Pixels not lighting

[Christmas17]

Hello all

I have run into an issue with my 16x50 pixel tree and hope someone can give me some direction.  I have one strand that has approximately half of the lights not working.  I have checked all the connections, and they are fine.  I have also swapped the adjacent feed, and the problem does not go with the connection - ie it stays with the strand.   In the strand with the issue, the bottom 27 pixels are fine, its the top 23 pixels that are not working.  In my limited experience with pixels, I thought that if one went out, the remining would stay lit - correct?  It does look like this is a hardware issue, as the issue remained with the strand when I swapped the adjacent feeds.  Any thoughts as to what I should check would be appreciated.

 

 

[Jimehc]

replace the last working Pixel and the first dead pixel.....  The last working Pixel may not be sending Data down the line and the first dead Pixel may actually be dead...

Edited November 8, 2022 by Jimehc

[TheDucks]

The last lit or the first dead will be the problem. As Jimehc states, the data gets passed between nodes, so it might be a fail to send or a dead receiver.

I tend to replace the first dead and see if cured. Just more work if I guessed wrong.

[k6ccc]

There are several fairly common failure modes for pixels.  The first two only affect the one pixel, the other two affect everything downstream of the failed pixel.

1)  A pixel will have one or more colors that are dead.  For example when pixel should be white, it would be teal if the red was missing.

2)  A pixel will have one or more colors that are stuck on.  For example, when a pixel should be off, it would be green if the green was stuck on.

3)  A pixel will send all zeros downstream.  That means that all downstream pixels will be dark.

4)  A pixel will send all ones downstream.  That means that all downstream pixels will be full 100% white.

Sometimes a failed pixel will exhibit more than one of these symptoms.  For example when I powered up my arches a couple days ago, one arch has a pixel that is stuck on (problem #2), and also nothing working downstream (problem #3).

If only problem #1 or #2, replace the bad pixel.  My general recommendation for problems #3 or #4 is to replace the last working pixel and the next pixel (the first dead or solid white).

 

[Christmas17]

Thanks for the info to all.  i did order a replacement strand, as i currently do not have any pixels for repair.  tonight however, i ran a show to check timing and flow, and the problem has resolved itself.  last night, i had half of full strand not working - then tonight, no issues with the strand at all.  sounds like i have a pixel issue that may be intermittent.  does this make sense?

 

[PhilMassey]

Had it rained when you had the problem?  Perhaps it has since dried out. Moisture getting into poorly potted pixels can cause a myriad of issues downstream of the affected pixel.

 

[TheDucks]

or you have a cracked trace/ or fractured wire

[Christmas17]

Thanks again guys.  we have had a little rain, and a lot of wind which sounds like the pixel has been damaged.  will replace the bottom two pixels when the replacements arrive, and hopefully this will solve the issue for good

 

thanks again