OK, the 2k pull-up resistors may be too high in value (eg:R31, R32, etc). Try reducing a few of them to 500 to 1k Ohms.

Are you feeding the 4017 circuit from a voltage regulator circuit that you didn't mention before? That could mess things up quite a bit.

 

Ok ill switch some of them to 1k and 500ohm that will increase the amount of voltage right? dont i want to decrease the voltage? And no there is no voltage regulator i thought about adding one but i think it will be ok without one.

 

Ok so when i take out the 2k resistor ans switch it nothing happens.... it still stays lit but i also noticed that without any resistor in that position the lights still stay lit...

 

Are you certain that you have the transistors connected properly?

It's very easy to get the emitter/base/collector connections swapped around. They won't work properly if they aren't connected properly.

 

Yes i made sure that they are connected corectly. Here is a photo of how they are conected The white wire is conected directly from the ground and the red wire is to the positive....

 

Here are the Likns i used..

MPSA14
http://www.ic-on-line.cn/IOL_MPSA14/pdfView/246724.htm

2n2907A
http://www.ic-on-line.cn/iol_PH2907A/PdfView/811081.htm

I put a 1.5k resistor in there instead of a 2k i also tried 500ohm, 1k, 2k... Still oll the lights stayed on with no change....

 

Here is a link to OnSemi's datasheet for the MPS2907A:
http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/MPS2907A-D.PDF

Notice that the PH2907A datasheet has the collector and emitter swapped from the MPS2907A.

You have installed all of the 2907A's backwards.

Referring to the correct datasheet for the parts you are using is vital to success.

 

REally! Damnit! thanks are they ruined? sould i replace them with new ones?

 

Really they are reversed im looking at the two data sheets side by side and according to the pictures they are the same? if 1 is the emmitter and the 3 is the collector then according to the pictures arent they the same? or am i reading them wrong?

 

OK, I sit corrected.

The Phillips datasheet has the pins numbered backwards from what I'm used to, but the EBC connections are the same.

Looking at your schematic again...

[eta]
Continued on next page

 

Oh, did you notice you've wired to the CO pin 12?

That output is low when Q0-Q4 are low, and then goes high when Q5-Q9 are high. That is why it's not working properly.

Move R23 from Q5 to Q5 (4017 pin 5 -> 1)
Move R22 from Q7 to Q6 (4017 pin 6 -> 5)
Move R21 from Q8 to Q7 (4017 pin 9 -> 6)
Move R20 from Q9 to Q8 (4017 pin 11 -> 9)
Move R19 from CO to Q9 (4017 pin 12 -> 11)

 

Ya i just say that ill fix it on my schematic.... When i looked at my Board it is wired correctly... So i took out the 2907 and the MPSA14 on one curcuit and the lights stayed lit... i then took off the ground and some the lights went out except for two of them... so i went back and found a little piece of solder was connecting the two together so i fixed that. I was wondering if the MSPA14 and the 2907 were connected to the 12v and ground correctly... In the schematic i ment... If the 2907 is conected to the power with the emmiter and then on the collector is conected strait to the LED's then wont it be powering them all the time?

So if im correct then the 4017 output is conected to the base of the MPSA14 through the 10kOhm resistor. The MPSA14 is also connected to the ground through the emitter and then is connected to the base of the 2907 through the 200ohm resistor. Then the Emitter of the 2907 is connected to the 12vdc and the base is also conected to the 12vdc with a 2k resistor. Then the collector is conected to the LED's with no resistor.

Wont the MPSA14 supply ground cuttent to the LED's and the 2907 supply 12vdc to the LED's? So i guess my question is why are we connecting to the ground?

 

If you made the corrections in your schematic as I noted in my last post, and the board is wired according to the corrected schematic, it should work.

4017 out -> 10k resistor -> MPSA14 base.
MPSA14 emitter -> ground
MPSA14 collector -> 220 Ohm resistor -> 2907 base, 2k resistor -> +12v.
2907 emitter -> +12v
2907 collector -> diode array -> LEDs/ground.
It all looks right. If it's not working, then you've messed up in the wiring somewhere. Look for shorts.

The MPSA14 sinks current from the base of the 2907 to turn it on; the 2907 sources current to your LEDs. If the 4017 output is low, the MPSA14 is turned off, and the 2k resistors keep the 2907's turned off.

 

The base of the MPSA14 has 12v rinning to it at all times that cant be correct... it supposed to be 0 then go to 12v in bursts right? do i have the 2907 and the MPSA14 in the wrong places? should i switch them? I dont understand how the two transistros amplify the current if they are connected to the ground?

 

Find out WHY the base of the MPSA14 has 12v on it. That should not be the case.

 

Looking at the photos, you say the red/orange wire goes to +12v.
The MPSA14 showing in the photo has it's emitter closest to the red/orange wire. The collector is closest to the white/ground wire. I cannot tell how you have the bottom of the board wired.

 

Don't you know how transistors turn on?
They work like this:

 

The only thing I can think of right now is that somehow Stills00 managed to connect the bases of the MPSA14's to +12v. In that case, he's probably burned out the base-emitter junctions of the MPSA14's, and the 2nd transistor of the Darlington is "stuck" on.

Nice of you to re-draw the schematic, AudioGuru.

If you have any ideas how Stills00 could've messed it up, please let him know.

 

Im going to start over and re-wire the whole thing on a bigger board so i have some room to test and figure it out... The red wire goes to +12v The orange and red wire is from the 4017 thanks for the help guys ill re-do it on monday and let you know how it works! i must have something mixed up! ill keep you guys posted! THanks

 

Ok for some reason it still doesnt work..... I have no idea what is wrong.... The base of the MPSA14 has .56v to it at all times.... The voltage from the 4017 is arround 6v but it drops to about .56 volts not 0v. Also the MPSA14's get warm when i have it plugged in for a bit... and i couldnt find a 2k resistor so i put in a 2.2kohm. Here is a picture of what i re-did. The Red and white wire in the middle top goes directly to the 12v and ground the green and black wire comes from the 4017 and the red and white wire on the right hand side go to the LED's... What's wrong? im so confused....