Will Peterson Great White LED Function on 7.5 Volts

Updated 01/10/2022 | Published 01/09/2022

Question:

I bought this unit, installed it and it would not work. Removing it and testing to a battery, it worked fine. It had to be something in my trailer wiring. Took a reading right at the point of installation and found about 7.5VDC. I tapped into the sidelight string of marker running lights which is a sequence of lights down each of the left and right sides and using frame ground at each light. My question is what is the minimum level of voltage these modern LED lights require to operate, or what might be my actual problem if not this? My trailer wiring is not unusual with this set up, so I am speculating these require a minimum voltage level to operate as compared to the old generation incandescent bulbs that can function even with ping voltages, they just get dimmer the more you add to the string until they do not work.

asked by: Michial T

Expert Reply:

LEDs sometimes will work with lower voltage but the # 359-1 does require much closer to 12 volts than 7.5 volts like you mentioned. Typically the very minimum voltage for LEDs is right at 7.5 volts to get them to light up so if there's any way to increase the voltage by even just a little bit you should see it work.

expert reply by: Jameson C