So I, being a cheapskate, bought a little 12v dimmer switch kit on eBay from China (http://www.ebay.com/itm/221457310367). Currently using it to dim an LED strip. I put it together and some connection somewhere between J1 and the rest of it isn't functioning, but I can bypass some of the components and get it working for testing purposes. So my question concerns the pot. When I turn the pot, I can get up to full brightness and to nearly-off, but not really in between. I can turn it up to about 20% brightness, but if I turn it any more, it jumps up to 100%.

Is this something that a new pot can fix? Or do I need to just start over?

(Sidenote: This is just in-line, correct? Or do I need to connect both a positive and negative wire somewhere?)

 

It is an AC dimmer not a 12 volt dimmer.

 

It is an AC dimmer not a 12 volt dimmer.

Doh! I feel like an idiot now.

 

Regardless though, why is the pot behaving this way?

 

I would expect it to just turn on once the pot was turned up a bit and stay on unless the current for the diodes isn't high enough to "latch up" the triac.

 

Listing :
PCB x1 piece
WH149-500k with switch potentiometer x1
potentiometer cap x1
DB3 bidirectional diode x1
2k resistance 0.25W x1
MAC97A6 x1
104 630V CBB capacitance x1