Dr. LED Bulb Failure - Polar Star 25

[Bob S]

Has anyone installed the Dr LED's Polar Star 25 in their boat? How are they working for you?

I did last season and had 2 bulb's go bad on me. One bulb developed rust inside. Not sure how that happened because the bulb is supposed to be sealed and it was inside a fixture. Only four of the twelve internal LED's are working on the second one. I barely used them last season. Over the phone Dr LED said they would give me half off new ones and to return them. I returned them 5 weeks ago and have sent a few emails and I'm not getting any response. This has been a frustrating experience.

 

[Rick D]

Interesting

I have three total. One Polarstar in my stern light and two festoon type in my Hela bow lights. Going on three years with no problem. Good luck. Give it another shot at contacting them and let us know how it worked out. I hate it when I get ignored.

 

[Maine Sail]

Wow

Wow that is very disheartening. James should have replaced those bulbs at no charge based on his marketing alone. He brags about them being sealed and how well they are built on his web site, and this is one year or less use with not one but, two failures?

Phil/SBO is a Dr. LED distributor perhaps he's got some pull?

As far as I'm concerned I have always found Dr. LED to be a little snake oily (sorry Phil). For example the original PolarStar 40 I owned was supposedly USCG approved in an AquaSignal series 40 all round.

Dr. LED totally changed the design of the Polar Star 40 and is still calling it USCG approved? Just because it has the same name does not mean it is the same bulb that passed the third party USCG certifications? The new bulb is better but I don't know if it can technically be called USCG approved because it is NOT the original bulb they did testing with. I bought one because I was under the belief that it was USCG certified in an Aqua Signal series 40. I only found out later that its not.

Here's what the web site brags about:

Long Service Life
Ultra-Rugged with No Filament to Burn Out or Break

These bulbs are fabricated from the highest quality components to assure long life and trouble-free functioning. Their patented internal circuitry provides consistent brightness and makes them immune to life-shortening voltage fluctuations.

Dr. LED products are warranted for one year against defects in material and workmanship.


Perhaps their definition of "long life" is different than yours and mine..? Perhaps it has not been a full one year since you installed them?

Sadly you are not the first person to have Dr. LED bulb failures that they refused to make right. I asked him for a refund due to the misleading advertising regarding the USCG certification issue. He declined to offer me my money back after blatantly misleading me.

More DR. LED Failures (LINK)

Sorry but I really don't like companies that do not stand behind a product especially when they charge huge money for them, brag about how well they are constructed, and how long it will last. I also dislike dishonest marketing scams like the one he bit me with..

 

[RobG]

Have you checked the voltage feeding these?

I doubt you'd end up with a voltage high enough to smoke these but that appears to be smoke residue not rust. A sign of a catastrophic failure of the mod circuit. Over-voltage could do that and cause failure of both.
Rob

 

[Bob S]

Rob, I could do that but I think this happened over the winter. The mast is stepped and stored on saw horses in my yard. I'm waiting to see what Dr. LED says, That is if he ever responds. They have the bulbs.

 

[appleman]

I have one in my steaming light, and it did the same thing. My mast is stepped for the winter, and when I was covering the boat for the winter thought the light looked "funny". Took it apart, and the Dr. LED was FULL of water. I shook it out like a salt shaker, and dried it out. I was coated in a rust residue. When I was sure it was dry I tried it out and all LEDs worked. Last fall, same thing. Stepped the mast, and didn't get the bulb out right away and had water again. Not as much, but still wet. All LEDs still work, but the thing acts like a sponge. Not exactly what I expected from a bulb meant to be in a marine environment and the cost.

 

[sailingdog]

I'd second what MaineSail said about Dr. LED. Their marketing tactics seem to be written as ambigiously as possible. The fact remains that of all their bulbs, only one had been USCG certified—and that bulb has since been re-designed and not re-certified AFAIK.

If Dr. LED actually stood behind their products, it would be one thing, but he clearly states that the bulbs are sealed, yet when one fills up with water, even during the warranty period, that is an unsupported failure... often attributed to user abuse. That's not someone who backs his product...

 

[txtowman]

none 4 me thank you. just got added to a long list.

I work hard and long for my money and anyone that wants some better bring the A Game.