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Replacing a DC power supply
I have a DC 7.5 volts / 30A power supply which powers various LED strip lights.
It has a bad cooling fan and I want to replace it. I have a spare power supply with the exact same footprint of the bad one and with the same exact connectors. So it would be an easy swap out.
But, it is DC 12 volts / 30A power supply.
Can I use this power supply or am I inviting trouble?
Your thoughts?
Cheers,
Ronald
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4 Replies
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Not having information about the power requirements of your lights, my first reaction would be to stick with the original voltage.
Having said that however, some lights, LED in particular have wide voltage operating ranges, from as low as 6 volts to 30 volts. But unless you have that information I would suggest not risking the use of the 12 volt power supply.
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just thinking out loud if 12v was alright to run it on than why would they use a power supply and not pull it off the house system. Is the led lighting all that it powers?
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Ronald: Can you get inside of it? There might be a switch or another set of posts to wire to for a different voltage.
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I am not exactly sure whether this particular existing power supply does power more than some LEDs.
I will have to test this by pulling some wires to see what still works and what does not.
The existing PS is labelled 7.5 volts but it does also have an adjustment button which seems to allow adjusting the voltage up and down.
The spare PS that I have looks almost identical and the adjustment button allows various different voltage settings.
I have measured the voltage at the existing PS and it reads 6.5 volts.
This is being confirmed by the voltage measurement at the end of the wire that comes out of the ceiling which I am trying to re use for a new LED strip light. Strangely enough, the old LEDs which I removed appear to have been working on that low voltage.
The new LED strip does not, however. It seems to be looking for 12 volts.
Wonders of modern technology.
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