LED Strip Connector

What is a LED Strip Connector?

LED strip connectors are designed to allow you to make solderless connections to LED strip lights. They work by inserting the LED strip into the connectors. The contact pads on the LED strip slide underneath the contact prongs on the connector, completing the electrical circuit.

led strip connector using steps

Soldering VS LED Strip Connector

The flexible LED strip is a convenient solution for linear lighting. This is because it is possible to cut each group (usually consisting of 3 or 6 LEDs) along the scissor marks on the pads. However, this is a different matter when it comes to the connection. What are connection options available? Soldering or LED strip connectors?

Soldering VS LED strip connector

The answer seems clear, as we all agree that soldering is the most reliable way to make electrical connections. But we also know that not everyone is skilled in handling a soldering iron, and to make matters worse, the pads for led strips are tiny, especially for RGB, RGBW, and even RGBWW versions. Things get more complicated in commercial projects because more factors should be considered. They are reliability, convenience, maintainability, learning curve, and cost.

Is soldering really better than an LED strip connector?

Reliability

In some critical applications, even temporary interruptions are not allowed. In these applications, soldering would be the better choice.

1. In environments with significant temperature differences
Heat differences may cause the plastic to expand and contract.

2. In strongly acidic, alkaline, or oxidizing environments
Because conductors are usually made of copper, which may rust.

3. In vibrating objects
If the strip light is intended to be fixed to a surface that vibrates a lot, consider soldering rather than connectors, as the vibration will theoretically loosen the contact and make the soldering more stable.

LED strip connectors are acceptable and perform very well despite the above three situations.

Convenience

You can’t always have a soldering iron on hand or several soldering irons working simultaneously in your team. Often we want as little equipment as possible, as long as we can get the job done in time. Compared to soldering equipment, LED strip connectors are easier to carry around and allow multiple people to connect different parts simultaneously.

Maintenance

LED strips may be defective due to poor SMD soldering, poor heat dissipation, faulty resistors, bad LED chips, etc. In this case, they should be replaced. If the connection is made via a connector, you can easily replace the defective part by simply opening the connector and inserting a new led strip. But soldering the connection requires you to send an experienced electrician there to get a soldering iron.

Learning curve

Learning to solder is not so easy if you are not an electrician. But using the connectors is so easy that you don’t even have to learn. There is no need to worry about the wrong polarity, as you can easily disconnect and fix the problem. There is no need to worry about burns (working irons can reach temperatures of up to 300°C / 570°F) and no need to worry about the unpleasant smell from rosin.

Cost

The maximum cost of an LED strip connector on the end market is $1, and most prices are lower. But soldering costs are higher because it requires a soldering iron, a professional electrician, longer working hours, and health risks. All these issues cost money to solve.

Conclusion

We made the below table listing comparison

Factors Soldering LED Strip Connector
Stability High Acceptable
Convenience Low Convenience High Convenience
Maintenance Hard Easy
Learning Curve Hard to learn Easy
Cost Higher Lower

How To Use LED Strip Connector?

Step 1: Cut along the marked line, and tear a little bit of 3M backing tape from the mark. 
If 3M tape is not peeled off a little, it will be harder to insert the strip into the connector.

Step 2: Insert the led strip into the solderless connector. Make sure the soldering pads fully touch the conjunction metal.

Step 3: Push the plastic lock back into the lock position. Be gentle and ensure the mounting tray is securely closed, or the lights will not light up. Double-check the markings of (+) and (-) to ensure which color wire corresponds to each. For long-term use, use liquid tape or bonding material to make sure the connector does not become loose.

Hardware Accessory - Electronic component

Wholesale LED Strip Connectors By Serial

LEDYi is a professional led strip connectors supplier, and we provide all kinds of led strip connectors. Depending on the IP waterproof rating, our LED strip connectors can be separated into IP20 non-waterproof series, IP52 silicone drop series, IP65 silicone tube series, and IP67 silicone encased series. Depending on the number of PINs, our led strip connectors can be divided into 2 PINs, 3 PINs, 4 PINs, 5 PINs, and 6 PINs. 

2 PINs LED strip connectors are used for single or white color led strips.
3 PINs LED strip connectors are used tunable white led strips or addressable led strips.
4 PINs LED strip connectors are used for RGB led strips.
5 PINs LED strip connectors are used for RGB+W or RGBW led strips.
6 PINs LED strip connectors are used for RGB+CCT or RGB+Tunable white led strips.

led strip connectors

COB LED Strip Connector

COB stands for Chip on Board in the LED field, which basically means that the LED chip is packaged directly on the circuit board (PCB). “Chip on Board” LEDs for flexible strip lights are sometimes referred to as flip-chips.

Flip chip LEDs are basically a bare-bones approach to LED construction. Take a look at an ordinary SMD (Surface Mount Device) LED. It has a Lamp bead holder that package the LED chip and then covers it with a phosphor coating. The ‘flip chip’ that makes up the COB LED strip removes everything from its design, except for the LED chip, yellow phosphor cover layer, and connection pads.

COB LED Structure
COB
SMD LED Structure
SMD

When you cut and connect cob led strips, you can use solderless cob led strip connectors.

COB led strip connector

led strip 90 degree connector

When you need to install led tape lights in a corner, you can use the led strip 90 degree connector easily without soldering.

COB led strip 90-degree connector

LED Strip Connector Video

COB LED Strip Connectors

LED density gets higher and higher with the pursuit of a cozy LED strip lighting effect, which requires a brand new fast connective solution to match. Therefore, we rethink the led strip light connection essence and design this beetle clip invisible / COB LED Strip Connector. As a breakthrough, it gets rid of the dark area caused by a conventional connector between two high-density led strip lights, supporting the lighting designers to achieve the ultimate lighting effect. The cob led strip connectors contain the models: QJ-BCI-N5BB-2, QJ-BCI-N5XB-2, QJ-BCI-N5BXB-2, QJ-BCI-N8BB-2, QJ-BCI-N8XB-2, QJ-BCI-N8BXB-2, QJ-BCI-N10BB-2, QJ-BCI-N10XB-2, QJ-BCI-N10BXB-2, QJ-BCI-N10BB-3/4, QJ-BCI-N10XB-3, QJ-BCI-N10BXB-3, QJ-BCI-N10XB-4, and QJ-BCI-N10BXB-4.

Hippo-M LED Strip Connector

The Hippo-M LED strip connector is professionally manufactured and powerful. It supports a wide range of LED strip types with different diodes, widths, FPC thicknesses, and waterproofing methods. In addition, more users can easily connect different wires to the connector on-site, depending on the project requirements. The innovative perforated contact technology makes the connection so easy and convenient, whether board-to-board or board-to-wire, waterproof or non-waterproof, for maximum convenience in your connection work. With Hippo-M LED tape connectors, your work or business will be so flexible! . The Hippo-M led strip connectors contain the models: QJ-SE-N5XB-2, QJ-DJ-N8XB-2, QJ-SE-N8XB-2, QJ-DJ-N8BB-2, QJ-SE-N8BB-2, QJ-SE-N5BB-2, QJ-DJ-N10XB-2, QJ-SE-N10XB-2, QJ-SE-N10XB-2G, QJ-DJ-N10BB-2, QJ-SE-N10BB-2, QJ-SE-N10BB-2G, QJ-DJ-N10XB-3, QJ-SE-N10XB-3, QJ-DJ-N10BB-3, QJ-SE-N10BB-3, QJ-DJ-N10XB-4, QJ-SE-N10XB-4, QJ-DJ-N10BB-4, QJ-SE-N10BB-4, QJ-DJ-N12XB-5, QJ-SE-N12XB-5, QJ-SE-N12XB-2G, QJ-DJ-N12BB-5, QJ-SE-N12BB-5, QJ-SE-N12BB-2G, QJ-SE-N12XB-6, QJ-DJ-N12XB-6, QJ-SE-N12BB-6, and QJ-DJ-N12BB-6.

IP20 none waterproof & IP52 silicone coating LED Strip Connector

IP65 Silicone Tube LED Strip Connector

IP65 Silicone Tube LED Strip Connectors contain the models: QJ-FS-N8XB-2, QJ-FS-N8BB-2, QJ-FS-N10XB-2, QJ-FS-N10BB-2, QJ-FS-N10XB-4, and QJ-FS-N10BB-4.

IP67 / IP68 Silicone Filling / Silicone Encased LED Strip Connector

Hippo-M(Solid) LED strip connectors are used outdoor, which contain the models: QJ-SD-N8BB-2, QJ-SD-N8XB-2, QJ-SD-N8BXB-2,  QJ-SD-N10BB-2, QJ-SD-N10XB-2, QJ-SD-N10BXB-2, QJ-SD-N10BB-4, QJ-SD-N10XB-4, and QJ-SD-N10BXB-4.

Soldering LED Strips

For professional lighting projects, the installers have professional welding experience, we recommend connecting the LED strips by welding. Please check the videos of IP20 non-waterproof, IP52 silicone coating, IP65 silicone tube, IP67 silicone encased LED strip soldering video.

How to Solder IP20 None Waterproof LED Strip Light

How to Solder IP65 Heat Shrink Tube LED Strip Light

How to Solder IP65 Silicone Tube LED Strip Light

How to Solder IP67 / IP68 Silicone Encased LED Strip Light

How to Solder COB LED Strip Light

Why Choose LEDYi

LEDYi Lighting is one of top LED Strip Light manufactures in China. We offer customized solutions, OEM, ODM service. Wholesalers, distributors, dealers, traders, agents are welcome to purchase in bulk with us. All our LED Tape Lights are CE, RoHS and LM80 certificated, ensuring high performance and long lifetime. If you have customized need for bulk robus Red, RGB, RGBW LED Strip Lights, LEDYi can offer custom LED Strip Light with custom color, size, long, CRI, and various accessories.

FAQ

LED light strip connectors, also called LED tape connectors and strip splicers, are connectors that can safely and simply connect the flexible LED light strip. It is a welding-free connecting device through which the users can efficiently complete the connection of the light strip lighting system without using the electric iron, significantly reducing the installation difficulty and labor cost of the light strip lighting project.

To understand the flexible LED light strip connector, we should be familiar with the types of LED light strip connectors. We can classify it in the following aspects.

Connection Types

  • Strip to Wire
  • Strip to Power
  • Strip to Strip Joints
  • Strip to Strip Bridge(Jumper)
  • Corner Connection
  • Strip to other Connector Adapter

Width of LED Strip

  • 5mm
  • 6mm
  • 8mm
  • 10mm
  • 12mm

IP of LED Strip

  • IP20-Non-waterproof
  • IP52-Single Side Glue Coating
  • IP65-Hollow Tube Waterproof
  • IP67/IP68-Solid Tube Waterproof

Pin Numbers/Light Color

  • 2 Pins -for Single Color
  • 3 Pins -for CCT / Dual Color
  • 4 Pins -for RGB
  • 5 Pins -for RGBW
  • 6 Pins -for RGB+CCT

Contact Method

  • Surface Contact
  • Pierce to Contact

Open the LED strip connector, and we need to check and make sure that the oval or circular copper pads of the LED strip are correctly aligned with the connector’s pins. Ensure that the positive pole of the connector is connected to the positive pole of the LED strip, and the negative pole is connected to the negative pole. If you find that they don’t have the positive and negative poles and don’t dock correctly, swap the positive and negative poles of the led strip until the led strip lights up normally, this usually solves the connection problem!

There are different kinds of LED strip connectors.
According to the number of PINs, it is divided into 2 PIN, 3PIN, 4PIN, 5PIN, 6PIN.
2PIN LED strip connector is used for single color LED strip.
3PIN LED strip connector for color tone temperature and SPI LED strip.
4PIN LED strip connector for RGB LED strip.
5PIN LED strip connector for RGBW LED strip.
6PIN LED strip connector for RGBCCT LED strip.
Depending on the width of the PCB, there are 5MM, 8MM, 10MM, 12MM.
According to different waterproof grades, it is divided into IP20, IP65, IP67.

LED strip connectors are not universal. You need to check if the LED strip connector is compatible with your LED strip.

LED light strip connector, also called LED light strip solder-free connector. It allows you to realize the connection of LED strips and wires, and the connection of LED strips and LED strips without soldering.

Yes, we can provide free samples. But the customer should afford the shipping cost.

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