WS2811 + PWM White Strip at the same ESP32 causes flickering

Questions
1

Hi there,

i am running WLED 13.2 on ans ESP32 mini.

I have connected 100 LEDs of the 12V WS2811 type, which works fine alone.
I then connected 300 LEDs of 12V pure white controlled by an mosfet.

I can control both strips with WLED and both work fine, if they are used separated. But every time i acivate the white strip i get random flickering in the WS2811 pixels. I added ann 470uF capacitor between the 12V input. Also a 33Ohm resistor between the ESP32 and the data input of the WS2811 strip. I use a sacrificial pixel and the distance is about 2 meter from the first pixel to the strip. Also i tested without distance, same result.

I use a 12V 10a power supply and a 3.3V stepdown converter for the ESP32.

What can i do?

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best regards!

2

Post a basic wiring diagram of your strips and we can give you some more pointers.

You might also try to upgrade to the latest version of WLED.

3

I made a crude layout, hope this helps :v:

Also i am using the Audio Reactive Fork of WLED, thus i am using the latest version available to me.

4

Take a look at the Github Loader page.
There’s a number of more recent Audio Reactive (SR) versions available.

You might need a real levelshifter with this setup, and/or remove the 33R resistor.

5

Okay i updated to the latest version of SR WLED but the issue still persists.

Removing the resistor does not change a thing =/

It seems like the pwm of the mosfet is causing a signal degradation of some sort.

6

Try reducing the number of LEDs that are activated in the addressable strip.
Drop it to a small number like 20 and see if that makes any difference.

You can also try and drive both strips to 100% white and measure with a voltmeter at the strips beginning and end points to see if your power supply is up to snuff and/or your voltage drop calculations are correct.

7

I am wondering why you are powering the Esp32 with 3.3v and not 5v?

8

While not related to the issue , using 3.3v will reduce the heat on your board at least the ones we tested

2 Likes
9

I found the solution guys!

I removed the WS2811 segment, when the warm white LEDs are on and saved this as a preset “WW only” with segments bounds checked. And all the RGB Presets have 2 Segments.
So everytime i use the WW only mode, the WS2811 does not flicker anymore.

10

Can you adjust the white light intensity with this connection?