I’m using a 12V 15A power supply to power a 5-meter SK6812 RGBWW LED strip, totaling 300 LEDs. I’ve conducted tests with both an ESP8266 NodeMCU v3 and an ESP32 S2 Mini, both powered via a cable connected to a USB port on a notebook. I’m using the standard version of WLED, version 0.14.1.
Upon powering up the circuit, the LED strip remains constantly lit, and the LEDs do not turn off, even when pressing the power button on the WLED user interface. Although the effects appear to be working, they are difficult to perceive due to the extremely intense brightness of the LEDs.
If anyone has any ideas about what might be happening, I’d appreciate it. Below are details of the connections and configurations.
It seems like I’m making progress here. Now the LED strip is fully turning on, but it alternately flashes with various colors, and everything I do in the WLED UI doesn’t seem to take effect.
The TXS0108E should work as a reasonable shifter, although various folks have have issues.
The (corrected for ground and floating pins) wiring diagrams are correct as you’ve posted them.
There are a few more hardware things we can go after, but one possible software fix: is it possible to downgrade to V0.14.0 or even 0.13.3? There have been a few cases that seemed to improve well with an older version of WLED.
That’s not a general recommendation, but it’s worth a quick try given the issues you’re describing (after the wiring fixes).
I conducted a test with an ESP32 S2 Mini using version 0.14.1, and the behavior was the same. With the ESP8266, I downgraded to version 0.13.3, but also without success.
I’m wondering if WLED supports SK6812 RGBWW strips, as this option is not available in the list of available types.
OK,
Generally it looks like you’ve wired things correctly, BUT - a few things stand out (roughly in order of importance):
I don’'t recognize the buck converter, doesn’t mean it’s bad (what model is that?), but you might try a different 5V power source. A 5V 2A “Wall Wart”, or even a USB charger with a good cable. Make sure you keep the grounds common.
Power your strip using the 2 flying power (White and Red) leads directly to the PS rather than through the JST connector. That connector is only going to handle limited power.
Try to connect your grounds to a single point, especially from the Node MCU board. While there are multiple ground pins, there’s no guarantee they are routed on the board well.
Try this with a small number of LEDs (say 10) configured in WLED, just to limit the total power used by the strip.
The unused input pins on the TXS0108E should go to ground, not be left “floating” - they can pick up noise.
Dupont connectors are not your friend, even though they’re convenient. Shorter, neat wiring is always a better test. If you can get a proper breadboard or even a piece of perfboard, make that wiring small, neat, and tidy. Big loops are not helping, especially for the data wiring.
Some people have had less success with the TXS0108E shifters. Technically they are spec’d to work, but seem to be “touchy” in some setups. You might consider a 74AHCTxxx based device.
I conducted several tests following your suggestions mentioned here, and surprisingly, when I replaced the TXS0108E with an SN74HC125N, the strip worked perfectly.
Taking this opportunity and the deep knowledge you all have in this matter, I have doubts regarding the most suitable configuration for the WLED considering the LED strip I am using: SK6812 DC12V RGBWW 5050 SMD 5M with 60 LEDs/m. This was a strip purchased in China and there is no indication of consumption on the packaging. In WLED, I am configuring the LED voltage option (Max. current for a single LED) with 12V (30mA) and for Enable automatic brightness limiter: Maximum Current: 3500 mA. Do these values seem coherent with the type of strip I am using?
Also, will a 12V 15A power supply be adequate to support 3 5-meter LED strips connected in sequence, totaling 900 LEDs?
Anyway, I want to thank you for all the support and suggestions I have received throughout this thread.
Glad you’ve got things (more) under control.
That 5V supply is a little on the light side for my tastes, but don’t argue with success at this point…
As far as the 12V supply requirements, the best way to know what your LEDs draw is to measure the actual current for 20 LEDs at 100% White. That will give you a real number you can use to predict the worst case draw for the whole strip and what your power supply needs to deliver.
Incidentally, the brightness limiter values are only calculations based on what you tell WLED about your setup. It doesn’t actually protect your power supply at all, that’s what your real world power calculations are for.
