LED malfunction - Help appreciated!

B

blueridgegrow

New Member
Hi, back in 2013 i purchased a ProGrow 400 LED fixture from HydroponicsHut.com. I've been using the light since then without much issue but recently noticed that 1/2 of my flower LED's were not burning. I went to the web only to find out that the company is apparently no longer in business, the website is gone, and I can get no response from old email addresses and have no way to get specs on the light (which it didn't come with). As such, I decided to open the case to see what I could see....three black boxes that I assume to be LED power supplies, 6 cooling fans, an aluminum finned plate the LED's are mounted in, the switches, and power inputs. I began using my voltmeter on the 200 volt DC setting to test the output of the black boxes. One had a voltage of 172 and one had a voltage of 164. The other one on the same side as the one with 164, being the one that plugged into the end of the LED mounting plate that wasn't functioning, had no voltage no matter the position of either the veg or flower switch. I took it out and opened the plastic case to see a burnt component on the board inside. So, I figure i need a new power supply for that half of the flower LED"s....problem is there are no stamps, labels, or any other specs on the power supply. It says "Input 110-250V" on one side and "Output LED" on the other. It appears that that each power supply powers 4 rows of LED's with 11 LED's in each. The voltage numbers I quoted earlier don't seem to match anything I've seen on supplier's websites and I am at a loss for what I need or where to get it. Any advice on how to repair the fixture/what type of power supply I need would be greatly appreciated.

As an aside, I have come to realize that neither this company nor this light choice may have been the best....but it is what I thought best at the time after "thinking" I did my research. However, that ship has long since sailed & this is the light I have and current budget confines necessitate a repair versus changing ships now....so I can't ditch this one for newer, fancier model.

Thanks in advance for any help!!
 
IMG_475012.JPG


IMG_475111.JPG
 
you have 2 drivers, right? switch them around to confirm failure? I suggested the resistors because my mars did the same thing, half out. I dont know if it just lighting, but the driver looks burnt on the bottom right corner on the gray plastic part?

Good luck
 
Yes, you have a bad driver. Because there doesn't seem to be any specs on the driver, you will need to use your multimeter to measure driver output current on one of the operating drivers/led circuit. That will give you info you need to be able to match a replacement part. Mayne has a good idea to make sure your pcb/zener diode/led's circuitry is ok.
 
Hey folks, thank you for the looks and responses! I am certain my issue is a bad LED driver. I need help knowing how to test the operating ones to determine the specs needed for the replacement and where to get it. I tested the two operating drivers with my Voltmeter set to the 200 DC volt range....one gave a reading of 164 volts and the other 173. All three drivers appear to power 4 rows of LED's with 11 diodes per row....each driver is powering 44 LED's.

Anybody have any followup thoughts on this driver?

Thanks!!
 
Are those voltage readings with the board plugged into the drivers? I'd measure the voltage across each of the operating circuits-that will give you the forward voltage of the string. Then using DC ammeter function, measure the drive current of each string. You can get a base power requirement of the driver from the product of the forward voltage and drive current. If you are not familiar with making measurements with a DVOM I'd look at this- How to Use a Multimeter - learn.sparkfun.com
 
gbauto said:
Are those voltage readings with the board plugged into the drivers? I'd measure the voltage across each of the operating circuits-that will give you the forward voltage of the string. Then using DC ammeter function, measure the drive current of each string. You can get a base power requirement of the driver from the product of the forward voltage and drive current. If you are not familiar with making measurements with a DVOM I'd look at this- How to Use a Multimeter - learn.sparkfun.com
Click to expand...

Thank you!! Those reading are with the drive unplugged from the LED circuit. I will measure the voltage of the operating flower circuit and then the amperage. Once I have those, what calculations should I do and where should I look for a replacement?
Thank you in advance!!
 
Once you're able to measure the output voltage under load and then the drive current, you just multiply them to give you the power in watts that the string consumes. Most of the drivers I've seen in this type of lamp are constant current designs so you would need a driver that is able to produce enough voltage for the string and have the proper drive current. Ebay, Amazon....just plug in the specs in a google search and see what pops.
 

Similar threads

J
How to Choose the Correct LED Light for your Grow Environment
Replies
10
Views
2K
JBUptown
J
Rickstertp
Help me understand my LED light and how to use it please!
Replies
4
Views
469
Remystemple
Remystemple
R
LED light power consumption
Replies
4
Views
6K
LEDBud
LEDBud
buzz62
Removing your power supply from your light?
Replies
4
Views
2K
Mars Hydro
Mars Hydro
Z
Is a 120W LED light enough to grow one cannabis?
Replies
9
Views
2K
Mars Hydro
Mars Hydro
Back
Top Bottom