Can you cut led light strips?

LED light strips have a fixed length, generally 5 meters in a roll. The problem with the fixed length of the light strip is that it is not always the same length as your project, so people often ask whether the light strip can be cut. 

Regarding whether the light strip can be used normally after cutting, this is not a single question, it involves other factors. In general, if the led strip has a cutting line, it can be cut. If not, it means you may not be able to cut it. If you cut the light strip without cutting lines, the result is unfortunate. It may cause damage to the light strip, and you may buy a new light strip for this reason.

 

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How to cut led strip lights?

Cutting light strips is a very simple task, just as simple as cutting newspapers, but it requires you to be more careful than cutting newspapers. 

►Step 1. Prepare a measuring ruler and a scissor.

Before cutting led light strips, you should prepare a measuring rule to measure the length of your project, and a scissor to cut. It is difficult to cut the light strip without tools.

►Step 2. Measure you project length and mark the place you want to cut.

When you install the led light strip, you find that the light strip is longer than you actually need, and cut off the extra part. The first thing you need to do is to measure the length of your project. Make a mark where you need to cut to avoid cutting mistakes. When cutting the light strip, please strictly confirm your length. If you don’t cut to the right position, you need to cut again. In order to avoid duplication of work, confirm the cutting length before cutting. Once cut short, the result will be very unpleasant. But it's not impossible to solve. It is not ideal to buy a new led light strip and cut it again. Since the light strip can be cut, you can prepare a strip with the same length as the missing light strip and connect it to the light strip. You can choose to connect these two parts by welding, or use a connector.

►Step 3. Find the cutting line at the cutting position and cut it.

Use a scissor to cut the light strip along the cutting line. In the cutting process, be careful not to cut to the area beyond the cutting line. There is a cutting unit between two adjacent cutting lines. The cutting unit is usually related to the voltage used by the light strip, generally 5V for one LED light, 12V for 3 lights, and 24V for 6 lights for one cut. If you cut the light strip in the area between the two cutting lines, the circuit board in this area will be cut, and the LED light in this area will not turn on.

 

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How to connect RGB color changing led strip lights with a connector?

The following is a product picture of an RGB color changing led strip light, through this picture can help you build a general impression of the RGB light strip, and quickly distinguish which is the RGB strip. 

RGB color changing FSLSR-RGB-5050X600

+: positive pole

R: red signal line

G: green signal line

B: blue signal line

RGB color changing led strip lights have four connection points, so when speaking of 4-pin, you have to know it is RGB color changing strip lights. And so if you want to connect RGB color changing strips, you need to prepare a 4-pin RGB connector.

When connecting RGB strips, open the RGB connector, slide the RGB light strip into the connector, and close the cover. Pay attention to that the positive pole must be connected with positive pole. If you connect wrong, the RGB color changing led strip light may be not work. 

Other led strip light connection with a connector is like this way. The difference is that different led strip lights use different connectors. You can’t use the RGBW connector to connect the RGB color changing strip light.

Recommended reading:

How to connect led strip lights together?

How to connect LED light strips without connectors?

How to connect LED strips without soldering?

How to connect mutiple led strip lights?

How many LED strip lights can you connect?

 

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How to know what your led strip light is?

The led connector of each kind of led strip light is different because the number of connection points of each kind of strip light is different. You can judge what kind of your light strip is by knowing the connection point of each kind of led strip light. It is not a difficult thing. You just need a little patience to understand the connection point knowledge. And when you completely understand, you can easily distinguish RGB color changing strip lights from other led strip lights.

►Single color led strip lights use 2-pin connectors.

►Tunable white led strip lights use 3-pin connectors.

►RGB led strip lights use 4-pin connectors. 

►RGBW led strip lights use 5-pin connectors.

►RGBCCT led strip lights use 6-pin connectors. 

►Single signal addressable strip lights use 3-pin connectors.

►Dual signal and breakpoint resume led strip lights use 4-pin connectors. 

2-pin single color led strip light FSLSR-12V-5050X600X10

3-pin tunable white led strip light FSLSR-CCT-5050X600W10

4-pin RGB color changing led strip light FSLSR-RGB-5050X600

5-pin RGBW led strip light FSLCCRGBW-15M-5050X60

6-pin RGBCCT led strip light FSLRGBCCT-12V-5050-300X12

3-pin single signal addressable DCFLS-12V-WS2811X150WW

4-pin dual signal addressable  DCFLS-5V-WS2801X300

 4-pin breakpoint resume addressable DCFLS-12V-WS2818X360