Question about hooking up LEDs

[HarryK]

Hey all, I've just bought a light "bulb" that has a color changing LED inside. Before buying it, I thought/hoped that it would have multiple LEDs that would slowly cycle through the color spectrum

After buying it I realized that it's alctually only a single LED that cylcles through the color spectrum (red, blue, aqua, green, purple etc) but it does it in a really annoying way. First at a medium speed, then a slower speed and then flashing through each color in a strobe-like fashion... and then it repeats the cycle.

Since this isn't the 'effect' I was hoping for, I'd like to try and figure out how to change the pattern to just a slow color-cycle.

BUT, I don't even know how this single-led works. There are color-changing led lights that work off a small microprocessor, but that is NOT the case with this item. I've also read about 2-color leds that have three leads to them which determine which color will light. That is NOT the case with this item. It only has 2 leads. Elsewhere on the net I've been led to believe that it's possibly a voltage variance that causes the colors to shift.

SO (after all of that) I'm looking for some "tech" advice. Does anybody know how these multi-color-led-lamps work? Any thoughts on how I can get it to stick to one 'slow-change' mode? Any electronic studs around here?

 

[shilala]

pic?

 

[Gioron]

Odds are, its got some sort of chip on it that controls it instead of voltage control. While it might be voltage controlled, its unlikely, and will be hard to figure out without the spec sheet for that specific LED or someone who's used that specific LED before. I'd guess its impossible to change it, but if you can come up with a model number or spec sheet there's still a chance.

 

[HarryK]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll try and put up a picture, but there really doesn't appear to be any chip. There is a DB107 bridge rectifier (to convert the AC to DC), a diode, 2 capacitors and four resistors all on a small board with the single LED.

I'm not particularly electronics-savvy, but the electricity "path" seems a little random to me. I mean, it doesn't run straight through eace of the above-listed components, the AC power goes into the bridge rectifier, but ONE of the AC leads goes through a few things before it gets there.

It goes into one of the capacitors AND into one of the resistors in parallel, then comes out of both and joins back into a single path leading into the bridge rectifier.

Coming OUT of the bridge rectifier it does some similar stuff, where the + side goes though a resisitor and then meets up with the other capacitor, the diode and a number of other things including one offshoot of the - side, and then links up to the LED itself.

I'll try and put up a pic to see if anybody can help me figure this out.
Thanks

 

[HarryK]

Hey y'all. After some photoshop work , I've put together a rough schematic. Clearly all the specific details aren't here (like the resistor values) but I could figure them out if necessary. But maybe/hopefully somebody can just give me an idea of what exactly is going on in this circuit that's making the LED flash in 3 different ways.

http://img120.exs.cx/img120/333/LED-Schematicsml.gif

Thanks again.