[SOLVED!] Why Do the Lights on My Menards Arby's Resturant Flicker?

I’ve got the same issue with mine.  I will try buying a better power supply from Menards the next time that I place an order unless someone else has a better solution.  

Menards has a couple of adapters at different price points.  I’m not sure if I need to purchase the most expensive one to get the lights to stop flickering.

They forgot to pay the electric bill???

@Action Jaxon posted:

I’ve got the same issue with mine.  I will try buying a better power supply from Menards the next time that I place an order unless someone else has a better solution.  

Menards has a couple of adapters at different price points.  I’m not sure if I need to purchase the most expensive one to get the lights to stop flickering.

Quickly looking at the recommended power supplies, I think the price difference is due to the differences in the mA output. All are 4.5 volts.

I think an exorcism is needed.  But those Lemax Power Supplies are switching mode.  If you were to hook them up to some type of "oscilloscope" you would see a square wave pattern or something with a decaying end.  Here's one that would probably meet all your requirements (https://smile.amazon.com/SHNIT...erter/dp/B08BL5Y9ZM/).

@A. Wells posted:

I think an exorcism is needed.  But those Lemax Power Supplies are switching mode.  If you were to hook them up to some type of "oscilloscope" you would see a square wave pattern or something with a decaying end.  Here's one that would probably meet all your requirements (https://smile.amazon.com/SHNIT...erter/dp/B08BL5Y9ZM/).

SO is there something different about the lights in the Arby's versus other Menards buildings? I've used the same Lemax power supply temporarily and haven't seen this behavior.

I’ve seen that occasionally happen typically it’s the power supply just isn’t big enough. Menards says this only pulls 750ma at 4.5V but if your having issues maybe they got the current draw wrong

@zhubl posted:

I’ve seen that occasionally happen typically it’s the power supply just isn’t big enough. Menards says this only pulls 750ma at 4.5V but if your having issues maybe they got the current draw wrong

That's a possibility, but the Menards power supply I'm using says it has an output of 4.5v and 1000mA.

I see that issue all the time at my local Menards store. Menards  has most of the buildings lit up on the shelves. Who knows if they are turned off at closing. I tell myself that I would not buy that in that condition. I tend to special order my Menards buildings. That way I know they come from the main warehouse and are shipped in a sealed shipping carton which comes in handy for resale if I choose to do so. Plus it has not had its life shortened from being turned on for hours on end. What is causing the flickering? No idea.

@jini5 posted:

I see that issue all the time at my local Menards store. Menards  has most of the buildings lit up on the shelves. Who knows if they are turned off at closing. I tell myself that I would not buy that in that condition. I tend to special order my Menards buildings. That way I know they come from the main warehouse and are shipped in a sealed shipping carton which comes in handy for resale if I choose to do so. Plus it has not had its life shortened from being turned on for hours on end. What is causing the flickering? No idea.

Not worried about it sitting on a shelf in Williston (where many of mine come from - although this one came from Eau Clair - looks like their warehouse address) as the inside box was still taped shut looking like it had never been opened.

@paulp575 posted:

That's a possibility, but the Menards power supply I'm using says it has an output of 4.5v and 1000mA.

I kinda figured that’s about what you were using but like I said I’d try a bigger supply first just to see if they underestimated the current draw

More power!  The same thing happened when I bought the parking garage from Menards. I got the more expensive power supply from them and the problem was solved. Unfortunately I forgot that when I just bought the new car dealership and bought the cheaper one and the lights flicker a bit on that building.  I just ordered the most powerful one 4.5 5000 ma   Keep in mind if you want to plug something else in to the building like a car your going to need more power. I'm just going to buy that one from now on and call it a day.   

Okay, these are the 2 Menards power adapters I currently have:

Power Adapter 4.5V One Outlet (1,000 mA output; 279-4061)

Power Adapter 4.5V Three Outlet (2,000 mA output; 279-4062)

Since I'm already using a 1,000 mA output, I'll give the Menards 2,000 mA output a try.

If that doesn't help, then it's to buy the Power Adapter 4.5V One Outlet (5000 mA output; 279-4050).

I'll post here the results.

@paulp575 posted:

SO is there something different about the lights in the Arby's versus other Menards buildings? I've used the same Lemax power supply temporarily and haven't seen this behavior.

Well, that does complicate matters.  (I bought a switching power supply once and it was in the trash in a week.)  I did a quick calculation...at 20 mA per LED with 42 LED lights, that's 840 mA.  Menard's says the power draw is about 750 mA, but my guess is it's even more than 840 mA.  The 1 A should definitely cover it.  I'm eager to see how this plays out.

I power all my 4.5 volt accessories and buildings with one 300 watt PC power supply, using the 5 vdc tap with a diode, or the 12 vdc tap with a DC to DC regulator. It's usually not too hard to find a discarded PC, and that makes the price just right. Adapter boards make it simpler:

Yup; the Arby's does draw more than 1,000 mA!

I used the Menards 2,000 mA 3-outlet power adapter and the lights are nice and (too) bright, but at least they no longer flicker.

Hmmmm... That means I'm probably going to have to purchase more power adapters.

Good thread - Thanks for helping me find the right adapter!

I just ordered the Menards 2000 mA adapter along with their new tank cars.

Thanks everyone!

@Action Jaxon posted:

Good thread - Thanks for helping me find the right adapter!

I just ordered the Menards 2000 mA adapter along with their new tank cars.

Thanks everyone!

That's a lot of amperage.  So I take it, if I buy more Menards buildings, I should get a 10amp 4.5v power supply?

@A. Wells posted:

That's a lot of amperage.  So I take it, if I buy more Menards buildings, I should get a 10amp 4.5v power supply?

A while back I started indicating what the rated amperage draw was for each item plus the amperage output for each power adapter. Obviously the Arby's is underrated.

Keep in mind you can connect buildings in a chain so they may draw more than one building's rated draw.

I'm probably going to be buying more power adapters - although so far I've temporarily powered all my Menards buildings with the 4.5v 1,0000 mA Lemax power adapter and had no problems. There's are less expensive than the Menards power adapters.

@paulp575 posted:

Yup; the Arby's does draw more than 1,000 mA!

I used the Menards 2,000 mA 3-outlet power adapter and the lights are nice and (too) bright, but at least they no longer flicker.

Hmmmm... That means I'm probably going to have to purchase more power adapters.

You can lessen the brightness of the lights by painting them with Tamiya Clear Yellow or Amber. They will have a slight tint, but it is effective. The more coats you apply, the dimmer they will get. You can try first on an out-of-way light to see if you like the look.

@Richie C. posted:

You can lessen the brightness of the lights by painting them with Tamiya Clear Yellow or Amber. They will have a slight tint, but it is effective. The more coats you apply, the dimmer they will get. You can try first on an out-of-way light to see if you like the look.

I wonder if you can put a dimmer on them.  That is to say, instead of 4.5V, use a 3.3V or 3.0V DC power supply.

I’ve been wanting to try GRJ’s Passenger car LED regulator on the Menards buildings. I don’t know if it would handle the bigger buildings but it’s probably be good on smaller ones and if you turn down the voltage that should help some too

@A. Wells posted:

I wonder if you can put a dimmer on them.  That is to say, instead of 4.5V, use a 3.3V or 3.0V DC power supply.

Depending on your power source, you could use something like an adjustable DC to DC or AC to DC converter to adjust the brightness to one's liking. I had posted this on another recent thread dealing with the same subject (and actually use an LED read-out model on my layout to control power to a Menard's building flat) and someone responded that, because these are LED lights, it was more "appropriate" to use a resistor.

It may be, but I've used my converter for a couple years with no issues.   

@Richie C. posted:

Depending on your power source, you could use something like an adjustable DC to DC or AC to DC converter to adjust the brightness to one's liking. I had posted this on another recent thread dealing with the same subject (and actually use an LED read-out model on my layout to control power to a Menard's building flat) and someone responded that, because these are LED lights, it was more "appropriate" to use a resistor.

It may be, but I've used my converter for a couple years with no issues.   

I prefer the voltage adjustment over adding in resistor(s) in series.  Less power wasted.  That's why I "hinted" at the smaller voltages.  It's a black box, so you unless you know how everything is wired and if there are more than LEDs inside, one way could be far superior to another.  But I don't feel like having an argument about this.  So to each his own.

Anthony

Agreed - I was just passing on what someone else had posted, for informational purposes.

I like using an adjustable regulator so you can set the voltage to whatever light brightness is most pleasing to the individual's own eye.