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I replaced all of the bulbs in the track light with LEDs. I also replaced the two switches with LED compatible smart switches (dimmers). The furthest light on the track has been flickering and recently the next one has started to flickers as well. The flickering started when I changed the bulbs to LED and I figured that changing the switches would fix it, it didn't. Do I have to replace the track lighting completely with "LED Compatible" ones?

NOTE: The house was built about 19 years ago.

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  • Is this 120V or 12V track lighting? Are all the LEDs specifically listed as "dimmer compatible"? Does anything change if you replace one of the LEDs with an incandescent bulb? Feb 2, 2017 at 20:37
  • @Harper This is 120v track lighting. All of the LED's I bought were specifically for dimming. I haven't tried the incandescent bulb trick yet.
    – Programmer
    Feb 2, 2017 at 21:37
  • My .02 cents: try different LED bulbs. You likely have a set that is too cheaply made.
    – Tyson
    Feb 2, 2017 at 22:37
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    Since it's 120v, there's nothing in the track lighting except copper, no active circuits that could possibly conflict with LED lighting. Is this a 2-wire dimmer (no neutral )? Those often misbehave or can be very picky about which LED models they want to play well with, because they must pass current through the bulbs. The incandescent will reveal that. Feb 2, 2017 at 23:19

4 Answers 4

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If you look on the box/packaging that the LED bulbs came in, they will tell you the type of switch they require. Some LED bulbs work fine with CFL dimmers (which are the cheaper one's that some manufacturer's will say can dim LEDs) but the majority of 120v LED bulbs require an ELV dimmer.

Another thing worth noting is that a lot of smart dimming switches are rated for about 150W. Common LED bulb wattage is at around 9W. This means that switch will only support up to 16 bulbs.

And lastly, if you have any mixed bulb type/vendors on the circuit, it can also cause flickering/conflicts.

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I had this issue in a ceiling fan that has 4 candelabra-style lights.

When I replaced them with LEDs the remote-control circuitry didn't have enough load on it to be able to decide what to do.

In the end, I left an incandescent bulb in one socket and that fixed the problem.

Now the remote-control works just like before. And since I used the Cool White LEDs I get more light for less power.

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So I called the electric company and told them the issue I'm having and what I've done so far. They said that it sounds like the issue is a common one that happens when the electric company "polls" the house for usage amounts. I was then asked when the flickering happens and to see if it happens at a certain time (10am, 8pm). This is exactly what happened. Within a few minutes of those times, the lights will flicker for a few seconds and then stop. They said that I can't do anything about it.

I'm not sure if this is the "correct" answer but it may helps other that have a similar issue.

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They correct answer is the bulb was a 2 pin mr16, which is a low voltage light. Your need to control the transformer, so you need a elk low voltage dimmer. It cost about $70.

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  • This is not the correct answer as the bulbs are not 2 pin MR16 but rather standard E26 bulbs.
    – Programmer
    Jul 11, 2017 at 13:15

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