Conventional Fixtures MR16 Strip Light Help

[xxgreenmartinixx]

Hello everyone, new member here in need of help.

I picked up some used Altman style MR16 strip lights for a production I am doing. One is 3 channel 2ft strip (4 bulbs on two of the channels, 2 bulbs on the third). When I tried to wire one of the channels to test the thing out, I wired the ends into 120 volts and blew the bulbs once I turned it on.

The bulbs are 12v and only 4 of them, plus the neon indicator lights.

How are these supposed to be wired for use in a dimmer pack? Do I need a special 12v dimmer?

I am new to wiring, so know I am missing something here.

-Jared

 

[RonHebbard]

Hello everyone, new member here in need of help.

I picked up some used Altman style MR16 strip lights for a production I am doing. One is 3 channel 2ft strip (4 bulbs on two of the channels, 2 bulbs on the third). When I tried to wire one of the channels to test the thing out, I wired the ends into 120 volts and blew the bulbs once I turned it on.

The bulbs are 12v and only 4 of them, plus the neon indicator lights.

How are these supposed to be wired for use in a dimmer pack? Do I need a special 12v dimmer?

I am new to wiring, so know I am missing something here.

-Jared

Hello Jared;

4 + 4 + 2 = 10 lamps.
If all ten 12 volt lamps were wired in series you'd be at 120 volts and ready to rock.
The neons are wired in parallel with the 12 volt lamps such that a working twelve volt lamp effectively shorts out its neon.
If a 12 volt lamp fails, opens, all the lamps go out, series circuit, lighting the related neon indicator as it now finds itself across 120 volts.
Clear as mud, right?

Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[xxgreenmartinixx]

Thanks for the reply Ron

Actually they are wired as 3 different channels. 4 lights are wired together, then 2 lights are wired together, then the last 4 lights are wired together. Every 2 lights has a neon in parallel.

So I think this would explain blowing bulbs - but not what to do about supplying the correct voltage.

-Jared

 

[techieman33]

If you only want one color out of them you can rewire them so they all work on one circuit. They were designed to work as part of a larger set of strip lights, the way yours are wired you would have 3 of the 2 foot strips to make one unit. They should have plugs on both ends of the light to accommodate that.

 

[Dionysus]

are the sets of 4 and the set of 2 wired series or parallel? This will determine your working voltage.

Basically one way or another you either need to use a transformer or drop the voltage to achieve your working voltage somehow so each lamp gets its 12v.
I'd imagine they are wired in parallel to make it easy, and use 12v?

There are some 12v DMX dimmer products (I believe some are talked about in another thread? Don't recall).

Usually when working with MR16s I usually use the appropriate transformers to supply 12v with the necessary load (depending on size of lamp, and number of lamps). I rarely have a situation where I can stick 10 MR16s in series to act as a voltage divider to get 12v per lamp.

 

[derekleffew]

... They were designed to work as part of a larger set of strip lights, the way yours are wired you would have 3 of the 2 foot strips to make one unit. ...

You're decribing "Vegas strips": http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/vegas-strips-broken-mini-strip-sections.24422/ , but I don't think this is what the OP has. I suspect the lamps in each circuit on his are wired in parallel, and thus, a transformer must be used.

@xxgreenmartinixx, what connector(s) did the fixture come with? Did it have male and female, or only male connectors (might have been an "end" unit)? Luckily for you, MR16 lamps are cheap!

It might be more trouble than it's worth, but I'd consider a total rewire, changing the sockets to GU10, and using a 120V lamp, like this.

 

[RonHebbard]

You're decribing "Vegas strips": http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/vegas-strips-broken-mini-strip-sections.24422/ , but I don't think this is what the OP has. I suspect the lamps in each circuit on his are wired in parallel, and thus, a transformer must be used.

@xxgreenmartinixx, what connector(s) did the fixture come with? Did it have male and female, or only male connectors (might have been an "end" unit)? Luckily for you, MR16 lamps are cheap!

It might be more trouble than it's worth, but I'd consider a total rewire, changing the sockets to GU10, and using a 120V lamp, like this.

Mr. Leffew Sir!

Just as a comment, personally I've found 120 Volt MR16's not very durable, extremely sensitive to vibration while lit and, compared to 12 and 24 Volt versions, there aren't many different wattages and beam spreads available. With the lower voltage filaments, the heavier gauge wire and comparatively fewer turns jammed into a compact point source are far more durable.

Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[xxgreenmartinixx]

Thank you for all the help!

I believe they are wired in series (with indicators in parallel).
Chan 2 - Chan 3 - Chan 1 - Chan 2 - Chan 3
2 bulbs - 2 bulbs - 2 bulbs - 2 bulbs - 2 bulbs

To make matters worse, I also have 18 lamp versions. Which are 3 channels divided into 6 bulbs.

I guess I just wasn't sure how everything was wired when I purchased them :/

The 10 lamp fixtures had no ends on them, the 18 lamp fixtures have small [molex?] green/orange/white connectors. The stock photos of these things show 3 circuits on a 10 lamp fixture with 3 2p&g connectors? So I thought maybe I needed a special dimmer.

I will probably end up rewiring them or at least daisy chaining two fixtures together - but there isn't really a clean/easy multiple of 10.

-Jared

 

[xxgreenmartinixx]

Only one set of 3 cables per fixture

The 18 lamp ones with the plastic connector have all the same connector - seems strange to have all end of the run lights (8 of them)