Why Is My Led Light Bulb Smoking? (Reasons and Solutions)

Since LED light bulbs are long-lasting and energy-efficient, people nowadays choose them for their homes, workplaces, gardens, playgrounds, or anything that requires light. In addition, LED light bulbs have come a long way from the early stage, and there are different types of bulbs in the market now. But the thing is that you can face various issues with LED light bulbs like other bulbs as well. Anytime you find smoke coming from your LED light Bulb and think it is a fire hazard. 

So, knowing why your LED light bulb is smoking is essential. Most of the time, this occurs due to the need for a more professional installation of your bulb. If the LED light bulb is cheap and of low quality, you can often see smoke coming from your light.

On the contrary, sometimes, when the LED light bulb has not had enough large heat sinks, then the problem can arise. In this article, I will briefly explore some possible reasons for smoking LED light bulbs smoking. 

What Are the Reasons Why My Led Lightbulb Smoking?

Though LED lights are generally very reliable, they can start to smoke if you can’t use them correctly. Since there can be various reasons behind the issue, you must first find out the exact one.

Reason 1: Because of the Improper Cooling System

In most cases, your LED bulb light can smoke if it can’t be cooled properly. So, the actual thing that happens behind the improper cooling procedure is the need for proper air circulation or the lack of enough large heat sinks. 

However, you must remember one question: Is your LED light bulb smoking a replacement for different kinds of the bulb like a 50W halogen downlight? Again remember that the maximum LED light bulbs necessitate an individual transformer to translate the power from what it is supplied to where it requires to be for the LEDs.

Reason 2: Due to Installing an LED Light Bulb into a Pre-fixing Fitting

The smoke phenomenon can arise if you install your LED light bulb directly into a pre-existing fitting without first replacing the transformer with a low-energy one that is compatible with your new LED light bulb. It will be worth mentioning Australia, where people understood they were required to swap out their transformer too to place the new LED light bulb there. Remember that, though low voltage will not damage your LED light bulb, the high voltage will damage the light. 

Reason 3. Because of Overheating

Again, since an LED light bulb produces more temperature than traditional incandescent bulbs, they need more careful handling. If your LED light overheats, it may start to smoke and even happen a fire hazard also. So, you must be careful using LED lights, and it is essential to be alert if the light can’t get overheated.

Reason 4. Due to Poor Quality Control

Another common reason for getting LED light bulbs smoking is poor quality control. When Led light manufacturers cut corners, they may use lower-quality materials that can break down easily and even start to smoke when used. That’s why it is common to find the electrolytic capacitors across the rectifier circuit underrated after opening the smoking LED light bulb. 

However, poor-quality LED light bulbs manufactured for export could be better. Again, before being branded for the target market’s voltage, the producers made the lights using budget manufacturing processes. So, you must purchase high-quality LED light bulbs from a reputed brand.   

Reason 5. Because of Improper Installation

Improper installation is another reason get an LED light bulb smoking. If you can’t screw your LED light bulb in tight enough, it can start to smoke. On the contrary, when the LED light bulb comes into contact with any flammable materials, the light can start to smoke too. So, while your LEDs are generally reliable and safe, you should use the light properly to avoid any potential issues. 

How to Repair Your Burnt LED Light Bulbs?

You are suffering a lot if you face the issue of getting your LED light bulbs burnt out. Since it is essential to have a good enough lighting source in the house, garden, or anywhere, you should take the necessary step to fix the problem. In this article, you already know the reason for getting smoking LED light bulbs.

Step 1. Disable the LED Light Bulb

To repair your burnt LED light bulb, you must disable the bulb first. 

Step 2. Locate the Offending LED Light Bulb

It is important to locate the offending LED. You can notice a faint dark spot compared to the other LED light bulbs. So, use a knife or a small screwdriver to break and scrape your LED light bulb.

Step 3. Connect the LED Light

After locating your LED light bulb, you must solder the connection under where the LED was to bridge the connection. Generally, it is a very simple way to repair burnt LED light bulbs. 

Here I’m providing a video link. From the video link, you can know the proper guideline to fix your LED light bulbs that get burned out. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do LED Light Bulbs Get Hot?

LED light bulbs get hot, and it is very natural. It would help if you didn’t worry about the thing because LED light bulbs get hot due to the internal components that create the light. However, the base of your LED light bulb acts as a heat sink, allowing your bulb’s surface to maintain a perfect temperature. But here, if the components cannot adequately ventilate, they can produce more temperature output. 

How Long Should My LED Light Bulb Last?

The average lifespan of your LED is often rated up to 50,000 hours. However, this is about 50 times longer than a conventional incandescent and even 30 to 25 times longer than a traditional halogen. On the contrary, LED light bulbs are 8 to 10 times longer than a typical CFL. Again, if you use an LED light bulb 12 hours a day, it is rated t 50,000 hours, which means it will last more than 11 years. 

Is a Burnt LED Light Bulb Toxic?

In general, red LED light bulbs contain eight times the lead found in a yellow LED. But when the lead gets converted to smoke, it turns into a neurotoxin and exhibits significant noncancer and cancer-causing properties because of the high content of arsenic and lead. So, a burnt LED light bulb is toxic. 

Conclusion

It is important to figure out the reason for getting your LED light bulb smoking because the issue can get out of control, and you may have a serious fire hazard. You should always be careful while purchasing a LED light bulb from the market and check out if the light bulb is professionally installed or not. 

However, the amazing benefit of an LED light bulb is that you can easily repair almost everything on the light bulb. You also should be aware of maintaining good component quality because poor component quality can occur premature burnout. On contrary, voltage jumps and also LED overheating also occur in this issue. But the good thing is that you don’t have to have much experience and cost to handle the LED light bulb when it gets any issue.