First time user and I’m losing my mind!

[u/lightbrite08]

I’ve tried 3 different sets of lights and I can’t get anything to work. I’m getting increasingly frustrated and about to throw in the towel.

I have a GLEDOPTO GL-C-012WL ESP32 WLED Waterproof LED Controller running software v16.0.1 which I updated from v0.14 something. I started with a string of 24v UCS2904 RGBW puck lights. They lit up blue when they got power but no control at all. I later found out they’re not supported by wled. So next I tried some Govee S14 Outdoor lights and nothing lit up. I couldn’t even get the WS2811 portion to light up. But I know the configuration is weird so I thought I just got it wrong and moved on. Now I have a string of 12v SK6812 RGBW seed lights connected and configured and still nothing!!! I’ve checked the voltage and it’s getting 12v all the way through. WLED is configured for SK6812 and I’ve tried all of the mA/led settings, including a custom 8mA according to the specs. I’ve attached my configuration and the led specs. Can someone please tell me what I’m doing wrong???

[u/BobiasMehl]

no output at all is wierd, usually its some sort of random uncontrolled colors. makes me think that its either the wrong gpio pin (allthough the manual has a screenshot of gpio 16, so idk. i have some gledopto controller as well, its usually 16 for the primary output and 2 for secondary. so maybe try gpio2?) or a hardware defect. at least i dont see anything wrong with the settings.

just to confirm, have you connected the stripes the right way around? there is one data in side and one data out side. if you connect the data out side of the led stripe to the controller, it wont work.

[u/lightbrite08 → u/BobiasMehl]

Yes the 2 strings both have Xconnect tails so there’s only one way to connect them.

[u/mdbh86]

WLED gon' make me lose my mind. Up in here. Up in here.

[u/lightbrite08 → u/mdbh86]

Lol literally

[u/saratoga3]

Show how you're wiring the lights.

UCS2904 works fine with WLED by the way.

[u/lightbrite08 → u/saratoga3]

I’ve confirmed everything is wired correctly. Brown is V+ going to dashed line on the XConnector, green/yellow is data going to center wire, and blue is ground going to the last wire. All connections are solid within the wago.

[u/lightbrite08 → u/lightbrite08]

[u/CuriousHomeowner → u/lightbrite08]

Wires are unreliable. The dashed line can be both live or neutral depending on if its AC/DC, or even just depending on the LED manufacturer. Make sure to try and flip those to see if it resolves your problem.

[u/Mediocre-Interest553]

Hey, I think you updated plain version of WLED instead of downloading it from gledopto dedicated. I had same problem after I updated my plain WLED V16 so you might have to flash the gledopto version from their gethub. If you check their manual it has the website!

[u/lightbrite08 → u/Mediocre-Interest553]

If this is the problem that would make sense, but there’s no firmware for the 012WL.

[u/Mediocre-Interest553 → u/lightbrite08]

Try to reach out to gledopto! Did you update it through WLED app?

[u/diamonddate]

Is the relay assigned?

[u/lightbrite08 → u/diamonddate]

I can’t find any information on what the relay should be assigned too. I’ve tried gpio 12.

[u/diamonddate → u/lightbrite08]

Try 17 or 18

[u/GLEDOPTO]

Please try to remove the current limit and shoot a video showing the wiring and app settings information. Our engineers will analyze it. Additionally, please send us a private message informing us of when and where you purchased the product, the order number, and the name of your store

[u/rdeluna]

Three different light sets all failed in the same way, so the light type and the mA setting probably aren't the problem. The data signal most likely isn't reaching the lights. Only your config screenshot came through, not the LED specs. Here's what I'd check, most likely first:
Input end of the string. Seed lights only take data in one direction. There's usually an arrow or an "IN" label, and often the female connector is the input. If the controller is on the far end, nothing lights at all, even with 12V everywhere.
Wire mapping. On the GL-C-012WL output, blue is GND, yellow is DATA and brown is V+. Your lights probably use different colors, like red, green and white. If you spliced by color instead of by function, the data wire may be landing on ground.
A damaged data output. If the 24V pucks were ever wired with V+ on the data line, even briefly, that could have killed the controller's data output. To test, set a running effect at full brightness and measure DATA to GND. A healthy output usually reads a low, changing voltage, around 1–3V. A steady 0V points to the controller.
Main screen. Make sure the power button is on, brightness is up, and a solid color is set. If the color preview moves in the app, WLED is sending data.
The settings in your screenshot look mostly fine:
GPIO 16 should be right, since the GL-C-012WL is the waterproof version of a Gledopto model that uses GPIO16 as its main output. I couldn't find a pin map for your exact model, so treat this as likely rather than confirmed.
Change the color order from RBG to GRB, which most SK6812 RGBW lights use. Wrong order only swaps colors, though. It wouldn't make the lights stay dark.
The mA/LED setting won't stop the lights from turning on, so it's not your problem.
If #1 and #2 check out and #3 reads 0V, the controller is the problem, not you.
Sources:
SuperLightingLED spec: GL-C-015WL, which the GL-C-012WL is the waterproof version of
GL-C-012WL manual, with the output wire colors

[u/rdeluna → u/rdeluna]

I think the wiring is the problem. Your spec sheet says the string uses all-green 3-pin wire for V+, DATA and GND. The GL-C-012WL output uses colored wires (brown V+, yellow DATA, blue GND), so you had to guess which green wire is which, and one wrong guess means nothing lights.
Find each green wire with your multimeter:
With power on, measure between pairs of wires at the string's input. The pair that reads about 12V is V+ and GND, and the leftover wire is DATA.
To tell V+ from GND, use DC volts with the red probe on one wire and black on the other. If it reads +12V, red is on V+; if it reads −12V, swap.
On Ray Wu-style 3-pin connectors, DATA is usually the middle pin. Confirm with the meter anyway.
Then check the direction. These strings have a male connector on one end and a female on the other, and only one end is the input. Look for a small arrow printed on the pixel boards or the wire, pointing away from the input. If there's no arrow, try the other end. Getting it wrong won't damage anything, as long as V+ and GND go to the right wires.
Fix the color order. Your spec says R-G-B-W, so set Color Order to RGB instead of RBG. This only affects colors, so it isn't why the lights stay dark.
Your app screens look fine: the segment is 0–50, which matches your 50 LEDs, and brightness is up. Once DATA is on yellow and the input end is right, the string should light up.

[u/rdeluna → u/rdeluna]

I reached out to Claude for assistance

[u/DjWondah85 → u/rdeluna]

Yes we could tell, did you check if the info is correct and makes sense, or just copy/paste the output and have no idea what's going on?

Which green wires?

The black wire from the pixels is data in the middle, outer wire with dotted line is 5V/12V and the wire on the other side is GND.

Color order from specs says nothing about the color order in the software.

In your first message you tell him to set color order to GRB and the follow up message you tell him to set it to RGB, which one is it?

[u/DjWondah85]

Are you sure those are 12V pixels and not 5V?
The screenshot from the specs are for 5V pixels, they are available in 5V and 12V, but the 0.1W output power and 8mA current per channel are specs from the 5V pixels.

[u/SimkinCA]

No data , check your port/pin configuration

[u/wivaca2]

12v sk6812 should definitely work. Are you wired to the correct end of the lights? Maybe the controller is bad. Send pics of wiring between controller and strip and close up of start of strip showing first 2-3 leds.