.jpg


LEDOutsidedim.jpg
 
SunnyBoi said:
no..i think he meant the cleaning process screwed the LEDs? :p
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NO !! The LEDs are embedded into the fan - not reachable and the cases LEDs are open which I can clean easily. And why are they a little brighter for a while when I switch on comp and then they get pretty dark ?
 
it always happens eazy. i also got cooler master blue led fans. the led has died out in 1 fan completely & become dim in the other 1.
 
stormblast said:
it always happens eazy. i also got cooler master blue led fans. the led has died out in 1 fan completely & become dim in the other 1.
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THANKS !!! This is what I wanted to know - that this is one of those things that are know to happen and not a problem with my system killing LEDs :)

How long before your fans LEDs got dim and died ?
 
dont know. i took from masky who used for a bit who had taken from funky i think. so they were pretty old. if the leds last 2 years it is more than enough. they usually last 2 to 2n half years.
 
Well Eazy, i've been using local 3buck Blue LEDs in a strip of 16 running off the 12V line for over 3 months now. I've noticed that most of the LEDs have become a little dim over these months, while a couple of them have started flickering,... Have tried the same over different PSUs as well as a bunch of batteries, but that hasn't made much of a difference. In all probability, it's an LED issue. Probably lower quality LEDs these are, thus the reduced life... I'm assuming that the LEDs were tested only for failure, and not for brightness, hence the ultra long lives as mentioned above.
 
That's strange i never see the LED's on cabinet go dim and neither other LEDs like that on optical drive, etc go dim.
The reasons i could think of LEDs going dim and dying, is fan supplying more voltage than that of LEDs rating, so LEDs goes weak in due course of time and dies.Or maybe the magnetic field generated by the fan could be killing the LEDs.Or it could be high temprature near the fan responsible for this,
BTW 100000 Hrs is more like 4166 days or 11 years when LED is used for 24 hours :p.
 
googled it ;)
The industry standard is that an LED operated within its specification will lose 50% of its light output over the first few years of operation. The operating conditions are what is critical to LED life. They must be driven within their specifications, the current must be rectified, and there must be adequate surge suppression to prevent damage to the LED. A damaged LED will have a reduced life with low light output.
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In addition, the light source must be protected from line-voltage fluctuations during operation. Changes in voltage can produce a disproportionate change in current, which in turn can cause light output to vary, as LED light output is proportionate to current and is rated for a current range. If current exceeds the manufacturer recommendations, the LEDs can become brighter, but the increased heat can degrade their light output at a faster rate and shorten useful life. One definition of useful life for LEDs is the point at which light output declines by 30%.
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THANKS guys - so many excellent replies !!

The LEDS both in the Vantec fans and the case LEDs in my Antec P160 seem to have dimmed to different levels - the case LEDS seem to be dimmed about 40% whilst the Fans LEDs are at least 60% dimmer :(

Now when I looked closely at the Power and HDD LEDs on the P160 case they seem NOT to have dimmed at all since I first looked at them 1.5 years back. Even the P160's Temperature readout panels numbers looks about the same.
 
Aces170 said:
100000 hrs is a good long time, if on an average PC runs for 12 hrs a day. Thats 833 days, over 2 years, over Eazy's upgrade cycle ;)
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Well certain "long-life" LEDs are known to last over 300,000 hrs of use as well. But like i said voltage fluctuations, humidity and temperatures can decrease the life of a LED. So LEDs crapping out early might be a common phenomenon.
 
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