Hey guys I’m new to a lot of this but I’ve been working on several large projects using the ws2811 chipset on both 30/m and 60/m led strips On several occasions while working with the 30/m strips using either an arduino mega 2560 or arduino nano controller I get the strip working just fine and installed wherever it needs to be then at seemingly random points during testing only the first LED will turn on. The only way I have been able to solve this problem is by cutting off the first led and re-soldering a new three-wire connector on the next set of contacts, which seems to do the trick. However, my latest project was in its final stages and the strip is adhered in between two mirrors and I barely have access to the start of the strip while on a ladder which makes cutting and re-soldering a lot more difficult. Has anybody had similar problems or have any ideas for an easier solution? I think this is solely hardware based but I could be wrong.
I have run into this problem multiple times on multiple strips. Once on a strip installed in aluminum profile, I found a couple places where the soldered sections were touching bare aluminum. Adding insulating material fixed this issue. On all other installations, I suspect the issue was one of the following: incorrect wiring, reversed polarity or too high voltage applied to the strip.
Thanks! I suspected that was it, I was just hoping it was something that might be easier to fix!