This is the second time I've attempted to mod the backlights in one of these. The first time kinda left me disappointed with it. These things are garbage. They're really bad. In both cases, there was a brief flash in one corner when attempting to power on. I opened this one up and confirmed that only one LED was lighting. These LEDs are all doubled, meaning it takes 6.6V to light each one. Each strip, there are four total, has 9 LEDs in series. In the last case, I attempted to stack similar LEDs to repair the original strips. I was successful at building four working strips. However, when they were installed things got weird. I don't remember exactly, but I couldn't get all four strips to light. If I remember correctly, one of the inner strips just flashed, the other was very dim. The outer two worked fine. It was a garbage pick so I mounted the two outer strips closer to the middle but still further apart than the inner two strips were originally and tossed the two inner strips. After I put it back together, it had a decent picture. I gave it to a friend for his garage and he's still happy with it.
The other day, I parted out a different 40". It's chassis was so similar to the Seiki that it gave me the idea to see if I could make the LEDs work in the Seiki. Physically, the only differences were the connector and the number of LEDs per strip. 9 originally, to 10 now. They both mount in the exact same way and use the exact same mounting screws. I still have the white backing plastic from the donor set to cover the new strips correctly.
The original strips needed 6.6V/LED to light. The new strips only need 3.3V/LED. Fortunately for me, the power supply drives the strips so that there are two parallel pairs of strips which themselves are parallel too. I can run with the two outer connectors or the two inner. If I try to use one connector from the inner two strips and one from the outer two strips, the backlights shut down. I was able to mount the four strips so that the two strips in each pair are in series rather than parallel and I'm only using the connectors from the outer two strips. I've removed the wires for the inner two strips.
So, with all that said, what are the chances that this will last even as long as the original junk lasted the first time? I'm driving 40 LEDs now compared to 36 and I'm using half of the power supply protection circuit but leaving the other half unloaded. Will that make a difference?
The other day, I parted out a different 40". It's chassis was so similar to the Seiki that it gave me the idea to see if I could make the LEDs work in the Seiki. Physically, the only differences were the connector and the number of LEDs per strip. 9 originally, to 10 now. They both mount in the exact same way and use the exact same mounting screws. I still have the white backing plastic from the donor set to cover the new strips correctly.
The original strips needed 6.6V/LED to light. The new strips only need 3.3V/LED. Fortunately for me, the power supply drives the strips so that there are two parallel pairs of strips which themselves are parallel too. I can run with the two outer connectors or the two inner. If I try to use one connector from the inner two strips and one from the outer two strips, the backlights shut down. I was able to mount the four strips so that the two strips in each pair are in series rather than parallel and I'm only using the connectors from the outer two strips. I've removed the wires for the inner two strips.
So, with all that said, what are the chances that this will last even as long as the original junk lasted the first time? I'm driving 40 LEDs now compared to 36 and I'm using half of the power supply protection circuit but leaving the other half unloaded. Will that make a difference?
Comment