Warning: cheap LED dimmers burned out on me after 2 weeks

I picked up some no-name LED dimmer switches off Amazon for a job in a rental house last month. They were half the price of the name brand ones so I figured why not. After two weeks the tenant called saying lights were flickering and one switch actually got hot to the touch. I pulled them out and found melted plastic inside the switch box. Now I only use Lutron or Leviton dimmers even if they cost more. Has anyone else seen cheap dimmers fail like this on a job?

4 comments

4 Comments

jordan_webb13d agoMost Upvoted

@wesley385 and @richard_anderson convinced me to stop cheaping out on these.

henderson.oscar13d ago

Did you check the wire gauge they were rated for before you installed them? Ive seen some of those cheap switches claim they handle 15 amps but the internal contacts are way too thin to actually carry that load without heating up. The black crusty terminals richard mentioned sound like arcing damage from loose or undersized connections, not just a bad batch.

richard_anderson27d ago

My buddy Dave bought a 6 pack of those cheap dimmers off Amazon for a house he was flipping. He put them in the living room and kitchen. About 3 weeks later the tenant called saying one switch was buzzing real loud and the other one stopped working completely. When he pulled them out the terminals were all black and crusty looking like they got too hot. He went back to using his regular Leviton ones after that and no problems since.

wesley38527d ago

Yeah totally agree with @richard_anderson, that black crusty terminal thing is a dead giveaway they're gonna fail. I tried a no-name brand once on a ceiling fan switch and it started flickering after a month, smelled like burning plastic when I pulled it out. Sticking with the name brands from now on, worth the extra few bucks?