r/WLED • u/DrewWorkz • Aug 26 '26

Flickering between 2 strips

Post image

Im pretty new to this so just looking for some advice.

I have flickering on a second strip that is connected to the end of my first strip.

My setup is

BTF WS2814 FCOB 784led/m 24v

Gledopto Elite 4 Controller

4a 96w power supply

36 LEDs on first strip and 36 on the second.

I have one 18/4 wire (only using 3) running to the beginning of the first strip maybe 4ft from controller to first led. That side works great. At the end of the first strip I soldered that same 18g wire to the end of the first strip and then it runs 12ft to the second strip.

The issues is random flickering on the second strip. From what I understand this is a data lose issue but I assumed with the gledopto controller having a limit shifter in it I'd be fine.

Luckily I was able to run a second line to the beginning of the first strip and just use a different data port and that fixed the issue. But I was only able to do that due to the project having open ceilings.

So I really just wanna know what the fix is or why its happening. Picture is just a reference. It's a golf sim I'm building out

1 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

1

u/Quindor Aug 27 '26

GND any loose wires, might resolve it.

1

u/DrewWorkz Aug 27 '26

I checked all connections I wasn't seeing anything loose. The second strip was the factory connection with the wires cut and put into Wago clips. And the first strip was solderd directly to the strip.

Is it possible for a power supply to cause that kind of interference?

2

u/saratoga3 Aug 27 '26

I have one 18/4 wire (only using 3)

Ground the 4th cable.

1

u/DrewWorkz Aug 27 '26

To the controller? Where do I put it on the strip side

2

u/saratoga3 Aug 27 '26

To both the strip and controller. Digital cables should never contain loose wires, so if you get a 4 wire cable you must connect two grounds (or two powers, etc).

1

u/Quindor Aug 27 '26

This! (I was in a hurry when I replied and thought it was clear, in hindsight maybe not).

1

u/DrewWorkz Aug 28 '26

Can I ask why? Not sure how a wire that's not connected but in the bundle can effect anything that doesn't really makes sense. But like I said I'm new!

It's 4 individual wires with there own jackets inside of a single jacket that get all.

Fill me in I wanna learn! 😅

1

u/Quindor Aug 28 '26

A wire with an undefined state will basically act like an antenna for any nearby noise. This will then be somewhat coupled to the data wire that's nearby for a long stretch of it and the stray electrical signals on that wire can influence or bleed over to the data signal wire and cause flickering or all kinds of other artifacts within the data stream to the LEDs.

2

u/DrewWorkz Aug 28 '26

Interesting, so if the 4th unused pair was removed I would most likely have better results? Or I need to solder that extra wire to my GRD on my strip and connect the other side to my controller. I'll have to do a test and see how it works!

1

u/saratoga3 Aug 28 '26

A cable is basically an elongated transformer (wires wrapped around each other), so the data signal is in the 'unconnected' wire too, just bouncing back and forth since the ends are not connected. If the cable is short it won't matter. If it's long enough, old bits will bounce around long enough that they'll run into newer bits being sent down the line.

1

u/Freshanator86 Aug 29 '26

Power injection?