More WS2812 Failures

Even though I’m using what seem to be good-quality parts, one of the WS2812 RGB LEDs in a Glass Tile frame died:

Glass Tile - 2x2 - first WS2812B failure — Glass Tile – 2×2 – first WS2812B failure

It passed the Josh Sharpie Test:

Glass Tile - WS2812 failure - PCB unknown — Glass Tile – WS2812 failure – PCB unknown

After building the third Glass Tile unit, one of the LEDs didn’t light up due to an easily diagnosed problem:

Glass Tile - WS2812 failure - PCB cold solder - as found — Glass Tile – WS2812 failure – PCB cold solder – as found

A closer look:

Glass Tile - WS2812 failure - PCB cold solder — Glass Tile – WS2812 failure – PCB cold solder

Shortly thereafter, the Nissan Fog Lamp developed an obvious beam problem:

Nissan Fog Lamp - failed WS2812 effect — Nissan Fog Lamp – failed WS2812 effect

The WS2812 had the proper voltages / signals at all its pins and was still firmly stuck to the central “heatsink”:

Nissan Fog Lamp - failed WS2812 detail — Nissan Fog Lamp – failed WS2812 detail

It also passed the Josh Sharpie Test:

Glass Tile - WS2812 failure - tape - unknown — Glass Tile – WS2812 failure – tape – unknown

I’m particularly surprised by this one, because eleven of the twelve flex-PCB WS2812s in the Hard Drive Platter light have been running continuously for years with no additional failures.

The alert reader will note the common factor: no matter what substrate the LED is (supposed to be) soldered to, no matter when I bought it, no matter what it’s wired into, a WS2812 will fail.

They’re all back in operation:

Although nobody knows for how long …

Obviously, it’s time to refresh my programmable RGB LED stockpile!

Comments

3 responses to “More WS2812 Failures”

2020-06-06

Chris Combs

I’ve been having better luck with the new WS2812E, though of course no long-term results yet. Less lens fractures during reflow
1. 2020-06-06
  
  Ed
  
  Yikes! At least you know which ones failed right away, cold comfort though that may be.
  
  I don’t trust an item from the usual eBay sources to be anything in particular, but if it has a white LED inside, it’s probably not a “2812” module. Sheesh & similar remarks.
2020-06-10

Glass Tiles: Glow vs. Flash Firmware – The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

[…] Although it’s not obvious in a still picture, the firmware now supports both the continuously changing colors of the Nissan fog lamp (mashed with tweaks from the vacuum tube lights) and the randomly changing colors from the LED matrix, both using SK6812 LEDs rather than the failing WS2812 modules: […]