Recessed lights don't work properly

[greg marold]

I renovated a kitchen and installed 4 recessed LED ceiling lights. They are all run by a 3-way dimmer (yes, its LED compatible) with a 3 way toggle (non-dim) on the other side of the room. They worked fine for a few weeks, but now when they are turned on, 2 of the lights won't light up (same 2 every time) As i turn the switch off, they flash, then when i turn the switch on again, they all turn on. The dimmer works fine (no strobe) and this occurs no matter how high or low the dimmer is set. Once the lights are all on, i can turn them off for about 15 min. and they will come back on normal, but if I leave them off longer, the 2 won't come on as before and the same pattern occurs. HELP!!! thanks

[Gunnar Alquist]

I renovated a kitchen and installed 4 recessed LED ceiling lights. They are all run by a 3-way dimmer (yes, its LED compatible) with a 3 way toggle (non-dim) on the other side of the room. They worked fine for a few weeks, but now when they are turned on, 2 of the lights won't light up (same 2 every time) As i turn the switch off, they flash, then when i turn the switch on again, they all turn on. The dimmer works fine (no strobe) and this occurs no matter how high or low the dimmer is set. Once the lights are all on, i can turn them off for about 15 min. and they will come back on normal, but if I leave them off longer, the 2 won't come on as before and the same pattern occurs. HELP!!! thanks

Greg,

Unfortunately, quality control on many LED fixtures is rather poor. I have found that the bargain-basement fixtures are unreliable. If you purchased these through a chain or home center, they would be my first suspicion. If the lamps are removable, change-out or rotate the lamps to see if you get different results. If that doesn't work, ask us again.

[Dom D'Agostino]

Greg,

Unfortunately, quality control on many LED fixtures is rather poor. I have found that the bargain-basement fixtures are unreliable. .

Agreed, and swapping the fixtures is a simple trouble shooting step.
Install another 3-way toggle in place of the dimmer first, just to rule it out.

[Jerry Peck]

Install another 3-way toggle in place of the dimmer first, just to rule it out.

Keeping in mind that if the 3-way toggle switch works and the dimmer did not, that it might not be the dimmer itself, it could be the LED light's power supply not properly reacting to the reduced voltage from the dimmer.

https://luxreview.com/article/2016/02/10-things-you-must-know-before-you-dim-led-lamps

[Dom D'Agostino]

it might not be the dimmer itself, it could be the LED light's power supply

Yes, but it's a necessary step to sort it all out, I think.
Lately I have encountered "winking" or pulsing on/off cycling in homes with consumer installed LED (fixtures or bulbs) & dimmer combos. Seems to be an epidemic.

[greg marold]

Sorry for the delay, it took me awhile to get back to that job. I changed the dimmer to a toggle 3-way and the same thing happened. After that, I realized the if it was the dimmer that was the problem then it would have affected all the lights, and since the dimmer worked properly on the 2 of the 4 lights, it was probably a waste of time. Checked all connections, all good. After re-connecting the dimmer, i realize that it also flashed when the power stayed on. AKA Turned the switch on and the 2 problem lights had a dim flicker, when i slid the dimmer all the way down the 2 problem lights flashed (same as flipping off), then when i slid the dimmer up, the lights worked fine. I'm just going to buy new lights. I'm not sure how it could be anything other then the fixtures themselves.