Choice of the 4700uf capcitor on the LE power supply

[memphislights]

I remember in the early LE versions, 2-4, RJ originally specified a 3300uf, and possibly a 2200uf capacitor before that.  I was able to have multiple LEs connected to a single power cord and power them all on at the same time.  Since I swapped over to primarily LE v5s, all with the 4700uf capacitor, it seems that even with only 2 LEs plugged into the same extension cord, both fail to post.  A single LE on the same cord posts fine.

I plan on swapping a few LE caps back to lower values to test the theory that the capacitor is possibly drawing too much current at startup and messing with the posting process.

Anyone have any ideas if this could be a legitimate cause of the issue that I am seeing?

[TexasStingray]

Last Year using LED lights I had 7 LE v5 all plugged into 1 wall outlet using multiple extention cords. Not sure if this could be yout issue, but make sure all have the same hot and common lines wired into the LE's.

[memphislights]

Polarity is/was the same on all units.  The problem is not simply having multiple LEs plugged into a single outlet.  The problem occurs if you have 2+ LEs on a single extension cord, with a 3 way plug for example, and plug in the extension cord.

If the 1st LE connected and post was running, then plugging in a 2nd LE on the same cord is not an issue.
I can run multiple LEs on a single extension if I power on one at a time.

[pk]

What does the AC input voltage when additional expresses are plugged in?  By itself, the express does not draw that much power.  Changing the capacitor will not help.

[tbone321]

I have to agree with PK.  You really need to see what the voltage drop is on that line because the LE doesn't pull that much power ad a voltage drop high enough to interfear with the postig process could be a fire hazzard wjhen the unita are powered up and pulling real power controlling lights.  Have you tred a differet cord or a circui on a different breaker?

[urthegman]

Can someone define what he means by "posting" for we who are a electronically challenged??? 

[KeithTarpley]

Greetings,,,

Starting up and having all the leds, etc, coming up to proper start post position.

Keith

[mokeefe]

For what it's worth it comes from "POST" --> Power On Self Test.

-Mike

[memphislights]

Like I said earlier, with a single circuit / power cord, if I power on one at a time, there is no issue.  It only seems to happen if more than one LE is powered on at the same time.

99% of the display is LED, so overall power draw should not be an issue.  Had the same issue plugged into a dedicated circuit, no load on the LE (no lights plugged into output).  Have tried different power cords and of different lengths.  Tried the Walmart surge protector with the RFI filter.  Have tried multiple dedicated outlets at my house and friend's house where the display is run.

I finally have access to a kill-a-watt again, so I can test to see if there is an excessive voltage drop, which I cannot imagine either.  The voltage drop may be quicker than the kill-a-watt may register though.

The reason that I was suspecting the size of the capacitor is that hardly ever had this issue with the v3 and v4 LEs.  The PIC did not change, although the 3.3v voltage regulator has changed.  That is why I am kinda zeroing in on the 4700uf filter/smoothing capacitor as a possible culprit.  The issue also happens across multiple LE v5s, which is about all that is left after selling off the older v4s.

[tbone321]

The reason that I'm asking is that there are a whole lot of V5 LE's out therre and this is the first time I heard of this problem.  If it was just an issue with the cap then it should happen regardless of any other LE's powering up which is what is making me think voltage drop.  What is the line voltage at your house now and how lon have you been having this issue?

[rm357]

How heavy an extension cord are you using. I had 2 v5 expresses on a 12 gauge 50 ft extension with no issues.

 If you are trying to run them off of the little 18 and 16 gauge cords of any significant length, I could see the potential for that causing issues, regardless of what kind of lights are attached.

[pk]

Verify the 4700 uF has the white stripe (negative lead) facing to the right away towards the voltage regulator. 

[memphislights]

have tried the following...
power strip with 6ft 14ga cord,
direct outlet with a 3 way plug,
25ft 16ga with a 3-way plug,
25ft 16ga with integral 3-way plug.
wall to 3-way with one LE connected, and an LE connected to a 25ft extension
tried coiling cables to increase inductance

have had the issue 2 seasons now, but 2 seasons ago was a mix of v3, v4, and v5s.  There were only a few v5s, so it was not that big of a deal.  now that the display is almost all v5s, it is more of a problem when having to go out and reset multiple groups of controllers.

If I stagger the startup, then everything works fine.  If I flip on a single circuit to power on 2 LEs on a single cord, it will almost always result in neither LE posting.

[TexasStingray]

Maybe this will help what i did i had 1 extension cored with a 3 female end than i plugged in a couple more extenstion cords on and plugged a total of 4 expresses without any problems. I also did the same with 4 on the second cord and every night unplugged only the 2 going into the outlet and the next night plugged them back in without any problem.

[Jeffl]

Maybe this will help what i did i had 1 extension cored with a 3 female end than i plugged in a couple more extenstion cords on and plugged a total of 412 expresses without any problems. I also did the same with 4 on the second cord and every night unplugged only the 2 going into the outlet and the next night plugged them back in without any problem.

412 Expresses ?