I Need Your Help EverGrow/Reef Breeders Pros

Sawdonkey

Sawdonkey

Premium member
I came home and one of my IT2060s did not have its second channel lit. Also, the fan on that channel is not running. I took it apart and switched the power supplies. The power supply from the non-working white channel worked fine for the blue channel. The problem is not the power supply. I had a spare LCD head unit, so I switched it out. It didn't solve the problem. The problem is not the LCD head unit. Then I began testing the connections with a electrical tester. The attached pic shows what was hot and what was not. The wires going into the power supply on the non-working side were hot. Coming out of the power supply, they were not. I repeat, I switched the power supplies, so that is not the issue. Why would it be hot before the power supply and not hot after if the power supply is not faulty? I'm at a loss. I really appreciate if there are any electrical geniuses on here that could give me some advice. Thanks in advance.

View attachment 4335
 
Sometimes LED power supplies will go into "protection" mode if there is not enough load on them. My guess is you have a bad chip or cold solder joint on that channel and the power supply thinks nothing is connected to it. I can come by tomorrow night with a relatively advanced multimeter and check it out and try to troubleshoot it with you if you want.
 
SkullV said:
Sometimes LED power supplies will go into "protection" mode if there is not enough load on them. My guess is you have a bad chip or cold solder joint on that channel and the power supply thinks nothing is connected to it. I can come by tomorrow night with a relatively advanced multimeter and check it out and try to troubleshoot it with you if you want.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ted. This is along the lines of what I was thinking. My tester is only hot/cold so it wouldn't show a lack of power....only an absence of power. I'm busy tomorrow night and out of town this weekend, so maybe you could come over Sunday afternoon/evening? I sent an email to evergrow and they've been really helpful in the past. We'll see what they say too. I have a feeling you're right though.
 
If u have uv leds in it check those first they seem to be the first chips to go ive had to replace every uv stock chip in few fixtures already most turn color and pop the lens. If i remember right these fixture use a lot of uv chips
 
Check all of LEDs on that string with a volt meter in diode mode. Mostly likely one is Burt out. I have replaced a few LEDs in my 2080 due to them burning out. The whole string goes when this happens.
 
madjoe said:
If u have uv leds in it check those first they seem to be the first chips to go ive had to replace every uv stock chip in few fixtures already most turn color and pop the lens. If i remember right these fixture use a lot of uv chips
Click to expand...

Not sure what current these fixtures run at, but anything over 700mA will have that problem with UV chips.
 
Last edited:
Siebo said:
Check all of LEDs on that string with a volt meter in diode mode. Mostly likely one is Burt out. I have replaced a few LEDs in my 2080 due to them burning out. The whole string goes when this happens.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. It cannot be an issue with the LEDs because I hooked up the red power connector from the blue channel to the white channel and the white channel lights up. Also, the fan on the white channel is not working, so that tells me that power is not getting through the power supply, even though I know the power supply is not faulty (I switched the two back and forth).
 
Also, I tested the red power connector on the non-working side and there was no power. I tested it on the working side and there is power. The issue is that the power is not getting through the power supply even though I know for a fact that the power supply is not bad.
 
So if you hook up the hot side from the other supply, but keep the ground from the "non-functioning" power supply, the string works?
 
If you hook up your tester (Sounds like a continuity tester) to the red and black side of the power supply does it flash on and then shut down, or never turn on at all?
 
SkullV said:
If you hook up your tester (Sounds like a continuity tester) to the red and black side of the power supply does it flash on and then shut down, or never turn on at all?
Click to expand...

It never turns on (on the white channel side). The wires going into the power supply are hot, but they are cold coming out.

Maybe this makes it more clear? The wire going to the heat sink on the left controls the white channel. The wires on the right going to the heat sink control the blues and the moon lights.

View attachment 4346
 
I have a new Evergrow LED problem. The problem I listed above was resloved, but now my blue channel will not work. The plug coming out of both power supplies, but the blue channel will not light. I assume I have a burnt out LED that broke the connectivity, but I can't figure out which one it is? I put my tester on the solder joints, but even on the channel that is working, it doesn't light up. How do I figure out which LED is the culprit? There is one that looks burned out, so I'll start there, but is there a way to confirm with my tester?
 
Try to bridge the chip itself with a small wire. That will tell you if an individual chip is bad. The issue with many of the China dixtures is that they can have bad solder joints where the chip sits on the board. When that happens bridging the chip won't work. You have to go
from chip to chip rather than across the chip.
 
SkullV said:
Try to bridge the chip itself with a small wire. That will tell you if an individual chip is bad. The issue with many of the China dixtures is that they can have bad solder joints where the chip sits on the board. When that happens bridging the chip won't work. You have to go
from chip to chip rather than across the chip.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ted. I'll give this a go tonight.
 
SkullV said:
Let me know how it goes. I'm home tonight and have everything on hand to make repairs if you already have the light opened up.
Click to expand...

BOOM! Perfect advice Ted! Thanks. I bridged each diode with wire and found one that wasn't working. Replaced it and we're off to the races. I was surprised though, the one that wasn't working looked fine. I was also surprised that my tester didn't make the circuit, but a piece of wire did?

I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on these fixtures now. View attachment 6159
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top