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I have bought a new motion sensor for my corridor LEDs. The lights turn on fine with it, however, when the sensor is set to OFF, the lights blink indefinitely (a few times per second) and never actually turn off.

It turns out the sensor has a minimum watt requirement of 40W, and I'm quite certain the LEDs use less than that, so could that be the cause of the issue?

If so, how can I easily raise the wattage of the circuit?

And if that's not it, then what could be causing this?

Thanks in advance!

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  • 2
    Prove the problem by wiring in a 60 watt lamp. – Andy aka Jan 6 at 11:27
  • @Andyaka Thanks. I attached a 75-watt lamp, and it worked without issues, so that seems to confirm it. The problem is that this sensor is the only one I could find throughout the internet, which is why I'm searching for a workaround... – Illidanek Jan 6 at 12:40
  • You indicate in comments that you're looking for a motion and sound activated switch but cannot find one that won't make your LEDs blink. Consider an alternative: a light/motion detector that turns on when it's dark and it detects motion which is then wired in series with a sound detector switch which can only turn on when the upstream light/motion detector has activated it. The sound detector would then activate the LEDs and would, of course, need to be LED compatible. Not sure if these components are available, but it might be something to consider. – FreeMan Jan 6 at 21:57
  • @FreeMan thanks for the suggestion. I have considered something similar to this, but that would mean that both detectors would have to go off at the same time, i.e. there would have to be both sound AND motion, rather than OR. Also, parts are tricky as you say :/ – Illidanek Jan 8 at 9:30
  • @FreeMan what would be awesome is if there was a little switch which was able to turn on when there is sufficient wattage on the circuit. Then I would wire that in series with everything and it would solve the issue – Illidanek Jan 8 at 9:30
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This is common with sensors that are not listed for use with LED’s The sensor is drawing a tiny amount of power to power the electronics, this s just enough to cause a glow and sometimes flashing. You have 2 options use higher wattage lamps like you have tried to prove the sensor was working OR find an LED compatible sensor. I use motion sensors that work with LED’s you will find many of the led type need a neutral so they power the electronics with out drawing current through the lamps this is causing the flashing.

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  • I see. Thanks. I am looking specifically for a motion+sound sensor, which only turns on when it is dark, and this was the only one I found. Could you maybe recommend some company or shop that you know? (Europe delivery) – Illidanek Jan 6 at 20:00
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Yes, that could be the cause depending on the electronics.

If you want to waste power? The better solution is to use another sensor.

The blinking, however, might also be caused by an induced current within the wiring. I had the case where I had a ceiling LED light would blink randomly when turned off, another one was always slightly on even when the switch was off. This was caused by long adjacent wires within the wall.

The LED were requiring so little power to turn on, that the coupling of the cables within the walls was enough to actually trigger the lamp to turn on. This problem probably does not happens with better quality lamps.

As suggested, try with a higher power lamp, and try with another LED lamp and observe if the behavior is similar.

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  • I confirmed the issue (see above) but I could not find any other motion+sound sensor which detects darkness as well and only turns on when it is sufficiently dark, so I doubt I could find one like this for lower wattage... – Illidanek Jan 6 at 12:41

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