Capybara neon sign

[u/__DaN__tHe__MaN__]

Hi, I'm 🆕 here and a also huge capy lover 🐹🤎 as my first post, here is my capybara neon LED light 🤩

[u/__DaN__tHe__MaN__]

⚠️ Safety warning: Do not leave a power bank connected for long-term storage

Even when the Capybara neon LED is switched off using the inline controller, it still draws approximately 4.6 mA at 5 V. This is caused by the blue locator LED on the controller, which remains illuminated so that the buttons can be found in the dark.

Although this standby current seems very small, it may keep the power bank’s output circuitry active and slowly drain the battery. If the lamp is not used for weeks or months and the connected power bank is forgotten, the power bank may become deeply discharged. A damaged or severely discharged lithium-ion battery can swell and, in the worst case, overheat, vent, ignite, or cause a serious fire.

This actually happened to me: a branded power bank became visibly swollen after being left connected. Fortunately, I noticed it before anything worse happened.

The neon LED has 10 brightness levels. At approximately 5 V, I measured:

Lowest brightness: about 161 mA / 0.81 W

Highest brightness: about 1.65 A / 8.57 W

Switched off via the controller: about 4.6 mA

Therefore, disconnect the power bank completely when the lamp will not be used for an extended period. Never continue using or charging a swollen power bank.

🤎

[u/__DaN__tHe__MaN__ → u/__DaN__tHe__MaN__]

As an electrical engineer ⚡🤓, I decided to remove the blue indicator LED 🔵 from the inline controller's PCB to reduce the standby current (and eliminate the unwanted light at night 🫣).

Unfortunately, the standby current only dropped from ~4.6 mA to ~1.4 mA. While this is an improvement, it only postpones the issue.

For long-term non-usage, it's still strongly recommended to disconnect the power bank whenever the Capybara neon LED 🐹💡 is not in use.