Thanks for the relatively short video showing an effective fix! I've fixed up three of five partially failing/totally off lights. I found the same thing - the alumnium circuit boards don't readily let you de-solder the LEDs for an elegant fix. So, pliers it is, and the metal tabs from the original LED remain. Perhaps the only elegant fix to try, rather than bridging with solder, would be to have the same size/output LED, and carefully solder them to the old LED's metal pads. If I find I have more panels fail, I may try that route. I've had up to 6 LEDs fail per panel, and they are pairs of LEDs in parallel, then 15 pairs in series. They all worked once more with ugly, ugly, ugly soldering across the remaining SMD LED pads. The combination of the diecast aluminum heatsink and aluminum sheet as circuit board draws the heat away so quickly that a more elegant soldering job is difficult.
Those aluminized PCBs are great for heat sinking, but terrible when you need to remove an LED. When testing long strings I will usually use a Sharpie to put a color dot on top of the bad ones...easier than trying to remember where the failed parts are, especially if there are several of them!
Thank you for sharing...I have one to fix...pretty sure this is the issue. I am sure you know but the finger nails and the dirt residing under them is not good for the show biz side of the video. The rest was very good. Little things matter. Take it for what it's worth. Good stuff though!
One possible problem with this fix is by bridging those pad the voltage across those remaining LEDs increases and therefore lower their effective life span.
In the meantime, I'm using a pair of pliers, a soldering iron and solder I already have to defer spending $15-20 to replace each of my failing LED garage lights. Three fixed, and two more to return one dead panel each to full use.
LEDs are current driven devices, not voltage (just need high enough voltage to cause the diode to conduct, and not enough to cause arcing). The current in a series string will not change if the supply is current limited as it needs to be for LEDs. The initial voltage measurements indicated that the power supply voltage ranges from 50-ish volts to over 70 volts, indicating it is a current limited supply. Voltage measurements after the fix should indicate that the voltage varies in proportion to the number of working LEDs in each string. TL:DR: this change is very unlikely to significantly affect LED lifespan of the remaining LEDs because the current (by design) and the voltage (shown by the measured range) are still within what would be considered normal. (Current is probably too high, by design, because that gives off more light while reducing LED lifespan. To avoid or minimize this while shopping, look for the highest light output per watt of power and the longest real warranty.)
I am just gonna buy another one from Amazon and put my broken one in it and return it. I am upset. Contacted the company and they said there is nothing they can do. I am upset.
At the start of the video I made a mistake 2 LED Panels where out not 1
Thanks for the relatively short video showing an effective fix!
I've fixed up three of five partially failing/totally off lights. I found the same thing - the alumnium circuit boards don't readily let you de-solder the LEDs for an elegant fix. So, pliers it is, and the metal tabs from the original LED remain.
Perhaps the only elegant fix to try, rather than bridging with solder, would be to have the same size/output LED, and carefully solder them to the old LED's metal pads.
If I find I have more panels fail, I may try that route. I've had up to 6 LEDs fail per panel, and they are pairs of LEDs in parallel, then 15 pairs in series.
They all worked once more with ugly, ugly, ugly soldering across the remaining SMD LED pads. The combination of the diecast aluminum heatsink and aluminum sheet as circuit board draws the heat away so quickly that a more elegant soldering job is difficult.
Thanks for sharing this. I came to TH-cam to see if there is a fix for this, and your instructions and methods were clear.
Glad this could help! Thanks for watching!
Fixed mine today with the help of this video!
That is Great! glad this could Help! Thanks for Watching!
Good stuff kid. Nice job.
Thanks for Watching!
Good job Ty .... 😂
Those aluminized PCBs are great for heat sinking, but terrible when you need to remove an LED. When testing long strings I will usually use a Sharpie to put a color dot on top of the bad ones...easier than trying to remember where the failed parts are, especially if there are several of them!
Yes. Thanks for the Tip!
That was nice!
Thank you for sharing...I have one to fix...pretty sure this is the issue. I am sure you know but the finger nails and the dirt residing under them is not good for the show biz side of the video. The rest was very good. Little things matter. Take it for what it's worth. Good stuff though!
I was going to say something about that,the finger nails and never did show jumper details
My smart 😂😂man.
One possible problem with this fix is by bridging those pad the voltage across those remaining LEDs increases and therefore lower their effective life span.
Yes that is a problem. But I don't know how long the LEDs will last anyway since these quit after 6 months
In the meantime, I'm using a pair of pliers, a soldering iron and solder I already have to defer spending $15-20 to replace each of my failing LED garage lights. Three fixed, and two more to return one dead panel each to full use.
LEDs are current driven devices, not voltage (just need high enough voltage to cause the diode to conduct, and not enough to cause arcing). The current in a series string will not change if the supply is current limited as it needs to be for LEDs. The initial voltage measurements indicated that the power supply voltage ranges from 50-ish volts to over 70 volts, indicating it is a current limited supply. Voltage measurements after the fix should indicate that the voltage varies in proportion to the number of working LEDs in each string.
TL:DR: this change is very unlikely to significantly affect LED lifespan of the remaining LEDs because the current (by design) and the voltage (shown by the measured range) are still within what would be considered normal. (Current is probably too high, by design, because that gives off more light while reducing LED lifespan. To avoid or minimize this while shopping, look for the highest light output per watt of power and the longest real warranty.)
I am just gonna buy another one from Amazon and put my broken one in it and return it. I am upset. Contacted the company and they said there is nothing they can do. I am upset.