Customer:
We certainly agree on one thing – something can only light up if it receives power because it can’t light up from nothing, though that would be really nice.
So, if the LEDs glow faintly even when turned off, there is likely stray current in your home.
This can happen if, for example, the wiring was done carelessly, and the switch interrupts the neutral wire instead of the phase wire.
Thus, the lamps remain powered even when switched off. The current flows through the lamp, continues along the neutral wire to the switch, and is interrupted there (since the switch is off).
However, the interrupted neutral wire next to the phase wire acts like a capacitor, generating a negative voltage in the wire piece when the phase is positive, and vice versa. Therefore, the bulb can receive induced power of up to 100-200 volts even when off. The current is weak, so it can’t fully power the LED, but it can make it glow faintly.
The solution is to properly wire the electricity, i.e., the phase wire should be interrupted by the switch, not the neutral wire, as this can be life-threatening.
Naturally, if you had stray current before, it was not visible with a traditional bulb because it requires more current. LED bulbs, being low-consumption, are more sensitive to stray current.
Not all LED lamps indicate stray current because some are designed to operate at 220-240 volts, while others operate at 85-265 volts. The brightness will vary depending on the voltage.
Customer:
Response:
I also learned something new; I hadn’t thought of that.
So, your switch lights up when the light is off.
I have two Glim Lamp Prodaxes, but this can’t happen to me because my switch lights up when the light is on. To make it work that way, I had to route the neutral wire to the switch as well.
Your version is possible without the neutral wire, obviously, it wasn’t planned for LEDs back then. Thinking about it, the neutral wire wasn’t routed there, and a different switch module would have been needed to prevent the indicator light current from passing through the light source.
Tamás Tóth
THERE IS A SOLUTION!
István Székely’s proposed solution:
The problem can be solved by connecting a 220-330nF/400V non-electrolytic capacitor in parallel with the lamp at the ceiling terminal block of the chandelier or lamp fixture. This bypasses the LED lamps and provides ample current for the Glimm lamp as well.