dying led

[Karthik1019]

I've got an aspire x-dreamer II case. It's got 6 blue LED's running up the edges of the front of the case. (3 each side) One of them decided that it wanted to start dieing. It's gotten really dim and it's starting to get on my nerves. So I've got a few questions. Why is it dying? Is it possible it just shifted or something? Could it be a loose connection to the mobo? Do I need to buy a new light? Thanks.

[flanzig1]

Could be dirty or a poor connection someplace. Leds, like any electronic component can die due to it being bad, over stressed, or that one in a million that dies for no reason. If you can figure out the voltage, a replacement can't be more than a couple of bucks.

[Karthik1019]

I'll open my case up when I have some time and check connections. How would I figure out volatage? Is it written on part that connects to the mobo or would I have to take off the front panel of the case and look at the actual bulb? Thanks

[KilluminatiStyle]

I had the same problem with my case. The top right corner was the first to go. I checked for shorts... even ran a new line to it and it didn't help. Swapped Power supplies to see if that was the problem but nope. In the end I just unplugged all of them. It's actually quite refreshing not having all those darn things glowing. They are very bright.

[mattg2k4]

I'd be surprised if it's dirty or loose connectors, that would probably cause them to flicker or turn off, not turn on and be dim. The LED's were probably running at a higher than current than they were designed for, and are therefore dying quicker because of the excessive heat at the semiconductor junction.

Is it connected to the motherboard power indicator header? I seem to recall that people have measured these as being both 3.3v and 5v, so the best bet is to take a voltmeter and connect it to the two pins or any bare sections of wire (if there are any) leading to the LED array, and find out what yours specifically is. Then you can decide what LED to buy and whether you'll need a resistor. If they connect to a molex then it's a simple matter of seeing what color wire powers them.

Or you can do as Killuminati said and unplug them, I've had my cases front panel lights disconnected for six months or so. It's great at night because now they aren't shining brightly in my eyes in an otherwise dark room.

[KilluminatiStyle]

Actually my LED did flicker TONS before it just went dim. If you've seen this case in person you would know that the LED's on the front are very bright... and to have one of them flickering was SOOooOOOo irritating.