Why are my led bulbs flickering?

I have a ceiling fan that is maybe 7 or 8 years old and the lights have been flickering on it for quite some time now but it's been at the bottom of the to do list to try to fix it until now, its just really starting to annoy me. Not sure if it's gotten worse or I've lost my patience for it.
There are 3 led candelabra bulbs(pretty sure they dimmable) in the fixture when this happens. I tried prying the small tabs at the bottom of the sockets up but that made no difference. I tried the bulbs in different light fixtures but they only flicker in this fan. What is strange, at least to me, is that if I replace one of the led bulbs with an incandescent bulb, as I screw it in, as soon as the incandescent bulb lights up the two led bulbs get dimmer and then the flickering stops. These are 4w led bulbs, the fixture calls for a max of 40w bulbs.
Anyone know what is going on and what's the best way to fix this?

 

Does the fan have a remote? The light control electronics in the remote module could be the issue.

 

Yes, it has a remote.
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Try a different type/brand of lamps. Some dim better than others.

 

The majority of ceiling fans can only operate with incandescent bulbs and the dimmer can be damaged by using LED bulbs.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified, there is no dimmer. The bulbs are capable of being dimmed though. Wasn't sure if that was relevant so I thought I should include that info

 

If the bulbs can be dimmed, then there is a dimmer. It is just built into the fan.

 

If you have a wireless control that controls the fan and the light..... that is a dimmer.

 

My apologies again, I am sleep deprived courtesy of my 3 and 16 month old children and my brain is not functioning the way it should.
What I meant to say, is the bulbs are capable of being dimmed. There is no dimming feature on this fan. I know some fans have a dimming feature, this one does not. Some led bulbs are advertised as dimmable and some are not, these bulbs are advertised as dimmable.
Hopefully that clarifies things

 

So does that mean your fan has two pullchains...... one for the lights and one for the fan ?
Some fans also have wattage reducers on the bulbs.
It's a little module that reduces the power to the lights.

 

There are no pull chains on the fan. It's all controlled by the remote..
The thing that doesn't make sense to me is that if one incandescent bulb is installed there is no flickering.
I ordered some new compact fluorescent bulbs to try

 

There is probably an electronic component which requires a minimum load to work correctly. Power may be drawn through that component to work.

 

Some electronic devices (e.g. remote control switches, dimmers, etc.) require power even when turned off. If they do not have a neutral connection the circuit is completed through something like an incandescent bulb but not enough current to cause visible light. Such low current through an LED will light it up. Putting an incandescent bulb in the circuit gives the low current a path and avoids lighting the LEDs.

The fan remote is probably one of those devices.

 

I'm not sure if I've explained what is happening well enough.
When three led bulbs are installed in the fixture and the light is on, it basically flickers like a strobe light.
If I change one of those three bulbs to an incandescent bulb, the incandescent and the two led bulbs do not flicker when the light is on.
When I changed one of the three led bulbs to an incandescent I did so with the light on. As soon as it was screwed in deep enough to light up you could visually see the two led bulbs get dimmer and the flickering instantly stopped

 

"Dimmer" as in not as bright as normal, or just normal brightness. The incandescent bulb is dampening whatever waveform is causing the LEDs to flicker.

 

LED arrays (lamps) that state they are dimmable should operate in a non dimmable application as long as the input voltage is correct. My guess is most LED lamps replacing incandescents will operate from 120 vac.Problem is most LED lamp packages don't state the input voltage. The LED drivers (located in the base of the lamp) can be one of two types, constant current or constant voltage. Are all 3 of your LED lamps the same type? Also, the electronics in the LED drivers can be affected by magnetic fields. Is the fan motor operating when you have the issue?

 

Yes, by dimmer I just mean not as bright .

All three bulbs are the same, these are the bulbs I'm using:
​http://www.canadalite.com/Luminus-PLFZ6012T3-LED-B11-Filament-4W-2700K-Energy-Star​​​​​​

The lights flicker regardless of if the fan is on or off.

 

The fan controller could be using power in standby position even if the fan is off.

 

I uploaded a video of what is happening to YouTube.
You can't really see the bulbs lose some brightness but you can see the flickering stop once I screw in the incandescent bulb

https://youtu.be/gxm7T-_dxBI

 

I firmly believe the remote unit is the issue. It should be possible to bypass the remote unit. If you have a light switch then you don't need the remote unit.

 

I believe your LED problem is too complicated to be solved by a DIY. The LED drivers have both resistance and reactive components in their circuitry. Reactive components affect electron flow due to changes in frequency, rate of change in applied voltage/current and phase shift with respect to resistance. This combined affect is called impedance. A incandescent lamp only has resistance. When you replaced one of the 3 led lamps with an incandescent. you changed the impedance of the circuitry. This new impedance resulted in the 2 LED lamps to dim and stop flickering . I am sure that other combinations of incandescents and LEDs or other LED lamps would yield different fan light operation. My guess is you will run out of patience before you find a combination that is satisfactory. By the way, the electronic on/off switch, in the fan/light, may be distorting the AC sine wave which is another variable factoring into the problem. While not a solution, hope this helps.

 

Your fan has an electronic remote controller. That's what I was asking. It doesn't matter if the bulbs can be dimmed or not.... the electronics are typically not suited to LED bulbs. In your owners manual it will probably say to use incandescent bulbs only.

 

Thanks for all of the help.
I no longer have the manual as the fan is several years old.
​​​​​I should hopefully have my new bulbs by the end of the week and can see if that solves the problem

 

Loose wiring or bulbs can lead to flickering. I think you can check if the base of the bulb is screwed properly. In addition, if you neighbors are using an exceptionally high power device, it might trigger the flicker as well. Buying a new bulbs does not help if your hardware part is problematic.

 

I also have a similar issue, but I have checked the wiring and bulb base. They are firm. I may need to consult my electrician. I don't know if it is related to voltage fluctuation or other problems.

 

I think Beelzebulb and pjmax may be onto something.
My logic tells me that if the bulbs don't flicker when an incandescent bulb is installed that it's not the hardware and that it's something to do with the bulbs, but I could be wrong. My new bulbs are supposed to be delivered on Tuesday so I can put my theory to the test when they arrive.
I can't find the model number (at least not without a ladder) on my fan so I can't search for the manual online

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My new CFL bulbs were delivered earlier today. I replaced the incandescent bulb first leaving the other two led bulbs installed and the led bulbs still flickered but much slower. They would flicker maybe every 3-5 seconds at first, then as the CFL got to its full brightness the flickering slowed to maybe every 5-7 seconds.
I installed all three CFL bulbs and there is no flickering now so it must be that this fan doesn't like led bulbs.
Thanks everyone who took the time to help
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