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I bought some LED lights for my candelabra in my master bedroom. They're E12 bulbs (I think, since they do fit). Incandescents worked fine before. When I put these LEDs in there, they flicker when they're off. They work great ON but why would it be flickering when off? What possible solutions do I have? This is 1999 home, not too old.

Here's a video of my problem. I use a remote to turn off and on.

LED in question. I also tried another brand from Home Depot, but same results. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XY8LM1G/

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    What is turning the bulb on and off? A remote? A smart switch? A dimmer?
    – JPhi1618
    Jul 5, 2019 at 18:42
  • @JPhi1618 i use a remote to turn the bulb on and off. There is no smart switch or dimmer.
    – Gabe
    Jul 5, 2019 at 19:56
  • Most likely your remote controller is built into the fan, or in the junction box above it.
    – Machavity
    Jul 6, 2019 at 12:04

2 Answers 2

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You say that you control the lights with a “remote” and there is no smart switch. Sorry to tell you, but there must be some sort of smart switch which is receiving the signal and controlling the light. It may be part of the light fixture.

Anyway, smart switches that don’t connect to a neutral wire have to get power by trickling current through the load. This works well with incandescent lights because they require quite a bit of current to light. LED light bulbs instead require very little current and contain driver circuits to run off of mains voltage. The low trickle current will charge a capacitor in the driver so that when they charge, the light will flicker on and discharge the cap.

Unfortunately, your remote receiver is not compatible with LEDs. You might be able to make it work if you put in one incandescent bulb along with the LED bulbs as it may be able to prevent the LED drivers from charging. Otherwise, you will have to remove the receiver or replace the fixture.

Or, just keep with incandescents.

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  • Both are good answers but this piece worked for me: You might be able to make it work if you put in one incandescent bulb along with the LED bulbs as it may be able to prevent the LED drivers from charging. I put in one incandescent and 2 LED bulbs (regular, not dimmable) and it works just fine with the remote. Also for reference: I tried 3 LED dimmable (and zero incandescent) and there was a steady dim glow so that was no good. Thanks that saves me from replacing the fixture.
    – Gabe
    Jul 12, 2019 at 23:16
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The remote you use to turn the light on and off is not compatible with LED bulbs. One reason people love LED bulbs is because they use so little power. Unfortunately, some devices in the past used the fact that a regular light bulb can pass some current without glowing. Certain types of switches use a little bit of "parasitic" voltage running through the bulb to supply power for them to operate.

Now, some LED bulbs will flicker even if they have a very tiny current. The two solutions that I see are to try a dimmable LED bulb, and if that doesn't work, remove or replace the remote module. Even if you don't have a dimmer function, the dimmable bulbs have more electronics in their drivers that could prevent them from flickering when a small current runs through them.

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  • Thanks, I'll return these and try dimmable bulbs and post an update.
    – Gabe
    Jul 7, 2019 at 0:39

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