LED lighting

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Originally Posted by Irving

So power supply --> relay --> switch?

Usually when I wire a switch into low voltage DC I put the switch on the negative cable, can I still do that with the relay?

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Yes, but you will need both + and - at the relay to make it function.
Using this as a diagram (ignore their notes)
https://www.online-led-store.com/med...SPEC01-WEB.jpg

To switch using the negative wire:
Run your + from the power supply directly to the LED strip AND pin 86 on the relay.
Run your - from the power supply to the reed switch AND pin 87 of the relay
Run a wire from the reed switch (the NO or normally open contact) to pin 85 of the relay
Run a wire from pin 30 of the relay to the - on your LED strip.

This way, your reed switch only sees the power needed to switch the relay on and off (not much), while the relay handles the full power that the strip draws.

Perfect, thanks.

These are the relays I have. The 30 pin and 86 pin locations are in opposite positions. Am I correct to assume that I can simply follow your instructions by the numbers to wire them both correctly?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vt...=w1632-h918-no

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irving

These are the relays I have. The 30 pin and 86 pin locations are in opposite positions. Am I correct to assume that I can simply follow your instructions by the numbers to wire them both correctly?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vt...=w1632-h918-no

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Looks like the one on the left is exactly as I assumed, so that one is good.

Right one, i would need to see a bit more on. There may be a diagram on the top...

Edit: if you want to drive a few miles, I can produce a couple of relays with plugs and pigtails. Will be around 15 miles east of you this weekend.

Yep, here it is.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tu...=w1632-h918-no

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irving

Yep, here it is.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tu...=w1632-h918-no

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So, the numbers appear to correlate, but the positions dont. Following my posted numbers should work.

See my edit above.

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Originally Posted by 00tec

Edit: if you want to drive a few miles, I can produce a couple of relays with plugs and pigtails. Will be around 15 miles east of you this weekend.

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Thanks for the offer, but I can wire it up. Will give me something to do tomorrow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irving

Thanks for the offer, but I can wire it up. Will give me something to do tomorrow.

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Cool. Offer stands. We will be just on the other side of DIA on 120th.

I had some relays from a remote start install that can be repurposed. Typical 30 amp relay like your left one, with a plug and pigtail.

Update: The quality of LED light strips I was looking into from American Lighting run about $150 per 16 feet for kits. That'd put what I wanted to do in my living room beyond $600. I'm not opposed to paying for quality, and was very impressed with the offerings from American Lighting, but I'd never see the return in the investment, especially since I'm not confident that it would be considered "standard" in the near future. New plan is just a centrally located LED light that is bright enough to adequately light the room. I found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075XKB4ZV...Z346K3BD&psc=1 which matches the style of the light in the master bedroom. I like this one because it has a larger footprint, but isn't too deep, AND is rated at 3200 lumens. The room is only 15'x13, so not huge, but any extra light spilling into the adjoining entryway (no light) and hallway would be welcome.

My new challenge is that I want this light on a 3-way dimmer. I found 3-way LED dimmers, but am running into some contrasting information. I found this 2-pack of dimmer switches: https://www.amazon.com/Enerlites-Loc...&tag=pda0fc-20. However, after browsing through all the questions and reviews it seems like you can only have ONE dimmer switch, which makes sense. Selling in a 2-pack can be misleading to the layman like myself. So am I correct in thinking that I'll need two 3-way switches, but only one of them can be a dimmer?

I have a similar light in the mud room that I got from costco.

For light dimming they make led lamps with remotes that will dim them. The remote iis not part of the wall switch.
I tried the ac dimmer switch for leds with a lamp and had bad results. Either noise or bad light quality.
I think the remote type dimming light us the way to go.
That reminds me the daughters room needs a new cieling light.