Another Intellibrite Color LED Failure

May 15, 2015
55
Maryland
Pool Size
18000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Pool built in 2014. Last year, one of my Intellibrite color changing LED's failed to turn on when we opened the pool. It was replaced by my pool builder under warranty. This year, about a week before the Pentair warranty expired, the same LED failed again. Waiting for a warranty replacement.

Any idea what makes these LED's so failure prone?
 
These are digital electronic devices that must operate under some harsh conditions. If I had to guess the most likely cause, I would guess it's packaging related issues - some seal is giving way somewhere allowing the infiltration of moisture which causes failure. A good second guess would be electrical issues - surges and over-voltage conditions causing weak electrical components to blow out (capacitors are easily damaged by unregulated voltage spikes).

How are your LEDs being powered? Do you have surge protection at your panel?
 
They're on an Intellibrite Controller, on a GFCI from my original pool build. I had seen where the LED fixture has a cracked housing issue. But surprisingly, I couldn't find anything here related to failures of here units.
 
Do you know how many hours the light could have operated during the year it worked? I ask because if the value is not that much, then I would suspect moisture/corrosion, etc. Overall, I agree with JoyfulNoise's assessment as well; these are sensitive (almost PITA) electronic devices operating in extreme environments. The same can be said some LED spotlights I used to replace my old, 10W halogen landscaping lights. I've had several fail at the 1-1.5 year point. Kinda stupid and not cost effective. Cost de-fective?

I've been on the fence to replace my 400W incandescent pool light with an LED, but I simply cannot make the commitment. Between threads like these, Amazon reviews, and other online reviews, they seem to fail as a suitable replacement.
 
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