Kitchen LED lighting trips fuse every 2 weeks

[Pat Slight]

Hi i hope someone has the answer to this.

Ok we have just had a new kitchen fitted and i have installed under cabinet lighting 12 volt. It is Led strip and 1 side cabinet is 1.6 meters long and the other side is 2 meters long. I have 2 power supplies 1 for each side. they are 12 volt linked to the wall switch. 

Now my problem is about every 2 weeks when i switch them on it trips my fuse in the main fuse board. just the ground lights fuse and nothing else. the spot lights and pendents don't do this. 

The led stripe roll is 24 watts per roll and i got a 5 meter roll but used less than that. The power supply's are input 240v 50-60hz, Output 12v DC6.66A 80 watts and this has 2 12v outlets but im only using 1 each side.

I have tried different Led strip tape but did the same. 

I have found a mention of inrush! am i right in thinking its like a sudden serge to power to the leds or power supply?

I know my house electrics are all fine as i have had a full electrical test after my building work was finished and signed off.

Is it possible to up-rate the ground lights fuse in the main fuse bored to stop this?

Please help.

Regards

Pat Slight

 

[phil d]

First of all, are we talking about a fuse or a breaker? a fuse cannot trip! it could be inrush, if it's only doing it once in a while, it all depends on what part of the cycle it's on, at some points it's more likely to trip than at others. You could change the breaker, not for a bigger one but for one with a slightly different tripping characteristic, however you would need to know the earth loop value to do this safely, as different types have a differing maximum loop value.

 

[Pat Slight]

Hi Phil

Thanks for coming back to me.

I have 3 different types of lighting in the kitchen, 8 led down lights and these don't trip anything, 2 pendent lights with led bulbs and again theses don't trip the fuse. it only the under cabinet LED tape strips that cause this. 

Its almost like its the powering up of the power supply that causes it?

Regards

Pat

 

[steptoe]

As @phil d says,

It could be the inrush current of the transformers,

But, you can't just change the MCB type without knowing the Zs (earth reading) of the lighting circuit, 

You don't need a bigger MCB, you may need one with different tripping characteristics though.

 

[Pat Slight]

Does this help

As @phil d says,

It could be the inrush current of the transformers,

But, you can't just change the MCB type without knowing the Zs (earth reading) of the lighting circuit, 

You don't need a bigger MCB, you may need one with different tripping characteristics though.

Hi on the certificate is says Maximum measured earth fault loop Zs .47

Does this help?

Pat

 

[Blue Duck]

What is tripping mcb or rcd ?.

You could change it for a type C breaker but I would check the wiring and the drivers (transformers) first!

 

[steptoe]

Does this help

Hi on the certificate is says Maximum measured earth fault loop Zs .47

Does this help?

Pat

In the column under TYPE , what does it say,?

 

[Pat Slight]

What is tripping mcb or rcd ?.

You could change it for a type C breaker but I would check the wiring and the drivers (transformers) first!

The wiring is all ok and second lot of led tape. how would you test the drivers?

Pat

 

[phil d]

Assuming we're talking about a 6A mcb for lighting then you could change from a B type to a C type, the maximum value of loop for a C type breaker to BS 3871, or BS EN 60898 is 2.91 ohms so you're well within the limits.

 

[Pat Slight]

In the column under TYPE , what does it say,?

It says B

 

[steptoe]

As above, 

It could be changed, but it would need testing and  a new certificate issued to show this,.

 

[pewter]

could it be the drivers?

Could try disconnecting one side before the driver see what happens then swap over and disconnect the other driver.

where are the drivers located?

Where they bought from a proper shop or some cheap rubbish off ebay?

Are the drivers a sealed plastic unit or one of those metal ones where you can see the bits inside?

 

[Pat Slight]

could it be the drivers?

Could try disconnecting one side before the driver see what happens then swap over and disconnect the other driver.

where are the drivers located?

Where they bought from a proper shop or some cheap rubbish off ebay?

Are the drivers a sealed plastic unit or one of those metal ones where you can see the bits inside?

Hi

Yes there off ebay but metal waterproof ones located on top of units.

 

[steptoe]

Before you start messing about and changing the circuit characteristics I'd be wanting to check/test the drivers to make sure they are OK.

 

[Pat Slight]

Before you start messing about and changing the circuit characteristics I'd be wanting to check/test the drivers to make sure they are OK.

ok i think i will remove one side and try that

Thanks

 

[Bruspark]

99% certain it is 2x a cheap driver without a soft start circuit   Switch them on together = 2x inrush =2x10A surge = trip 

Get smaller power rated drivers with 'soft start'   (Actual load (load is proportional to cut length)  x 1.5 is sensible)  

Don't get them from ebay or Amazon if you have a reputable electrical wholesaler nearby.

 

[Lurch]

I'd also go with the above, cheap power supplies with poor or no inrush limiting. I've installed loads of power supplies on 6A MCBs and this shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Murdoch]

The op has posted this on another forum i won't mention.

It's difficult to tell but as the lighting circuit is on a rcbo I would clamp the tails to check the leakage before doing much else.

For clarity, does it trip as the lights are switched on or sometime later.

 

[Pat Slight]

The op has posted this on another forum i won't mention.

It's difficult to tell but as the lighting circuit is on a rcbo I would clamp the tails to check the leakage before doing much else.

For clarity, does it trip as the lights are switched on or sometime later.

Hi Murdoch

They only trip when turned on and the other kitchen lights don't do this. and its not all the time only about once a week

Pat

99% certain it is 2x a cheap driver without a soft start circuit   Switch them on together = 2x inrush =2x10A surge = trip 

Get smaller power rated drivers with 'soft start'   (Actual load (load is proportional to cut length)  x 1.5 is sensible)  

Don't get them from ebay or Amazon if you have a reputable electrical wholesaler nearby.

Hi Murdoch

They only trip when turned on and the other kitchen lights don't do this. and its not all the time only about once a week

Pat

How do I find drivers with inrush protection as they don't say they have inrush.

Regards

Pat

 

[Murdoch]

You can't find them. It's a feature of them all pretty much..... What you describe is very typical. Did you buy the transformer from the sane vendor as the lights?