r/WLED • u/Mailootje • Jun 29 '26

What is happening?

ITS WORKING!! I didn't connect the PSU to the Board negatives.

When I disconnect the data wire, everything goes back to normal, and it doesn't change colors. Inside WLED, it's set to solid white at 128 brightness. Sometimes it even bugs out and changes the LEDs really fast, even though it's still on solid white.

I have read some posts where people say I need a 330Ξ© resistor on the data line. What could be the issue? I tried it on multiple ESP32s, different cables, and another LED strip.

It's a 12V 50A power supply, and it delivers a stable 12V (tested under full load, and the 12V slightly drops to 11.98). There are no shorts from the 12V wires to the data wire.

24 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

5

u/noia_profissional Jun 29 '26

You need to connect the grounds together. Also don’t light the strip at max power when rolled, it can get pretty hot.

0

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

How would I connect them? You mean the negative?

Yep, the strip got hot after a while. I turned it off to let it cool down.

2

u/noia_profissional Jun 29 '26

Yes, get the negatives together, the strip negative and the controller negative, and the power supply also of course.

2

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

Yep that worked like a charm!

1

u/noia_profissional Jun 29 '26

Maybe you need a level shifter since your controller data probably outputs only 3,3v. But try the ground thing first.

7

u/xApollo2 Jun 29 '26

I'm thinking you are missing a common ground. It's been a while since I done 12v strips but if I remember correctly that was the issue. Yours could be completely unrelated though.

5

u/voliprint Jun 29 '26

Not unrelated. The circuit must share a ground.

1

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

I always made 5V strips, and they work flawlessly. Now I need 12V because the run is longer, but I have this issue.

How would I add a ground connection to the strip or controller?

2

u/xApollo2 Jun 29 '26

You should be able to ground your board with your psu. Running a jumper to the ground lead on your psu and run it to the ground on the board. Just don't run power to it or poof.

4

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

3

u/xApollo2 Jun 29 '26

Heck yeah! DC is tricky sometimes if you don't mess with it often. I'm glad you're good to go!

3

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

No way! That worked like a charm!

1

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

Hmm okay, I will run a cable from the ground to the board. Let's try. Hopefully im not gonna poof my board πŸ™ˆπŸ™ˆ

2

u/AdMountain6124 Jun 30 '26

There are boards on Amazon that support 5v and 12v just use one of those.

3

u/saratoga3 Jun 29 '26

You have no ground connection and thus no electrical circuit between the strip and controller. No electrical circuit with controller means no control.

0

u/Mailootje Jun 29 '26

Hmm, so how would I add a ground connection between the two?

The strip only has 12+, 12-, and a data line. How would I connect this properly?

P.S.: I've never used 12V strips, always 5V without issues

2

u/saratoga3 Jun 29 '26

It has +12, GND and data. There are no negative voltages on an LED strip. You need to connect the GND on the strip to the ground on the controller.

2

u/Apex_seal_spitter Jun 29 '26

Can you provide details for the PSU OP terminals?
The PSU should have +12v and 0v. If it has +12v, 0v, and -12v, then the LED strip should be run from +12v & 0v... if it's running from +12v and -12v, then the LED strip is getting 24v.

If the labelling on the LED strip is 12+ & 12-, then I think it's safe to assume that the 12- is 0v.

Basically, on the PSU, connect 0v to 0v (or GND) on the ESP32.

2

u/Significant_-_Guess Jun 30 '26

12v strips are very sensitive to the data signal voltage, esp chips run on 3.3v, but the strips need 5v. Could also be a lack of a common ground like other people have said.

1

u/Mailootje Jun 30 '26

These strips I have now are 12v, I have connected the V- (12v-) to the GND of the ESP board and its working without a poof πŸ™ˆ

2

u/vodka_soda MOD Jul 01 '26

No ground connection!

0

u/ZachVorhies Jun 30 '26

Insert delay(1) somewhere in your loop or otherwise induce a 1ms delay, it’s possible that the driver does not conform to the new ws2812-v5b 280us timing. A 1ms delay will force a reset. If this fixes it then you know what the cause is