Install guide

Everything you need to mount and wire JELSCO backlit numbers. Most installs take an afternoon, and you only need the part of this page that matches your job.

Time: 1 to 3 hoursSkill: plug-in is beginner, wire-in is confident DIY or an electricianUpdated September 2026Print this guide

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Flush to the wall, wires hidden, halo on the siding. This is what done looks like.

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    Quick answers

    Almost every address needs one. Drivers are rated 1 amp, which is up to twelve 4 inch digits, six 8 inch, or four 12 inch. Five or six 12 inch digits need two drivers, wired as two separate groups.

    Driver capacity in full

    Further than most people expect. On the 18 gauge cable most people use, a normal address of three to five 4 inch digits carries 68 to 113 feet, so the driver can live in the garage or the attic. That distance is the 12 volt side only; the 120V side stays short and indoors.

    The full distance table

    Nothing at all: swap the two DC pigtails at the driver. LEDs only light one way round. One digit dark while the rest are lit: a lead has slipped out of a wire nut, so reseat that digit's two leads and cap them again.

    Every symptom, cause and fix

    Yes. Stucco takes the dowels with adhesive and a masonry bit. On brick or stone, drill the mortar joints rather than the faces, or mount everything on a backboard and hang the board, which also hides the wiring.

    Surface by surface

    The driver does not sense daylight on its own, so something ahead of it has to switch the power. With the plug-in power supply, use a smart plug or a plug-in timer. With a wire-in installation, use a smart wall switch or a 120V three-wire photocell, the kind Lowe's, Home Depot and Ace stock.

    The options · Wiring a photocell

    Yes. Salt air freckles 304 stainless, which is cosmetic at first and preventable. Coat the faces before mounting, seal the seams with marine silicone, and rinse with fresh water every two to three months. Rust from salt air is not a warranty item.

    The coastal routine

    Choose your power path

    Decide this first, because it changes where the digits go and what you drill.

    Drivers are rated 1 amp. A 12 inch digit draws about 230 mA and a 6 inch about 146 mA.

    Digit size Digits per driver
    4 inch up to 12
    6 inch, one colour up to 6
    6 inch, both colours lit up to 3
    8 inch up to 6
    12 inch up to 4

    Almost every address needs one. Five or six 12 inch digits need two, wired as two separate groups. An overloaded driver makes the digits flicker or cycle.

    Not in the box: the driver. The digits run on 12V DC. One JELSCO driver (plug-in or wire-in, $30) powers the whole address. If you bought digits without one, add it here before you start.

    Further than most people expect. The driver does not have to sit behind the digits. It can live inside the house, in the garage or in an attic, with ordinary two conductor low voltage cable running out to the numbers.

    Every distance below is the 12V sideThe driver has house power going in and 12 volts coming out, and only the 12 volt side is what these numbers are about. That is the cable from the driver to the digits, it is low voltage, and it is the part you run wherever is convenient. The 120V side stays short, indoors, inside a box, and is a job for an electrician if you are not confident: breaker off first, brown to hot, blue to neutral. Never lengthen the 120V side to move the driver closer to the digits. Move the low voltage side instead, which is the whole point of the table.

    On the 18 gauge most people use, a normal address of three to five 4 inch digits carries 68 to 113 feet. That reaches the far side of almost any house.

    Digits on the run 4 inch 8 inch 12 inch
    3 113 ft 56 ft 41 ft
    4 85 ft 42 ft 31 ft
    5 68 ft 34 ft -
    a full driver 28 ft 28 ft 31 ft

    6 inch digits: read the 8 inch column. A 6 inch draws less than an 8 inch on one colour, so those distances are already on the safe side. If you have wired both colour pairs, each digit draws about twice as much, so halve the 8 inch figure.

    Thicker cable goes further, roughly in proportion: 16 gauge about 1.6 times these distances, 14 gauge about 2.5 times, 12 gauge about 4 times. The 12 inch column is the short one because each of those digits draws close to three times what a 4 inch digit draws.

    Past these distances the digits dim rather than fail, and there are three fixes. Move the driver closer, which costs nothing. Step up a cable size. Or split the digits across two drivers so each has a shorter run of its own. Do not raise the supply voltage.

    Heavier cable after the driver leads still worksThe driver's own leads are 18 gauge and short, and that does not cap the run. Cable is not a hose: every length adds its own resistance, so two feet of thin wire costs two feet and nothing more. Splice to 12 gauge at the driver and a 60 foot run comes within a fiftieth of a volt of one that is 12 gauge end to end.
    The driver is the boundary. House power goes in on a short run indoors; the 12 volt side out to the digits is the one you run as far as you need.

    The install, in order

    Each digit is its own unit. Inside every box:

    • One stainless digit, 1.25 inches deep, with the LED sealed inside and two low-voltage leads out the back: red (positive) and black or blue (negative), depending on the batch.
    • Two metal dowels (a short threaded end screws into the digit, a long smooth shaft presses into the wall) with yellow wall anchors, for mounting when you cannot reach behind the wall.
    • Two screws with rubber stoppers under the heads, for mounting when you can reach the back, such as a plaque or backboard.
    If you bought the 6 inch, your box has more in itFour leads instead of two, because every 6 inch digit carries a warm 3000K and a cool 6000K LED strip and you choose which one lights. A third mounting option, two hex bolts with washers and nuts, for when a screw will not hold. And a card template cut to the outline of your digit, with three holes punched in it: two for the hardware and one for the wires. Wherever this guide says something different for the 6 inch, it says so.

    The driver ships with a separate inline dimmer: a small black unit with barrel connectors that sits between the driver and the digits.

    Inside a digit: LED modules beneath clear acrylic backing, with two power leads exiting the rear.
    In each digit box: one digit, two dowels, two wall anchors and two screws with stoppers. Driver sold separately.

    Every install

    Drill. 5/32 inch bit (pilot holes and dowels). 3/8 inch bit (wire holes). Level. Tape measure. Pencil or painter's tape. Wire strippers. Small wire nuts, ideally the kind pre-filled with grease. Clear exterior silicone.

    Wire-in adds

    Non-contact voltage tester. Screwdriver. A weatherproof box or the existing fixture box to house the driver. Electrical tape.

    Masonry adds

    Masonry bit sized to your anchors, plastic or sleeve anchors, hammer drill if you have one.

    1. Pick the spotStand at the street at night with a flashlight on the wall. The digits should sit where a driver slowing down would look: near the door, on the garage face, or on a post at the drive. Avoid spots directly under a bright porch light, which washes out the glow.
    2. Set the spacingLeave a gap of about one quarter of the digit height between digits: 1 inch for 4 inch digits, 2 inches for 8 inch, 3 inches for 12 inch. Tighter reads as one word; wider reads as separate numbers.
    3. Draw a level lineRun painter's tape along the wall where the digit bottoms will sit and level it. Mark each digit's left edge on the tape.
    4. Mark the holesHold each digit in place (or trace it on paper first and use the paper as a template). Mark the two mounting points, then mark where the leads exit the back. That second mark is your wire hole.
    Tape a level line, space the digits a quarter of their height apart, mark each left edge.
    Backboard optionIf your wall is uneven brick or stone, or you want the wiring fully hidden, mount the digits on a painted plywood or cedar board first, then hang the board. The wiring lives behind the board and the digits get a flat, clean surface. Two customer builds below did exactly this.
    6 inch: use the template insteadEvery 6 inch digit comes with a card cut to its own outline. Tape it where you want the digit, check it against your level line, and mark through the three punched holes: two for the mounting hardware and one for the wires. That replaces measuring the hole positions by hand, and it is the fastest way to keep a row straight.

    1. Pilot holes5/32 inch at each mounting mark. For the dowel method this is the finished hole; the fit should be snug. For the screw method it is the pilot.
    2. Wire hole3/8 inch at each lead mark, sloped so the outside opening sits lower than the inside one; water that gets in runs back out, not into the wall.
    3. MasonryUse a masonry bit and anchors sized for the screws. Drill the wire hole through a mortar joint where you can; it is softer and easier to seal.
    Two 5/32 mounting holes behind solid parts of the digit, one 3/8 wire hole sloped so the outside end is lower.

    Mount flush. The digits are thick enough to give the 3D look on their own. Standing them off the wall exposes the leads and breaks the glow into patches.

    Dowel method

    For siding, stucco, wood and anywhere you cannot reach behind. Thread the dowels into the back of the digit by their short threaded end, push the yellow anchors into the 5/32 holes if the wall is soft, feed the leads through the wire hole, line the dowels up and press firmly. Never hammer. A dab of exterior adhesive in the holes locks it for good.

    Screw method

    For plaques, backboards and open walls where you can reach the back. Feed the leads through, hold the digit, and drive the screws from behind. Leave the rubber stoppers on: they stop the screw before it reaches the LED housing. The stoppers are not standoffs.

    Bolt method 6 inch only

    The 6 inch adds two hex bolts with a washer and a nut each. Same idea as the screw method, for when a screw will not hold: pass the bolt through from the front face of the board, washer and nut on behind, and tighten by hand. Use it on thin panel, sheet metal, or anywhere a screw thread has nothing to bite.

    Dowel method: pins in, leads through the wire hole, press flush with your palm. No hammer.
    Screw method: from behind the board, stopper stays under the head so the screw cannot reach the LEDs.
    Do not drill into the digitOver-driving a screw into the housing punctures the LED strip and is not covered by warranty. Stoppers on, light pressure.

    The digits connect in parallel: every red lead joins every other red lead, every black or blue lead joins every other black or blue lead. Two wire nuts, whatever the digit count.

    1. Gather the redsTwist all red leads together with one extra red pigtail (a 6 inch piece of wire) and cap them in a grease-filled wire nut.
    2. Gather the negativesSame for the black or blue leads, with a black pigtail.
    3. Two pigtails leftThose two go to the driver's DC output: red to the driver's red or +, black to the driver's black or −. LEDs only light one way round; if nothing comes on at test time, swap these two.
    Every red lead into one nut, every black lead into the other, one pigtail out of each.
    Driver, inline dimmer, then the two pigtails. Red to red, black to black. No light? Swap the two digit-side leads.
    Wire-in driver diagram: house power to driver, driver to digits House power120V AC junction boxor old porch lightbreaker OFF black (hot) white (neutral) JELSCO wire-in driverAC in: brown = hot, blue = neutralDC out: 12V, 1Ainline dimmer red + black or blue (negative) 5 4 8 All red leads in one wire nut, all black/blue leads in another,then one pigtail from each nut to the driver.Digits wire in parallel: any count up to the driver limit.
    The whole chain on a wire-in driver: house power in, 12V out through the dimmer, digits in parallel.

    6 inch: four wires, and choosing your colour

    Every 6 inch digit has two LED strips inside, one warm and one cool, so four leads come out of the back instead of two. They arrive in two pairs, each with a factory tag reading 3000K or 6000K, so you never have to work it out from the colours alone.

    Pair Positive Negative
    3000K warm red blue
    6000K cool white with a black stripe plain white
    1. Pick one colour for the whole addressWarm reads well on brick, wood and warm stucco. Cool reads well on grey, white, black cladding and concrete. Use the same pair in every digit or the address will not match itself.
    2. Wire that pair exactly as aboveAll the positives of the pair you chose into one nut with a pigtail, all the negatives into the other. The colour names change; nothing else about the method does.
    3. Cap the pair you are not usingA wire nut on each loose end, inside the wall or behind the digit, so two bare ends can never touch. Do not cut them off. Swapping to the other colour later is a five minute job only if they are still there.
    Wiring both pairsYou can light both strips in a digit. It is roughly twice the light, which suits a long setback or a bright street, and it doubles what each digit draws: one driver runs three 6 inch digits with both pairs lit, against six on a single pair. It is not a third colour. Mixing 3000K and 6000K does not give a clean neutral white, so do it for brightness, not for the shade.

    Power: plug-in driver

    Keep the plug-in power supply and dimmer indoors. Only the 12V cable passes through the wall to the digits outside.
    1. Choose an indoor outletKeep the plug-in power supply and separate inline dimmer indoors, dry and accessible. Plan the low-voltage cable route to the digits before drilling. Leave the power supply unplugged while making connections.
    2. Run only the 12V cable outsideConnect the inline dimmer to the power supply using its barrel connectors. Run the low-voltage pair from the dimmer through the wall to the digits. Keep the mains plug and power supply indoors. Protect the cable where it passes through the wall and seal the exterior entry against water.
    3. Connect, then testJoin the digit leads as shown in the parallel-wiring step and insulate the connections. Set the dimmer to full, then plug the power supply into the indoor outlet. Unplug it before adjusting any wiring.

    Power: wire-in driver

    Breaker off, then testSwitch off the breaker for the circuit and confirm with a non-contact tester at the wires before touching anything. If any of this is unfamiliar, this part is a 30 minute job for an electrician; do the mounting yourself and hand them the driver.
    Wire-in: breaker off, house black to driver brown, house white to driver blue, then dimmer and digits.
    1. Open the boxTake down the old porch light or open the junction box. Identify hot (black), neutral (white) and ground (bare or green).
    2. Connect ACDriver brown to house black (hot). Driver blue to house white (neutral). House ground stays on the box or fixture ground screw. Wire nuts on every joint, tape optional.
    3. Seat the driverInside the box or fixture base if it fits, otherwise in a weatherproof enclosure beside it. Put the inline dimmer where you can reach it.
    4. Connect DCDriver red to the digits' red pigtail, driver black to the negative pigtail.
    5. Close up, breaker onCover plate on, breaker on, wall switch on.
    A porch light box is the easiest wire-in source. Real install, Denver.
    Confirm the supply is in the driver's 100 to 265V range, then kill it.
    Wall switch or smart switchIf the box is on a switch, the digits now follow it. Swap that switch for a smart switch or a timer and you have dusk-to-dawn without any extra wiring. See Turn on at dusk.

    Power: existing 12V landscape lighting

    Path lights and garden spots usually run from a 12V or 24V AC transformer. The digits need 12V DC. Connecting them straight to landscape wire will not light them and can damage the LEDs.

    1. Check the transformer labelIf it says 12V AC (most do), you need a rectifier. If your system is already 12V DC at 1 amp or more, skip the rectifier and wire the digits to it directly.
    2. Add a rectifierA small sealed 12V AC to DC bridge rectifier module (search that phrase) goes inline: landscape wire in, 12V DC out to the digits. Mount it in a weatherproof box. 24V systems need a module that outputs 12V DC.
    3. DimmingThe JELSCO inline dimmer sits between the rectifier and the digits if you want brightness control.
    Landscape circuit: transformer, path lights, then a rectifier before the digits. Skipping the rectifier (crossed out) leaves them dark.

    Seal the wire holes, use grease-filled nuts, and near the coast run a bead along the digit seams.
    • Grease-filled wire nuts on every low-voltage joint, or a bead of silicone into a standard nut.
    • Silicone or hot glue around each wire hole where the lead enters the wall, and at the lead exit on the back of the digit.
    • Drivers out of standing water and out of direct spray.
    • Near the coast: see Coastal care below: coat before mounting, seal the seams, rinse on a schedule. Rust from salt air is not a warranty item.

    1. Power onAll digits should light together. None lit: swap the two DC pigtails at the driver (polarity). One digit dark: reseat its leads in the nuts.
    2. Set the dimmerFull brightness looks great in photos and harsh at 2 a.m. Most customers settle around two thirds on the inline dimmer. Set it at night, from the street.
    3. Watch for flickerFlicker or cycling on and off means the driver is overloaded. Count digits against the driver table and add a second driver if needed.
    Judge brightness from the street, not the porch. About two thirds on the dimmer is where most people land.
    A real one, done.

    Turn on at dusk

    Smart plug, photocell, or smart switch. Each sits ahead of the driver; the driver and dimmer stay the same.

    The driver does not sense daylight on its own. Three ways to make the digits automatic, cheapest first:

    • Smart plug or smart switch. Use an indoor smart plug for the plug-in power supply, or a smart wall switch for a wire-in installation, and schedule sunset to sunrise.
    • Photocell. For a wire-in installation: a 120V three-wire dusk-to-dawn photocell wired ahead of the driver on the house power side. No app, no schedule. How to wire it
    • Timer. An indoor plug-in timer ahead of the plug-in power supply, or a suitable wall timer for a wire-in installation.

    Wiring a photocell

    For a wire-in installation. We do not sell the sensor: buy a 120V three-wire photocell, which Lowe's, Home Depot and Ace all stock. It switches the house power going into the driver, so the driver, the dimmer and the digits stay exactly as they are.

    1. Turn the breaker off.
    2. Photocell line (black on most units) to the house hot (black).
    3. Photocell load (red on most units) to the driver's brown wire. This is the switched side: power reaches the driver only when it is dark.
    4. Photocell neutral (white) to the house neutral (white), together with the driver's blue wire.
    5. If the photocell's own instructions use different colours, follow them.

    Where to mount the sensor. Facing open sky, and where none of your own lights reach it, the digits included. Light on the sensor reads as daytime, and the numbers switch themselves off and on all night.

    Plug-in power supply? A photocell has to see daylight and the power supply usually sits indoors, so a smart plug or a plug-in timer is the simpler route.

    Troubleshooting

    Nothing lights at all

    Swap the two DC pigtails at the driver. LEDs only light one way round. If that does not do it, check the outlet or the breaker feeding the driver.

    One digit is dark

    A loose lead in a wire nut. Take that digit's two leads out, retwist them with the others, cap it again.

    Symptom Likely cause Fix
    Nothing lights DC polarity reversed, or no AC to the driver Swap the two DC pigtails. Check the outlet or breaker.
    One digit dark Loose lead in a wire nut Reseat and retwist that digit's leads.
    Flicker, or all cycle on and off Driver overloaded Count digits against the driver table. Add a second driver.
    Dim or uneven glow Digit standing off the wall, or dimmer low Mount flush. Turn the dimmer up.
    Brown freckles on the steel Salt deposits (tea staining) Citric-acid stainless cleaner, rinse, dry, recoat. See Coastal care.
    Went dark after rain Water in a joint Dry, reseal every joint and wire hole with silicone.
    Landscape circuit, digits dead AC supply Add the rectifier (path C).

    Still stuck? Email info@jelsco.com with a photo of the wiring and we will sort it.

    Reference

    Siding, stucco, brick (drill the mortar), or a backboard on stone. Flush every time.
    Surface Method Notes
    Vinyl or wood siding Dowels Drill through the siding into sheathing. Seal wire holes well; siding channels water.
    Stucco Dowels with adhesive Masonry bit. Adhesive in the holes matters here.
    Brick or stone Backboard, or anchors Uneven faces leave gaps; a backboard gives a flat mount and hides wiring. If mounting direct, drill mortar joints.
    Wood post or fence Screws from behind, or dowels Hollow posts hide the driver and wiring nicely.
    Plaque or backboard Screws with stoppers Paint or seal the board first. Mount the board with its own screws after the digits are on.
    Metal Screws from behind Drill and deburr; use rubber washers so the digit sits flat.

    Within a few miles of the ocean, salt air lands on every outdoor metal surface. On stainless it shows up as light brown freckling called tea staining. It is cosmetic at first and easy to prevent; left alone for years it can pit. The shells are 304 stainless, which is fine inland and needs a little routine near the coast.

    1. Before you mountWipe each digit with a clean cloth and a little rubbing alcohol to remove fingerprints and shop dust, then apply one coat of a clear stainless protective coating to the face and edges, following the product directions. These are thin, invisible films that stop chlorides reaching the metal. Leave the back and the wire exit uncoated; that is where the silicone goes.
    2. Seal the seamsA thin bead of clear marine silicone (3M 08019 or similar) along the joint between face and shell keeps salt spray out of the housing.
    3. Rinse on a scheduleEvery two months near surf, every three to four months near calmer water: hose the digits with fresh water, wash with a drop of dish soap on a soft cloth, rinse, wipe dry. Rain helps but does not replace this; it is the dried salt that does the damage. Never use bleach, chlorine cleaners, steel wool or abrasive pads.
    4. Renew the coatingMost clear coatings last one to three years outdoors; wax or oil products last months and attract dust. Recoat when water stops beading on the surface.
    5. If freckles appearCatch them early: a citric-acid stainless cleaner on a soft cloth lifts tea staining and restores the protective layer. Rinse well, dry, and recoat.
    Plug-in installs near the coastKeep the plug-in power supply, dimmer and barrel connectors indoors. Seal the exterior cable entry and weatherproof the outdoor low-voltage joints as described above.

    • Driver ordered (and a second if over the limit)
    • Power path chosen
    • 5/32 and 3/8 bits, level, tape, strippers, wire nuts, silicone
    • Spot checked from the street at night
    • Level line taped, spacing marked
    • Mounting and wire holes drilled
    • Digits mounted flush
    • Reds together, negatives together, two pigtails
    • Driver mounted dry and reachable
    • Breaker off and tested (wire-in)
    • Brown to black, blue to white (wire-in)
    • Every joint and hole sealed
    • Coastal: digits coated and seams sealed before mounting
    • Lit, dimmer set from the street
    • Photo sent to info@jelsco.com for the customer gallery

    Both use a backboard and a wire-in source. Useful if your wall is rough or your address sits far from the house.

    Ready to order? Type your house number and we build the set with the right driver.

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