Sorry to hear about your LEDs. I am using them more often as I get further along into detailing my interiors. #1 rule is to remember they are current driven, not voltage driven. It’s more work but the best and safest way to drive them is to put dropping resistors in series with each LED. I like to set one up with a 1K resistor using a variable DC power supply and dial up the brightness desired. I can note the current needed and also figure out if I can safely run them at the full rated voltage of my variable power source in case it gets accidentally cranked.
Here’s a layout testing pic of the leads coming out with individual resistors for each led. More work but can save some aggravation. I should note I don’t believe in LED driver power supplies, my preference is do it this way. You could also use different value resistors to make some lights dimmer than others if needed.
