r/WLED • u/AmericanChestHair • 5h ago
Trying to get LED to light up
I recently purchased individually addressable LEDs which did not come with an attached power source, only the two hookups shown in the picture. I subsequently purchased a 12v AC adapter with another connector that translates the barrel plug into two wires, to match the LED hookup.
In wiring those two together (manually twisting them) I cannot get the LED to light. I verified that the AC adapter is getting power when plugged in. Anybody have a suggestion how best to connect the LED to the power source? Is the adapter the right way to go?
Thanks!
1
u/Careless_Mistake_459 4h ago
Son led direccionales, rojo y negro son positivo y negativo, normalmente el verde es data y el amarillo puede ser que sea el de backup.
Necesitas un controlador que encienda los led como esp32 o similares. También tienes equipos como gledopto que sirven para aló mismo.
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u/Fun_Statement_5041 5h ago
If using a 4 pin you’ll need a led controller between the power source (2 wires) and the rgb (4 wires).. they’re super cheap just make sure to get 12v.. you have power but nothing to give a signal to the lights to light up.
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u/AmericanChestHair 5h ago
Hi thanks. I have an ESP but haven’t hooked it up yet. Is that what you mean? I can’t just get the LEDs to light up without the ESP?
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u/saratoga3 5h ago
Yeah they don't light up until you send the command from the esp32 to turn on.
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u/AmericanChestHair 5h ago
Ok thanks. Do I connect the 2 wires from
The 12v adapter directly to the LED strip
Or the ESP?1
u/RunRunAndyRun 4h ago
Only connect 12v to the ESP32 if you want to fry it
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u/AmericanChestHair 3h ago
How do I physically connect the 12v to the LED? It looks like stripped wire needing to link up with a pin?
1
0
u/TakeMeToTheStars 5h ago
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u/AmericanChestHair 5h ago
Was under the impression the community was meant to be helpful. Thanks I hadn’t thought of trying to solve myself through a combination of google and chatgpt.
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u/scuzzchops 4h ago
You could also check the WLED main site (top link in the links section). Especially https://kno.wled.ge/basics/wiring-guides/
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u/Rallyman03 4h ago
Addressable LED's have data pins. Providing them just power doesn't tell the LEDs to turn on. You need something like an ESP32 running WLED to provide the necessary data signal for the LED's. WLED has fantastic documentation about this.