Unfortunately your description doesn't help much. "Flicker" means different things to different people, anything from a rapid fluctuation in brightness to a regular off-on-off-on.

Hard to tell for sure whether it's a safety problem. There have been cases where CF and LED power supplies failed in spectacular and unsettling ways. To be fair, though, incandescent bulbs have also started fires, especially halogen torchieres.

I'd try to exchange the troublesome units at the store, not so much for safety as for the annoyance factor.

Commercial Electric is a house brand of the orange big box store. Others may have different experiences, but I've found it to be mostly Chinese-made junk. You don't pay much for it, and you get commensurate quality. You might consider trading up.

return and replace.

I have to ask, why did you use integrated lights? What happens when one or more of those bulbs decide to die and you cant replace them. My advice, remove them, get the kind with removable light bulbs, and do it right. You will be happy you did.

@cat_ky At ~$25 each it was almost the same cost as getting a fixture + bulb. Plus I like the seamless look and the ultra-thin design (basically same thickness as the drywall so you can install them in places that have obstructions in the ceiling). I have the same kind installed in several other rooms and not having any issues with them, but they don't stay on for as long in the other locations (e.g. bathrooms).

@DavidR It's not a rapid flicker, but rather an intermittent dimming and brightening, maybe ~1-3 second frequency, but irregular.

Hi margaret17,

It might just be a dud. If you bought this at a hardware store and you still have the receipt, try exchanging for another one, installing the new one, and see if it still does the same thing.

If the issue resolves itself, the first unit was probably just a dud.

If the issue doesn't resolve itself, it is likely something else that's not related to the kit.

We hope this information will help you make a more informed decision on your home needs.

Very Best,

Tai Truong

Elements of Design

3400 Medford Street

Los Angeles, CA 90063

tai@lusivedecor.com

www.elementsofdesign.com

From what I understand, these lights are on a dimmer switch? If so, it might not be compatible with your lights or vice-versa. Most good brands of LED bulbs and fixtures will come with a list of compatible dimmers, or have that info available online. Before changing all the lights, that's something I would check.

I'm not an engineer, just a hobbyist. But that seems too fast to be a heat related problem. I suppose it could be a failing capacitor in the power supply - just a guess. If so, I'd expect them to fail entirely in the near future.

I'd just replace the units, especially if you can get warranty coverage.

If you're feeling adventurous and don't mind the postage cost, you might mail one of the dying lights to Big Clive in the UK. You might get to watch him tear it apart to diagnose the problem. :)

Thanks everyone. I'll try replacing and see if it resolves the issue.

Since you have two fixtures and both act the same way, I'd assume that the fixtures are not defective. Before replacing, I'd try temporarily bypassing the dimmer to see if the problem goes away. You could just remove the dimmer's cover plate and put in a jumper between the dimmer's two contacts to bypass it (after turning off the power to the dimmer at the breaker panel!).

I had a ceiling light with a dimmer and it worked fine. I replaced the ceiling light with a chandelier from Ikea and it had issues similar to Margaret's. I replaced the dimmer with one rated for LEDs/CFLs and the problem was solved. I had the same problem with "eyeball" ceiling lights, for lighting paintings. In my quest to save energy, I replaced the bulbs with LEDs, and had similar problems, so I replaced the dimmer and the problems went away. Both LED and dimmer technology has changed a lot in the last few years.

How many lights are controlled by the dimmer?

If there are more than the two flickering lights that are controlled by that dimmer, then I would suspect faulty lights.

If there are only the two lights wired to the dimmer, then I would suspect the dimmer.

Both lights and LED compatible dimmer were purchased within the last few months, so it's latest technology. There are only two on this dimmer and both flicker (by flicker I mean an intermittent dimming, not rapid blinking). One suggestion I saw was that, since they are wired in series, if the first one is having power fluctuations, it could impact the second one. My first idea is to swap positions and see if both still flicker. The problem is that this issue is really hard to reproduce. You need the lights on at full power for 2 or more hours. Because the lights are so bright, we don't usually have them at full power (and there is no flicker). The reason I suspect the Thermal Cut Off Device is that after 2+ hours on full power the lights do get pretty warm. Maybe this behavior is by design?

"they are wired in series..."

I doubt it. They are most certainly wired in parallel.

@wdccruise Yes, of course, you are right! Still haven't done anything with the lights since we so rarely keep them on full because they are so bright.

Still haven't done anything with the lights since we so rarely keep them on full because they are so bright.

I tend to do the same thing. Perfectionism gets expensive.

A friend of mine used to say that he never fixed his car's windshield wipers because he didn't want to get out there and do it when it was raining. When it wasn't raining, they weren't causing any trouble, so he didn't think about it.