Why Your 23-Foot Permanent Lights Are Flickering (And How to Fix It)

If you’re dealing with 23-foot flickering permanent lights, you’re not dealing with a rare issue—and you’re not doing anything “wrong.”

This is one of the most common troubleshooting questions installers ask us when running permanent lighting systems with rooflines, ground accents, or split layouts.

The good news?
The fix is simple, fast, and inexpensive—once you diagnose the problem correctly.

The Short Answer (For Installers in a Hurry)

If your permanent lights flicker, glitch, or respond slowly on a 23-foot run, the issue is data signal degradation, not power.

Fix:
Install one signal booster at the start of the 23-foot extension.

That’s it.

Now let’s break down why this happens—so you can prevent it on future installs.

Why Permanent Lights Flicker at 23 Feet

Most installers assume flickering means voltage drop.

That assumption makes sense—but it’s usually wrong.

Here’s the difference:

Power problems cause:

• Gradual dimming
• Washed-out colors
• Bright start → weak finish

Signal problems cause:

• Flickering on/off
• Delayed app response
• Glitchy color changes
• Entire lights not responding

If your lights flicker but still turn on, they have power.
What they’re missing is clean data signal.

How Permanent Lighting Systems Actually Work

Permanent lighting systems send two things over the same cable:

• Power – runs the LEDs
• Data signal – instructions like color, brightness, and animations

Power can travel long distances with minimal issues.
Data signal cannot.

As distance increases, the data signal degrades first—especially on extensions and jumps.

That’s why flickering permanent lights are almost always a signal issue, not a power issue.

The 25-Foot Rule (And Why 23 Feet Is a Problem)

You’ll often hear installers talk about a 25-foot rule.
That’s because permanent lighting data signals begin to degrade around that distance.

However, real-world performance depends on:

• Cable gauge and quality
• Cable construction (twisted vs straight conductors)
• Temperature (cold environments reduce signal tolerance)
• Electrical interference

The rule we use at Thunder Lighting Supply

• Under 15 ft → Usually no issue
• 15–25 ft → Risk zone
• Over 25 ft → Booster required

A 23-foot extension sits directly in the risk zone, which explains why some installs work and others flicker.

Why This Matters

When installers treat flickering as a power problem, they end up:

• Re-terminating connections that aren’t bad
• Upsizing power supplies that aren’t needed
• Spending time chasing a problem that won’t go away

Once you recognize flickering at this distance as a signal issue, the solution becomes straightforward—and predictable.

The Right Fix for Omni Systems: A Signal Booster

If you’re running Omni permanent lighting, the correct fix for flickering on a 23-foot run is a signal booster designed to work with Omni’s data protocol.

Omni systems use proprietary data timing. While generic boosters can sometimes work, they can also introduce inconsistent behavior that’s harder to diagnose later. An Omni-compatible signal booster refreshes the data signal before it degrades, keeping downstream lights stable and responsive.

For Omni installs, the rule is simple:
install one Omni signal booster at the start of any extension approaching or exceeding 20–25 feet, especially when jumping from rooflines to ground accents or secondary runs.

Conclusion

Flickering permanent lights on a 23-foot run aren’t caused by bad wiring or lack of power—they’re caused by weakened data signal. That distance sits right in the instability zone, where everything looks correct but the lights stop receiving clean instructions. One properly placed signal booster before the extension fixes the issue and prevents it on future installs.