12 Volt DC Dimmer for LED, Halogen, Incandescent - RV, Auto, Truck, Marine, and Strip Lighting - Short Shaft - Black

I bought this to allow me to adjust the brightness on a string of Goal Zero Light-A-Life 12V LED lights. It replaced a different brand unit that worked well but was getting too hot when used for extended periods. This one works very well in that role - provides a full range of brightness from very, very dim to the maximum brightness the lights would provide without a dimmer in the circuit. The dimmer switch operates smoothly and provides for very fine adjustments. It stays perfectly cool over time when handling the few amps of current that I've applied so far. I've used it several times a day for a few months with no issues. The only negatives: 1) at both the very upper and lower adjustment points, it does cause some minor flickering of the lamps in my application, but this is easily eliminated by just backing-off a tiny bit from either adjustment limit. It also causes an audible hum in the lamps, but I have normal hearing and need to be very close to the lamps to hear it. It's not something most people would notice in typical uses. 3) The instructions could be a bit clearer on installation . . . I'm better than average on electronics knowledge and still had to spend a lot of time re-reading and pondering the instructions in order to understand what they wanted me to do for my application. In the end, it's working great and well worth the money. I'll be buying more as back-ups and to have on hand for other projects.

It worked great for dimming the new brighter LED interior lights but like others stated it would have been better with a longer mounting depth. The plastic I put it in was fairly thin but I couldn't get the metal nut to grab any threads. Luckily I used a 1/4" drill bit and it was just the right size to have the threads bite into the plastic I was installing it into and it was so solid I don't think I will ever need it but would have been nice anyways. It's currently dimming down 2 of the interior map lights on my 2011 Chevy Silverado 2500hd and I'm planning on hooking it up to my rear seat lights as well next so they'll all dim together. Dimmer doesn't go all the way down before the off "click" but it's good enough to where these aftermarket LEDs aren't blinding me driving down the road and I can still turn them up to full brightness like I'm inside the big copier machine at my office getting a tan. Haha. Would buy again. Need to find a waterproof version so I can dim down my bed lights next.

I used this 12 Volt DC dimmer in a new installation of four, LED 'hockey-puck' style ceiling lights in my trucks camper shell. The instructions are reasonably clear and the switch feels solid. It has an obvious ON/OFF detent with a smooth and even rotation. When turning the knob, the increase in illumination is even (not jumpy) and consistent with the knob's rotation.

I liked the looks of this dimmer from the get-go and appreciated the fact that I was manufactured right here in California. My application was to provide illumination for some ham radio equipment when operating portable in the field and I was concerned that PWM dimmers could potentially generate significant electrical noise would interfere with radio reception. So before making any sort of permanent installation I attached the dimmer to a reel of led strip lights and powered it from the supply for my radio system. Since I didn't have an antenna attached to the radio I just stuck a 3-foot length of unshielded wire in the antenna port and fired up the system. When I rotated the dimmer control to bring up the lights I immediately heard a loud buzzing noise coming from the radio and I thought well this isn't going to work. But then I attached a short piece of coax to an antenna located about six away and repeated the experiment. This time I could detect no noise whatsoever and since this represented real life operating conditions, I was a happy camper. One item I didn't notice in the product description, this unit includes a rotary on-off switch, so no other switch is necessary. All in all, a bit pricey, but a great product.

So, this could have been a 5 star product, however I am not impressed with its variable voltage capability, and, it also has to be turned on and off 1 or 2 times before it works. I installed in my RV, direct hookup to 12 volt wiring on a drop pendant light, simple.From a "cold" start, for example if it has not been used recently, I can rotate the switch to full on, and nothing. Turn it off, and turn on again, and the light starts to brighten. Using a standard Edison LED type 12 volt bulb purchased on Amazon.From off to full bright, it is not a smooth transition, i.e. the lower light levels seem to jump in output up to mid brightness, then it "smooths" out from mid to full bright. For me, that raises a question about the internal components. In the end, $30 bucks for a simple little 12v switch is not in good company, providing fair value, as compared to a Leviton dimmer switch for household 120v use at a price point if approx $20

Note you have a constant positive, and dimmer is regulated by increase of ground.I used this product replacing the light switch to toggle switches on my 65 Mustang. The dimmer was to control SW instrument panel gauge lights. it took me a while to isolate all of the piggy backed grounds in the system. On some of the gauges the ground was on the light fixture itself. They all needed to be isolated to make this switch work as designed. A positive current regulator would of probably been easier.

The small form factor is nice and it the stem and metal knob have a quality look and feel. Once you have it installed, it works fine. Two issues with the installation. First the wires are incredibly fine, I think 24 guage (my 22 guage stripper couldn't strip it). This made it difficult to strip, but also to get a good crimp. Second, the wiring directions on the package don't work. Using three separate wires as for a normal switch led to the lights being on at a very low level even when off. On the Amazon product page there's an alternative "simplified" wiring diagram, which does work - the black wire is connected to the positive source, and the white and red are wired together to the lamps, and there's no connection to ground. Doesn't make sense to me, and I hope it's safe - at least the loads are low.