COB build flickering again..

And to test each cob with my hlg-185-c1050b, can I hook up one cob at a time or does the driver need more than one to function properly and give me the results that I am looking for?

Al Yamoni said:

And to test each cob with my hlg-185-c1050b, can I hook up one cob at a time or does the driver need more than one to function properly and give me the results that I am looking for?

Click to expand...

The constant current region begins at 95V. So your COBs' Vf needs to add up to between 95 and 190V. (Or add resistance, but that is sounding a little too advanced right now.)

sanjuan said:

The constant current region begins at 95V. So your COBs' Vf needs to add up to between 95 and 190V. (Or add resistance, but that is sounding a little too advanced right now.)
View attachment 3508500

Click to expand...

I'm getting the hang of it the more we talk about in a practical sense. So, I would need at least three in series to make it work with the CC, maybe two but that is cutting it close.

I have my suspicions about a particular chip so I will wire the other 4 together once my son goes down for a nap..

[Looking back at the first page, I see "mean well hlg-185h-c1050b, running 5 cxa3070"]
Sounds like you have a good plan of attack, Al.

Al Yamoni said:

It is just flickering slightly, almost like a candle if that makes any sense.

I just got back from the store with a killawatt and I have some interesting findings.. First I hooked it up and the readings were confusing so I busted out the good old blurple light, I have had the thing for ten years or so. Its a grow panel pro 300. Hooking that thing up through the killawatt right away I know the light was extremely brighter than my cobs and its readings were 270watts, 118volts, with a power factor of 99.

The cobs initial readings were dead on. This thing is only pulling 35 watts, 45volts, and it has a power factor of 77..... I feel like I'm closer to the problem. [. . .]

Click to expand...

The Killawatt meter shows 45Volts?

sanjuan said:

[Looking back at the first page, I see "mean well hlg-185h-c1050b, running 5 cxa3070"]
Sounds like you have a good plan of attack, Al.

Click to expand...

So far I have hooked up the cobs three times ruling out three of the five cobs. Now I have to go shopping with the wife and I'll test the other 2 when I get back, results haven't changed thus far.

sanjuan said:

The Killawatt meter shows 45Volts?

Click to expand...

I can try that on Monday when my pots get here in the mail.. Can I get one from radioshack?

Wow, what a flashback, Radio Shack . . . I don't know anymore, about getting DIY parts there.

If you have them on the right parts it sounds like your wiring is wrong. Your sure your going from positive part if the driver to the positive of the first led? Then from the negative of the first led to the positive of the next? Then the last one should be negative part of led to negative wire of driver

You should be checking voltage on the led side with the v and the straight lines on the range within the voltage should fall. Put it on the 200v range

Getgrowingson said:

If you have them on the right parts it sounds like your wiring is wrong. Your sure your going from positive part if the driver to the positive of the first led? Then from the negative of the first led to the positive of the next? Then the last one should be negative part of led to negative wire of driver

Click to expand...

I started with the negative from the driver to the negative on the first cob, then the positive from the first cob to the negative on the second cob, then the positive on the second cob to the negative on the third, positive on the third to the negative on the fourth, and the positive from the driver to the last spot which is the positive on the fourth cob.

Doing it this way is the same as you're suggesting right?

Getgrowingson said:

You should be checking voltage on the led side with the v and the straight lines on the range within the voltage should fall. Put it on the 200v range

Click to expand...

With the light plugged in?

sanjuan said:

Wow, what a flashback, Radio Shack . . . I don't know anymore, about getting DIY parts there.

Click to expand...

I called and they have a 10k pot. Do you think that it could be as simple as the driver not working properly without a pot?

Yes you need it on to check voltage

I think a pot or resistor across the dimming wires is a good idea, better than leaving them open. Looking at the specs, 100K ohms gives 100% while the open condition results in 102 to 108% of rated current. 10K would give 10% current.

Getgrowingson said:

Yes you need it on to check voltage

Click to expand...

So wire all 5 cobs back into series and set the multimeter to V- 200 ( NOT V~200 ). Plug the light in and while the lights are flickering touch the positive lead to the positive on the cob and the negative lead to the negative on the cob and record results for all the cobs?

sanjuan said:

I think a pot or resistor across the dimming wires is a good idea, better than leaving them open. Looking at the specs, 100K ohms gives 100% while the open condition results in 102 to 108% of rated current. 10K would give 10% current.

Click to expand...

Shoot, just got back from RadioShack. For some reason I grabbed a 100k resistor and then put it back.. I got a 10k pot tho.. should I take it back and get a 100k resistor?

How to Measure Voltage on an Electronic Circuit
By Doug Lowe from Electronics All-in-One For Dummies
To measure voltage on an electronic circuit, you don't have to insert the meter into the circuit. Instead, all you have to do is touch the leads of the multimeter to any two points in the circuit. When you do, the multimeter displays the voltage that exists between those two points.

For example, you can insert a voltmeter into the LED circuit so that you can measure voltage. In this case, the voltage is measured across the battery. It should read in the vicinity of 8.3 V. (9 V batteries rarely provide a full 9 V.)


To measure voltages in the LED circuit, spin the multimeter dial to a range whose maximum is at least 10 V. Now just touch the leads to different spots in the circuit. To measure the voltage across the entire circuit, touch the black lead to the LED lead that's inserted into the negative bus strip, and touch the red lead to the resistor lead that's inserted into the positive bus strip.

Yeah I'm pretty sure you're going to need that 100K

How to Measure Current on an Electronic Circuit
By Doug Lowe from Electronics All-in-One For Dummies
Electric current is measured in amperes, but actually in most electronics work, you'll measure current in milliamps, or mA. To measure current, you must connect the two leads of the ammeter in the circuit so that the current flows through the ammeter. In other words, the ammeter must become a part of the circuit itself.

The only way to measure the current flowing through a simple circuit is to insert your ammeter into the circuit. Here, the ammeter is inserted into the circuit between the LED and the resistor.


Note that it doesn't matter where in this circuit you insert the ammeter. You'll get the same current reading whether you insert the ammeter between the LED and the resistor, between the resistor and the battery, or between the LED and the battery.

To measure the current in the LED circuit, follow these steps:

1. Set your multimeter's range selector to a DC milliamp range of at least 20 mA.
   
   This circuit uses direct current (DC), so you need to make sure the multimeter is set to a DC current range.
   
   
2. Remove the jumper wire that connects the two terminal strips.
   
   The LED should go dark, as removing the jumper wire breaks the circuit.
   
   
3. Touch the black lead from the multimeter to the LED lead that connects to the terminal strip (not the bus strip).
   
   
4. Touch the red lead from the multimeter to the resistor lead that connects to the terminal strip (not the bus strip).
   
   The LED should light up again, as the ammeter is now a part of the circuit, and current can flow.
   
   
5. Read the number on the multimeter display.
   
   It should read between 12 and 13 mA. (The exact reading will depend on the exact resistance value of the resistor. Resistor values aren't exact, so even though you're using a 470 Ω resistor in this circuit, the actual resistance of the resistor may be anywhere from 420 to 520 Ω.
   
   
6. Congratulate yourself!
   
   You have made your first official current measurement.
   
   
7. After a suitable celebration, replace the jumper wire you removed in Step 2.
   
   If you forget to replace the jumper wire, you won’t be able to take other measurements successfully.
   

There are two places in this circuit that you should not connect the ammeter. First, don't connect the ammeter directly across the two battery terminals. This effectively shorts out the battery. It will get real hot, real fast. Second, don't connect one lead of the ammeter to the positive battery terminal and the other directly to the LED lead. That will bypass the resistor, which will probably blow out the LED.

If you want to experiment a little more, try measuring the current at other places in the circuit. For example, remove the battery snap connector from the battery, and then reconnect it so that just the negative battery terminal is connected. Then, touch the red meter lead to the positive battery terminal and the black lead to the lead of the resistor that's connected to the bus strip.

This measures the current by inserting the ammeter between the resistor and the battery. You should get the same value that you got when you measured between the LED and the resistor.

You can use a similar method to measure the current between the LED and the negative battery terminal. Again, the result should be the same.

Yes