LED Bulb (house bulbs) burning out. Anyone else see this?

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Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
I have nearly all LED bulbs in the house. So far I've had a Sylvainia bulb burn out, less than one year. Just now a second bulb burned out, maybe in service for two years - another Sylvania, and not that many hours on them. Smaller than the other one, but it burned out nonetheless.

At first I tapped it. It flickered. So I removed it and set it on my workbench. It flickered there too. Tapped it a few more times and again it flickered a few more times. It no longer flickers, the capacitor inside must have discharged.

Anyone else experiencing LED bulbs burning out? They tout that they're supposed to last 10 years. OK, the LED part of the bulb will likely last that long, but the electronics inside them are burning out far short of the 10 year proclamation. The first bulb to blow, it appears the main fuse internally has burned out. I took it apart and de-potted it. Also damaged the LED element so I couldn't put it back together, but nevertheless, it burned out. OR perhaps more appropriately expressed, "Failed".

These things aren't cheap. They're SUPPOSED to last 10 years. This is really bugging me. ESPECIALLY with Sylvania. I thought they were one of the better name brands. Does this mean ALL my LED bulbs are unreliable? I don't have exclusively Sylvania, but most of them are.

Maybe I should call them and complain.

[edit] and hot as hell too. The heatsink that is.
 

Thread Starter

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Is that it Dave? Morals to stories? I'm wondering if others are having this problem or seeing something similar.

You'd think Sylvania, being a big name in lighting would be reliable.

Well, I just sent them an e-mail with model numbers of units that have failed and the failure analysis of the first burn-out. I'm doing nothing with the second, they may want to see it. Probably not - but - - - .
 

Thread Starter

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
No dimmers, even though these are dimmable bulbs. The only thing I can think of (both from before reading the link you provided and after) is heat. The one that just failed moments ago was very hot. Not too hot to handle but too warm to hold for long.

I just sent Sylvania an e-mail explaining the first failure mode and the most recent observation. The first failure was in an open fixture, the second in a ceiling fixture. From your link it appears that this problem is more common than not. Maybe I can take it back to Lowe's where I bought them. I don't know what they will do, but maybe they will replace the one I haven't disassembled (yet). I'm HOPING Sylvania will send me a case of LED bulbs ( {dreaming big, he is} ).
 

Thread Starter

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Here's my e-mail to Sylvania:

Just now I've had a second LED bulb burn out. More appropriately described as "Failed". The first lamp was less than a year old, a model number
LED19A21/DIM0827/G3
120VAC 60 HZ 190mA 19W
SH1427 1600 Lumen

I took it apart and found a blown fuse at the main base power input.

The second one to burn out is:
LED13A19/DIM/0/850/G3F/RP
120V 60HZ 13W 122 mA
SH1439 1250 Lumens 5000K

This second failure happened as I was present. Upon removal I tapped it and the LED element flashed. Flashed several times, so it appears the capacitors in the power supply still had a charge. The bulb itself is too hot to hold for long, that was how I discovered the flashing, when I quickly set it on my desk.

What's going on? I thought these things were supposed to last 10 years? I'm certain the LED Element will last that long, but it appears your electronics package fails much sooner. This particular failure happened to a bulb that I think is about two years old. In the room it's used it's lit maybe 3 to 4 hours a day on average. And at that it's not lit every day.

The light fixture is probably tin of some sort because a magnet will stick to it. The fixture has a dome globe over it and the bulbs are not particularly vented. Should I assume that unvented LED's will fail prematurely? The first was not in an enclosed fixture, it was in a floor lamp with a large semi hemispherical shade open at the top the full diameter of the sphere. So no heat build up there.

Honestly I'm really UN impressed with your product(s). I may stop buying at Lowe's and may start ordering the cheap chinese models. If they last just as long as yours but cost much less then I'll be far far ahead of the game financially speaking.

Your input? Care to make it right by me? And what of future failures?


Now: Lets see if they reply at all.
 

Rich2

Joined Mar 3, 2014
254
I haven't bought any yet, too expensive and unproven. I fitted some in a freezer room a few years ago and they lasted 6 months.

I also like the fact my 50w spot lights help keep my heating bill down. :)

PS it no wonder you get hot 19w is a lot for an LED bulb
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
A few years ago I started replacing any and every bulb with the new LED bulbs, I have been using Cree and they just keep working. On the humorous side we have two outside front light fixtures. They each have a photo cell so even with power applied during daylight they turn off. The neighbor got me going with Green for the troops and blue in support of local law enforcement. When I replaced the incandescent and CFL bulbs with LED the photo cell won't turn them off. My best guess is the leakage current through the SCR or Triac whatever the photo cell works with is enough to power the LED bulbs. Overall the kitchen and pantry floods see quite a bit of On Time and have yet to need replaced in a few years now. I have three 75 watt floods in the kitchen and in reality they draw next to nothing and mine run very cool. Yes, they are not cheap but have come down over the years and overall I have been happy with them.

Can't speak for Sylvania but a simple phone call to Cree and they will replace bulbs. They just ask for the part numbers and send you a new bulb.

Ron
 

Thread Starter

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Could a blown fuse indicate a recently developed issue with the lighting circuit ?
I'm not inclined to think so. The fuse is inside the LED, so nothing on the lighting circuit that I can think of would do that. The fuse doesn't protect the internal electronics from over voltage it protects the lamp fixture and house wiring from any issues that may arise as a result of a power supply issue inside the LED.

Then again, I'm not the most noted for documenting and fully diagnosing problems. All I can say of the first lamp is that it had an internal fuse blown. Reason not known. The second? Uncertain, but suspect a broken wire or bad solder joint, which may be the result of the heat.

The 19 watts, that's what the whole thing uses, power converter and LED's. I suspect a lot of heat comes from the LED's since they were heatsink'd to the main body of the light bulb, but still, there must be some heat generated by the power converter. And I'm uncertain exactly how it operates.
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,813
I have almost all LED bulbs in my house, put in over the last 5 year. I have yet to see one fail.
We also put them in my father-in-law's house and one failed, in a way, the glass bulb fell off, the LEDs were still working though!

The 1600 lm 100W equivalents are relatively new and I have not used any of these. Mine are all 8 or 9 Watt 60W equivalents. 19W ones will obviously create more heat and may make them more prone to failure.

Edited to add: Compact fluroescents were failing at a rate of several per year before we switched to LEDs.
Bob
 

ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
I have nearly all LED bulbs in the house. So far I've had a Sylvainia bulb burn out, less than one year. Just now a second bulb burned out, maybe in service for two years - another Sylvania, and not that many hours on them. Smaller than the other one, but it burned out nonetheless.

At first I tapped it. It flickered. So I removed it and set it on my workbench. It flickered there too. Tapped it a few more times and again it flickered a few more times. It no longer flickers, the capacitor inside must have discharged.

Anyone else experiencing LED bulbs burning out? They tout that they're supposed to last 10 years. OK, the LED part of the bulb will likely last that long, but the electronics inside them are burning out far short of the 10 year proclamation. The first bulb to blow, it appears the main fuse internally has burned out. I took it apart and de-potted it. Also damaged the LED element so I couldn't put it back together, but nevertheless, it burned out. OR perhaps more appropriately expressed, "Failed".

These things aren't cheap. They're SUPPOSED to last 10 years. This is really bugging me. ESPECIALLY with Sylvania. I thought they were one of the better name brands. Does this mean ALL my LED bulbs are unreliable? I don't have exclusively Sylvania, but most of them are.

Maybe I should call them and complain.

[edit] and hot as hell too. The heatsink that is.
I have the same problem with Cree 65 watt floods. They are in can lights. I just send Cree an e-mail and they send be another lamp. I suspect caps, but haven't take one apart (yet)
 

OBW0549

Joined Mar 2, 2015
3,566
I have all LED bulbs at my place. I haven't had any fail outright yet (after ≈3 years), but two (both Cree 100W equiv.) began flickering, eventually becoming so annoying that I replaced them.
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
I've had several fail. Within six months. I wait until they go on sale for $2-$3 and buy s bunch. Maybe that's why they're failing, but I can't see spending more than that.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
These things aren't cheap. They're SUPPOSED to last 10 years. This is really bugging me. ESPECIALLY with Sylvania. I thought they were one of the better name brands. Does this mean ALL my LED bulbs are unreliable?
Contact Sylvania for warranty replacement.

I've had 4 Cree 60W equiv stop working and one Philips. The Cree were under warranty and were replaced without hassle. I need to contact Philips after I locate my receipt - because the Philips cost as much as 5 of the Cree bulbs.
 

Thread Starter

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
I usually don't save those annoying receipts. Getting a replacement isn't likely (I think). But you never know. A threat of bad publicity might motivate them.

I remember buying a CB Antenna on line. I got the box that contained the mobile base and another box that was supposed to contain the whip. The whip was missing. I called. They said they were CERTAIN the whip was in there. I asked how they managed to fit a 63 inch whip into a 57 inch box. Even showed them pictures with a tape measure. They didn't want to honor the sale, so I threatened to post negative stuff along with my pictures on the web. I got another box, this time the box was 64 inches long and DID contain the whip.

Sometimes you gotta push the issue.
 

debe

Joined Sep 21, 2010
1,389
I have LED bulbs all through my house & only had one fail so far & it was a dry solder joint, which caused it to flicker. It wasn't realy repairable as the electronics was set in a rubbery compound, & the bulb part was glass & I smashed that to get to the electronics.LED.1.JPG LED.2.JPG LED.3.JPG LED.4.JPG LED.5.JPG LED. CIRCUIT.jpg
 

MrSoftware

Joined Oct 29, 2013
2,188
I've had a number of LED bulbs fail, for differing reasons. I bought a couple boxes (12 bulbs I think?) that look like the one in @debe picture, of varying wattages. After a couple months of use, at least one has failed. Not on a dimmer, but in a chandelier with a handful of other bulbs and that one just quit. Now I'm inspired, I might have disassemble it and see what happened!

I've had a number of "outdoor all weather" LED flood lights, and here in FL where it actually rains several of them filled with water. Some of them continued to work with water inside for a few weeks, but inevitably they all failed.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I usually don't save those annoying receipts. Getting a replacement isn't likely (I think). But you never know.
I know what you mean. I saved receipts for the CFL's I bought. Most of them failed within warranty and I wasn't able to get a replacement for any. Either the company went out of business or didn't respond.

Cree replacements have been convenient so far.

It's wait-and-see for Philips. I found my receipt and contacted them via their website yesterday...
 

RichardO

Joined May 4, 2013
2,270
These things aren't cheap. They're SUPPOSED to last 10 years.
It depends on where you get them. I just saw some 9 watt lamps at the local Dollar Tree for -- you guessed it -- $1. No way will they last 10 years. I was tempted to buy one just to take apart. An interesting statement on the box says not to use them near navigation equipment that operates in the 65 KHz to 150 KHz frequency range.

Another source of lamps is the electric company. They give them out boxes of four at fairs and festivals. I think I have three boxes of them. Unlike the cheap ones at the Dollar Tree the electric company ones are dimmable.
 
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