Flashing LEDs - Overheating transformer?

[ericmark]

On going confusion between drivers and transformers ( both wound and electronic )

The LED driver controls the current through the LED element and in almost all LED lamps the driver is included as an integral part of the lamp.

The driver is normally fed by a supply that can be anything from a 3 volts up to 230 volts The supply voltage must match that that for which the lamp is designed.

In a few rare lamps there is no driver in the lamp and there has to be an external driver whose current must match the current the LED element needs. The supplied current must match that which the LED in the lamp requires.

Although what you say is 100% correct it would seem the lighting industry use a different dictionary to everyone else. I would call a device with a regulated 12 VDC output with a 230 VAC input a power supply. Even with a 12 VAC output where this output is regulated then I would call it a converter, inverter, or power supply.

With a controlled current output I would call it a driver and where there is simply a relationship with the output voltage and input voltage using a simple wire wound device I would call it a transformer.

However it would seem the lighting industry is out to confuse everyone and they label DC voltage regulated power supplies "Drivers" which is totally wrong it's current regulated devices which are called drivers not voltage but they seem intent on this miss labelling of devices.

They also call a HF AC voltage regulated device a transformer. I may contain a transformer but I would not consider the whole device as a transformer.

However much we disagree with the manufacturers labels we have to realise they exist and try to avoid confusion.

This has already happened with some words a competent person was for many years some one who looked after the safety of others as well as himself but the hijacking of the phrase by scheme operators so people who were not really competent still had the label resulted in the term being dropped and now skilled has also changed it's meaning and taken over from competent.