Cree BA19 bulbs flickering, varying output

[TigerhawkT3]

I have Cree BA19 bulbs running as ceiling lights in two rooms. They constantly flicker, dim down, and brighten, similar to a candle on a windy day. Output will flicker between half and full several times in a second, then drop to half for a few seconds, then back to full, then go slightly dimmer for several seconds, then more flickering... it's rather annoying. In one room, they simply flicker constantly like this. In the other, it was so bad that one bulb actually died. These things are barely a year old.

Any thoughts on why this is happening? Might the fixtures be faulty? We had CFLs before this, and they would be bright when first turned on, then dim to half 30 seconds later, then gradually get back to full output, and they never lasted more than a year or two. We had an electrician in and there was supposedly nothing wrong with the setup. Or maybe it's a thermal protection circuit going absolutely nutty?

I am interested in any theory, solution, or purchase that causes me to end up with steady output from bulbs that last as long as they're supposed to.

 

[brickbat]

I have Cree BA19 bulbs running as ceiling lights in two rooms. They constantly flicker....

Are any of the bulbs flickering in unison with each other?

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Are any of the bulbs flickering in unison with each other?

I looked at it just now to verify, and one bulb went to 50% for a few seconds, then back up to full. They are independent.

 

[KXA]

I've had this problem with Crees as well. Mine flicker when they get hot, and they're in open fixtures. (I have some in enclosed fixtures...they don't flicker, but I think that has to do with low run-hours.)

 

[BLH]

I had some of the A19 60W Cree bulbs start to flicker and then die.
I took the shell off of a few of them.
In mine the spring clips between the connection pads on the driver board and the connection pads on the LED assembly. Started to make poor connection and the pads had arc marks on the pads. With the power applied and a good insulated spudger. I gently moved and put pressure on the contact clips. I could make it flicker, go on or off.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

After Jim's question about whether the bulbs flickered together, I looked at them more closely and saw that only one of them was flickering at all. I removed that one, tried it in a desk lamp, and immediately saw the same flicker. The remaining bulb is steady.

I've had this problem with Crees as well. Mine flicker when they get hot, and they're in open fixtures. (I have some in enclosed fixtures...they don't flicker, but I think that has to do with low run-hours.)

These bulbs start flickering as soon as I turn them on. Sometimes they'd even out after a few minutes of runtime, and I guessed that they were thermally stabilizing or something, but...

I had some of the A19 60W Cree bulbs start to flicker and then die.
I took the shell off of a few of them.
In mine the spring clips between the connection pads on the driver board and the connection pads on the LED assembly. Started to make poor connection and the pads had arc marks on the pads. With the power applied and a good insulated spudger. I gently moved and put pressure on the contact clips. I could make it flicker, go on or off.

...it sounds like they're just poorly made. Any advice on opening these up so I can take a look for myself?

 

[Canuke]

Uh oh. Sounds like a repeat of the issues with the 100W daylights. Mine had a similar flicker before it gave up the magic smoke.

 

[BLH]

On the older Cree A19 bulbs.
I baked the bulb for 20 minutes at 200F. Then using heavy gloves poped the shell off.
The later Cree bulbs seem to have a different glue holding the shell on and baking didn't work.

One thing to be careful of. If the LED board assembly is not making good connection with the driver
board and the LEDs are not on. There could be around 185 volts DC on the contacts and can give a shock
from the capacitors on the driver board.
With the LED assembly on. The voltage is around 120 volts DC.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Sounds like ongoing, unaddressed quality issues with irreparable units.

I'd held off on LED fixed lighting for so long because they were always driven too hard, given poor drivers, not properly heatsinked, etc., ignoring the LED manufacturers' specs to make a quick buck. I thought that a bulb made by Cree would bypass all those issues because they wanted to do it right and show off their emitters. I guess I was wrong.

Are there any LED bulbs yet that are actually good? If not, how about CFLs? As I mentioned earlier, we haven't had much luck with CFLs either, but maybe we just hadn't been using good ones. I just hope I don't have to go on a quest to find some pre-ban incandescent bulbs.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

The one remaining BA19 in my room is starting to die. It's flickering every few minutes, shifting back and forth between a bluish hue and a pink hue. I can't stand the constant flickering, so I'm replacing it with a couple CFLs for now.

Does anyone have a recommendation for general-use household LED bulbs with passable brightness and color temperature, stable output, and a life of more than a year or two?

 

[brickbat]

Cree is color shifting? That's crazy. I've seen a few (mainly their 100W versions) that flicker... Upon disassembly of one recently, the LEDs were clearly not properly soldered to the board. I was able to easily just wipe several of them off the board.

But, in general I've had good luck with the 40 and 60W Cree lamps. What type of fixture are you using? Insulated cans? The fact that you saw CFLs do a similar dimming/flickering is just plain weird. What type of switch controls the power to these fixtures?

 

[m4a1usr]

I'm almost at the 2 year mark on my first batch of BA-19's and their still going strong. I wonder if the QA process has slacked on the newer ones or maybe the copy cats are squeezing in fakes? I also have some EcoSmarts that are about a year old and no problems with them either (knock on wood). I must say there is quite a price disparity between brands. It's enough to convince one to stick with Incan's (if we only could) since there seems to be little incentive to pursue replacements. You either pay for it up front or over time with short lived bulb's.