Hue Lightstrip V4 - Cut and Extend

I needed a gap in my lightstrip but didn't want to buy two. Rather than bin the off-cut I decided to solder it back on with a wire to bridge the gap.

The newer V4 lightstrips that support Bluetooth have a much smaller connection point than the V3 strips. They also, quite handily, offer a cutting point that has pads either side of it meaning no need to de-solder.

My best guess was that the solder points are 1.25mm apart so I ordered the connectors to suit (1.25mm pitch). I used connectors over direct cables as I just prefer the idea of unclipping them if needed.

Soldering Iron

Scalpel

Multimeter

2x Molex Female Plugs (I used these https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pcb-headers/2799235)

1x Molex Male Cable (I used this https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-to-board-cable-assemblies/1617539)

Hot Glue Gun (Optional)

Heat Shrink (Optional)

Using the scalpel cut along the cut line at the joint you want to break.

Remove the rubber coating back to expose the terminals.

Trim the excess back so you have exposed ends on the strip end.

Using my helping hands I held one of the connectors against the solder points to see the alignment.

(Worth cleaning the pads down here with some wire wool)

This was the hardest part, the pins are tiny. I used a 0.4mm soldering iron and 0.6mm solder. Even so my shaking hands made it tough. The soldering here isn't very neat but its holding solidly so I'm leaving it alone!

Good idea to grab the multimeter here and check for shorts in the soldering.

Put it in continuity mode and test each pad with the one next to it. If there's a noise then its shorting! Also checked the pin ends and the pad to make sure the soldered connection was completed.

Just something I wanted to do to add extra support/protection.

Added hot glue over the pins, once hard trimmed it flat.

Optional...

Added some heat shrinking to close it all off.

Once both ends are done I connected them via the Molex cable and it worked!