Lightleak on QB’s

I’ll get one or borrow one from my friend.

PJ Diaz said:

I do have a general understanding of AC, but I guess what I'm not understanding is how the current leaks through with the hot and neutral swapped even if it's a single pole switch. How is the circuit complete and allowing electrons to pass if the switch is open? Are you saying it's trickling through the ground?

I'm not saying that you're wrong, and that in your case it wasn't a real issue, but I do stand by my previous statement that not all timers are made for LED fixtures, and that making sure that your timer is rated for LEDs should prolly be at the top of your checklist.

Certainly it's possible to easily wire AC backwards, and not realize, but I would hope that any certified electrician would wire a house properly in the first place. As @1212ham pointed out a $5 outlet tester will give the quick answer on that piece, and is certainly worth the $5 investment to add that tool to your kit, if you don't already have one.

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I have come across this problem 1 time before and swapping the 120 VAC lines fixed the problem.
220 VAC circuits should have both poles turning off.
My belief is the "surge protection circuit" caps are the cause of this in the 120 VAC circuits...just enough power is bleeding through which is slightly powering the LEDs.

PJ Diaz said:

I do have a general understanding of AC, but I guess what I'm not understanding is how the current leaks through with the hot and neutral swapped even if it's a single pole switch. How is the circuit complete and allowing electrons to pass if the switch is open? Are you saying it's trickling through the ground?

I'm not saying that you're wrong, and that in your case it wasn't a real issue, but I do stand by my previous statement that not all timers are made for LED fixtures, and that making sure that your timer is rated for LEDs should prolly be at the top of your checklist.

Certainly it's possible to easily wire AC backwards, and not realize, but I would hope that any certified electrician would wire a house properly in the first place. As @1212ham pointed out a $5 outlet tester will give the quick answer on that piece, and is certainly worth the $5 investment to add that tool to your kit, if you don't already have one.

Click to expand...

When the neutral is switched capacitive and inductive effects between the hot and off neutral conducter happens. This will cause a weak glow. This problem is repeatable and falsifiable with any single pole switch and many LED lights or lamps. Since this is an extremely common issue with LEDs, and happens with many house LED lights when there is incorrect wiring or a single pole switch on the neutral instead of hot, I found a diagram illustrating this for you, perhaps it can help you understand. I suggest also you read up on capacitive and inductive issues if you truly desire understanding in this.


I can tell you that it affected 4-5 different cheap timers and all of them worked perfectly after the issue was rectified.

Every mechanical timer out there should work fine for LED, anyone saying anything else is probably trying to sell something. I have used 3 different electrical and smart ones without a problem as well, haven't found one yet that didn't work and none of them were "rated" for LED.