10 votes

Anyone know what these LEDs in the center of my ceiling track lights are?

This is one of those bizarre examples where I think a simple Google would solve the mystery, but I've tried dozens of searches like "halogen track lights with LEDs in center" and NO product comes up with it. Does anyone know what these are?? My guess is that it has to do with one of the lights being out, but why so many LEDs then?

15 comments

  1. [5]
    smithsonian
    Link
    They appear to just be LED bulbs. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-3-Light-Brushed-Nickel-Semi-Flush-Mount-Directional-Light-Fixture-EC554SBA/202051195 There are a couple of Q&A that...

    They appear to just be LED bulbs.

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-3-Light-Brushed-Nickel-Semi-Flush-Mount-Directional-Light-Fixture-EC554SBA/202051195

    There are a couple of Q&A that mention the blue LEDs in the center, so they appear to be part of the design.

    7 votes
    1. brod
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Wow! @smithsonian - you absolutely rock! I’ve looked at a couple hundred lights across Lowe’s, HD, Amazon, eBay, and Temu and had mostly given up. They do simply look to be accents. @Jambo -...

      Wow! @smithsonian - you absolutely rock! I’ve looked at a couple hundred lights across Lowe’s, HD, Amazon, eBay, and Temu and had mostly given up.

      They do simply look to be accents.

      @Jambo - Weirdly, we have a couple of these throughout the home and this is the only set where the LEDs are visibly on, so it’s unclear what made these suddenly function. The blue light they emit is pretty obvious, so I don’t think it’s the case that we just never noticed.

      Either way - Mystery solved.

      8 votes
    2. Jambo
      Link Parent
      Good find, looking in the manual for this fixture, they say: So it's just accent lighting, nothing more. OP, maybe you only noticed them on with one light out because they are relatively dim, but...

      Good find, looking in the manual for this fixture, they say:

      Included 7 blue LED accents and 3 GU10 shielded bulbs.

      So it's just accent lighting, nothing more. OP, maybe you only noticed them on with one light out because they are relatively dim, but have in fact been on the whole time?

      6 votes
    3. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      That definitely looks like the same fixture! From the product info section: Edit: Ah, just realized there actually are LEDs in the very center of the fixture, which is probably what OP is...

      That definitely looks like the same fixture! From the product info section:

      Uses 50-watt max GU10-16 Halogen bulbs

      Edit: Ah, just realized there actually are LEDs in the very center of the fixture, which is probably what OP is referring to. It doesn't say anywhere that I can find about what the LEDs actually are though. So they might not be able to be replaced. :/

      2 votes
    4. krellor
      Link Parent
      I couldn't even see the LEDs in the OP's picture until you shared that link. I thought they were talking about the main bulbs. Great find!

      I couldn't even see the LEDs in the OP's picture until you shared that link. I thought they were talking about the main bulbs. Great find!

      2 votes
  2. [4]
    kingofsnake
    Link
    Do the small inner bulbs look like they're faintly on when they're off? It's a weird thing that I saw in some Ikea bulbs of mine this evening.

    Do the small inner bulbs look like they're faintly on when they're off? It's a weird thing that I saw in some Ikea bulbs of mine this evening.

    2 votes
    1. [3]
      Pavouk106
      Link Parent
      Some LEDs can be faintly on even when the switch is off. I can't remember the reason for this, but I believe Bigclivedotcom had a video on this. It comes down to poor circuit design (it can be...

      Some LEDs can be faintly on even when the switch is off. I can't remember the reason for this, but I believe Bigclivedotcom had a video on this. It comes down to poor circuit design (it can be mitigated with proper circuit, probably by adding resistor of specific value so that this faint current has somewhere else to go - very un-electronics words used on my part, sorry to every EE readong this).

      I would advise against tinkering with it though - you don't want to do anything with mains voltage if you don't know what you are doing.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        kingofsnake
        Link Parent
        Wise words. I'd assume that an Ikea product would have gone through the design process a little better, but I guess that's life

        Wise words. I'd assume that an Ikea product would have gone through the design process a little better, but I guess that's life

        2 votes
        1. Pavouk106
          Link Parent
          It is tru that IKEA tends to make things right, their chargers seem to be good, many other things as well (including lighting), but that doesn't mean they can't have one thing that is not built to...

          It is tru that IKEA tends to make things right, their chargers seem to be good, many other things as well (including lighting), but that doesn't mean they can't have one thing that is not built to their standard, unfortunately for people who bought it.

          3 votes
  3. [6]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Are you sure they're actually LEDs in the middle? It's a bit hard to tell from such a low quality picture, but they look like pretty standard 50W halogen bulbs to me. If you take one down/out and...

    Are you sure they're actually LEDs in the middle? It's a bit hard to tell from such a low quality picture, but they look like pretty standard 50W halogen bulbs to me.

    If you take one down/out and take a better picture of the bulb would be a lot easier to tell for sure though.

    1 vote
    1. PigeonDubois
      Link Parent
      I think OP is talking about the seven dots in the middle of the three big lights.

      I think OP is talking about the seven dots in the middle of the three big lights.

      6 votes
    2. krellor
      Link Parent
      @brod I'll second what cfabbro is saying. These look like GU10 bulbs. I would unscrew one and look for markings around the outside of the base of the bulb to confirm.

      @brod I'll second what cfabbro is saying. These look like GU10 bulbs. I would unscrew one and look for markings around the outside of the base of the bulb to confirm.

      1 vote
    3. [3]
      brod
      Link Parent
      Ah - I meant the dots in the middle like @PigeonDubois said! the high ceilings make it hard to get a good pic.

      Ah - I meant the dots in the middle like @PigeonDubois said! the high ceilings make it hard to get a good pic.

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Yeah, I figured that out eventually and mentioned it in my comment in the top thread. ;) I couldn't find any more info on the specific LEDs being used though, or if they're replaceable. The manual...

        Yeah, I figured that out eventually and mentioned it in my comment in the top thread. ;) I couldn't find any more info on the specific LEDs being used though, or if they're replaceable. The manual just calls them "accent LEDs", and so I don't think they're replaceable or there is a way to easily fix them without an electrical engineering background, unfortunately.

        4 votes
        1. brod
          Link Parent
          Yeah it’s so weird how the manual barely mentions these things. Oh well - finding the manual counts as a win for me!

          Yeah it’s so weird how the manual barely mentions these things. Oh well - finding the manual counts as a win for me!

          2 votes