LED Panel 1/2 the lights OUT

Al Yamoni · Oct 26, 2014

FranJan said:
Well I've had 3 G1 BS240s and everyone of them died, or more correctly had the diodes crap out shortly after my warranty was expired. $135 for a new board is a good idea since once 1 diode blows, the writing is on the wall and the rest are sure to follow but for $135.00 you could build a COB based light or turn it into an Illumitex based panel like I did my old Blackstars.

Having said that it is possible to remove all the screws, find the blown diode, replace it or jump it with a wire, (careful with that solder cause you don't have a lot of room here and it's easy to short it to the heatsink), re-apply thermal paste to every diode, (G1 Blackstars don't use thermal pads but one could use a thermal sheet to avoid this tedious step), then ever so carefully screw all those effing screws back in with out shorting it to the heatsink. Then wait x weeks for another LED to die and repeat the previous steps . For the most part G1 Blackstars don't last too long unless they're used in a perfect environment. Even then they will lose quite a bit of output over time since the LEDs are driven pretty hard, are not high quality and cooling is really an afterthought on them.

From the pictures your repair job might be a bit easier but I can't be 100% sure because I need some better pix of the diodes and heatsink. Get a multimeter. Set it to read DC and start probing. Find the bad diodes(s) and either replace, jump it with a wire or perhaps add a Zener. Or like mentioned before by P build a COB based light with what you have, though again I need to see better pictures to see what you have to work with.

So I've got it all apart and I even removed those couple hundred screws that you mentioned (EF THAT).

I do not want to fix it because it is a highly unimpressive hunk of crap.

I did get them to send me a full spectrum board for free though (after tons of complaining about the heatsink and how shitty they are to their customers) I want to make some DIY lights out of this junk. here are some pics.

Can I do anything with this "heatsink" to make it function as directed, Maybe drill holes in it around the edges and push air though them via fans?

I really want to make some COBs but I want some practice first!

grasscropper · Oct 26, 2014

Al Yamoni said:
So I've got it all apart and I even removed those couple hundred screws that you mentioned (EF THAT).

I do not want to fix it because it is a highly unimpressive hunk of crap.

I did get them to send me a full spectrum board for free though (after tons of complaining about the heatsink and how shitty they are to their customers) I want to make some DIY lights out of this junk. here are some pics.

Can I do anything with this "heatsink" to make it function as directed, Maybe drill holes in it around the edges and push air though them via fans?

I really want to make some COBs but I want some practice first!

I don't have as many screws... my first panel was neat and tidy.. kind of easy to figure out. the 2nd is 1/2 out. 2 drivers, one running each side. it appears the one side has dimmed...and they aren't completely dead. Some diodes are not working however.
Were there no fans in this unit you have? I have 3 fans in each unit.

grasscropper · Oct 26, 2014

Mechmike said:
You really have narrowed it down by switching the drivers. That method is what I use and it has not failed me. You now know that you have all good drivers and one dead string. My bet is that one open diode is responsible for the dead string.

Had this kicking around in my tool box and used it to check each diode. None of them responded which means everyone of them is out? The driver is fine I have determined that. I also used the meter on the connection and the metre lit up. But no light from any diodes. I would think I have to replace all 33 on the centre string of this unit.

FranJan · Oct 26, 2014

Al Yamoni said:
So I've got it all apart and I even removed those couple hundred screws that you mentioned (EF THAT).

I do not want to fix it because it is a highly unimpressive hunk of crap.

I did get them to send me a full spectrum board for free though (after tons of complaining about the heatsink and how shitty they are to their customers) I want to make some DIY lights out of this junk. here are some pics.

Can I do anything with this "heatsink" to make it function as directed, Maybe drill holes in it around the edges and push air though them via fans?

I really want to make some COBs but I want some practice first!

You could do something like put some self adhesive mini heatsinks on the back of the heatsink above each LED and that should help pull heat away some heat from the junction. Polishing the heatsink and using some high grade thermal paste or pads would be a good upgrade and getting better fans would probably be about as much as you could do to improve cooling. G1 Blackstars don't have a lot of upgrade-ability IMO though there might be some smaller COBs out there that could fit the screw spaces and use the drivers. Illumitex LEDs will fit to but I'm not crazy about recommending that road, especially since I don't know anything about the drivers the Blackstar is using. Probably 630mA plus which isn't any good for Illumitex. Best bet IMO is to put it back together when you get the new part, sell it as a rebuilt panel then take that money and contact SupraSL and have him build you a COB light or build your own, they are pretty simple to build. Lots of info around here nowadays. Good Luck.

grasscropper said:
I don't have as many screws... my first panel was neat and tidy.. kind of easy to figure out. the 2nd is 1/2 out. 2 drivers, one running each side. it appears the one side has dimmed...and they aren't completely dead. Some diodes are not working however.
Were there no fans in this unit you have? I have 3 fans in each unit.

Question, are there two heatsinks screwed to the back of where the LEDs are mounted but you took them off? Those, the drivers and the fans are salvageable and you can make some COB lights that will blow the doors off that panel if you fixed it by replacing diodes. And if those heatsinks aren't there it won't be worth repairing IMO. It's just gonna overheat again and burnout more connections. And see those little Zener diodes next to the the LEDs? They are supposed to prevent individual diodes from taking out the whole circuit and to protect other diodes. I don't even know why they use them. I've never seen them work. About the only thing you got going for you is you don't have to put up with all the screws a Blackstar has. I've had LED panels based on that design and I never fixed one when they did the exact same thing as yours. I just took the parts I could and made something better out of them You may want to consider that if you want my opinion.

grasscropper · Oct 26, 2014

FranJan said:
You could do something like put some self adhesive mini heatsinks on the back of the heatsink above each LED and that should help pull heat away some heat from the junction. Polishing the heatsink and using some high grade thermal paste or pads would be a good upgrade and getting better fans would probably be about as much as you could do to improve cooling. G1 Blackstars don't have a lot of upgrade-ability IMO though there might be some smaller COBs out there that could fit the screw spaces and use the drivers. Illumitex LEDs will fit to but I'm not crazy about recommending that road, especially since I don't know anything about the drivers the Blackstar is using. Probably 630mA plus which isn't any good for Illumitex. Best bet IMO is to put it back together when you get the new part, sell it as a rebuilt panel then take that money and contact SupraSL and have him build you a COB light or build your own, they are pretty simple to build. Lots of info around here nowadays. Good Luck.

Question, are there two heatsinks screwed to the back of where the LEDs are mounted but you took them off? Those, the drivers and the fans are salvageable and you can make some COB lights that will blow the doors off that panel if you fixed it by replacing diodes. And if those heatsinks aren't there it won't be worth repairing IMO. It's just gonna overheat again and burnout more connections. And see those little Zener diodes next to the the LEDs? They are supposed to prevent individual diodes from taking out the whole circuit and to protect other diodes. I don't even know why they use them. I've never seen them work. About the only thing you got going for you is you don't have to put up with all the screws a Blackstar has. I've had LED panels based on that design and I never fixed one when they did the exact same thing as yours. I just took the parts I could and made something better out of them You may want to consider that if you want my opinion.

There are two aluminum type grids that I assume are the heat sinks. All the other parts are working. I was wondering what those Zener things were for. The other light does not have those. Yes I am considering doing nothing at the moment and doing some research on diy cob led. And using these for parts.

Mechmike · Oct 26, 2014

grasscropper said:
Had this kicking around in my tool box and used it to check each diode. None of them responded which means everyone of them is out? The driver is fine I have determined that. I also used the meter on the connection and the metre lit up. But no light from any diodes. I would think I have to replace all 33 on the centre string of this unit.

The tester you used is for checking AC. Great for checking household receptacles but not for anything but the AC side of the drivers. You need a multimeter. Even the simplest multimeter can be used. Using the Ohms scale, a good diode will have somewhere around 1.7-2.1 ohms resistance. This is done with the unit unplugged. The one with infinite resistance is open like a blown fuse. Now that I can clearly see the board, it looks like the emitters are probably reflowed on. I have successfully replaced those a few times but it really comes down to caveman finesse. You can always just bypass a bad led.

grasscropper · Oct 26, 2014

Mechmike said:
The tester you used is for checking AC. Great for checking household receptacles but not for anything but the AC side of the drivers. You need a multimeter. Even the simplest multimeter can be used. Using the Ohms scale, a good diode will have somewhere around 1.7-2.1 ohms resistance. This is done with the unit unplugged. The one with infinite resistance is open like a blown fuse. Now that I can clearly see the board, it looks like the emitters are probably reflowed on. I have successfully replaced those a few times but it really comes down to caveman finesse. You can always just bypass a bad led.

Thank you Mike... I will take it apart again and use the wire method as you suggested the first time!!! I should have had it and done that route as well. Its not a big deal to take it apart...

FranJan · Oct 26, 2014

Mechmike said:
Now that I can clearly see the board, it looks like the emitters are probably reflowed on.

I don't think any budget panel is reflowed. Those are the standard Chinese wing type (mystery

) LEDs that are soldered to the circuit board by the +/- terminals with a dab of thermal paste underneath the package at the junction. And they're a bitch to de-solder with a 30 watt iron

.

And grasscropper a multi meter isn't a bad investment. Even a cheap one as long as it can measure DC. Set it to VDC 2000m or 200m and place the respective probes to the positive and negative contacts of the LED and you should get a reading. If you see a negative number sign you've got the probes wrong, no biggie just swap them, and if you get nothing you've found a bad LED. If you get readings for all diodes then it's probably the main connectors to the LED circuit. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. They're just diodes, negative flowing to positive

.

Al Yamoni · Oct 26, 2014

grasscropper said:
I don't have as many screws... my first panel was neat and tidy.. kind of easy to figure out. the 2nd is 1/2 out. 2 drivers, one running each side. it appears the one side has dimmed...and they aren't completely dead. Some diodes are not working however.
Were there no fans in this unit you have? I have 3 fans in each unit.

There are eight fans and four 90w drivers running @480mA

Mechmike · Oct 26, 2014

FranJan said:
I don't think any budget panel is reflowed. Those are the standard Chinese wing type (mystery ) LEDs that are soldered to the circuit board by the +/- terminals with a dab of thermal paste underneath the package at the junction. And they're a bitch to de-solder with a 30 watt iron .

I am honestly not sure whether they are reflowed or not. The last board that I fixed that looked like that one was reflowed. It would certainly be an easier fix with paste under the led. If I were into it, I'd desolder the leads and see for myself.

Mechmike · Oct 26, 2014

I just blew up the best photo of the board in question. I think your're right FranJan. Reflowed leds don't have a big ball of solder on top of the leads. The solder flows between the lead and the board contact so when it's done the leds appear to have very little solder on top of the leads. Just 2 solder points and a dab of paste makes it an easy repair.

grasscropper · Oct 27, 2014

Well I will try to do some repairing here. I have nothing to lose really. It's a learning curve and may teach me how the unit works as a whole. Still considering a 400-600 watt hps and then use these in veg. Not sure yet. Hate making split decisions.

Alpha & Omega · Oct 28, 2014

good thread, very informative. yup those LEDs are a bitch to repair. but all are bang on about how to. etc..

Heres one thing for ya, get a 5v adapter, (phone charger etc..) and strip the wires, find the positive and negative and touch the LED + with the positive and so on.
it will light up at max intensity so don't go looking directly at it, its just a good way to quickly see if the led is working after the soldering.
If you do it with a 12V adapter, you can test strings of 5 LEDs at a time,

Not very scientifical I know, but fun. its amazing just how bright one of those Diodes are.

grasscropper · Oct 28, 2014

Alpha & Omega said:
good thread, very informative. yup those LEDs are a bitch to repair. but all are bang on about how to. etc..

Heres one thing for ya, get a 5v adapter, (phone charger etc..) and strip the wires, find the positive and negative and touch the LED + with the positive and so on.
it will light up at max intensity so don't go looking directly at it, its just a good way to quickly see if the led is working after the soldering.
If you do it with a 12V adapter, you can test strings of 5 LEDs at a time,

Not very scientifical I know, but fun. its amazing just how bright one of those Diodes are.

They are very bright. I had to put sunglasses on to work on it. I didn't let my dog look at it. I will try the adaptor method as well. Very informative. I am learning a lot. Almost convinced I could mcgiver some sort of a diy light myself now knowing what I know. Got a little 40 watt soldering iron from a friend last night. Watched a video on how to solder... very informative... Thanks to all. And keep the info coming as well!

SomeGuy · Oct 28, 2014

my DIY vero thread was designed to help some folks take the leap. maybe it would help.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-led-grow-light-vero-18-economy-light.842794/

It can be a learning curve if you do not posses all the skills needed but you can learn alot AND save some money if you are able to put the time into it.

grasscropper · Oct 28, 2014

SomeGuy said:
my DIY vero thread was designed to help some folks take the leap. maybe it would help.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-led-grow-light-vero-18-economy-light.842794/

It can be a learning curve if you do not posses all the skills needed but you can learn alot AND save some money if you are able to put the time into it.

I went through your thread and I am very impressed. Don't know if I am that handy.. but i'd like to try to hook up one and if I can get things to LIGHT UP, then that's pretty much most of the battle. Money is something I need to save for sure.

grasscropper · Oct 28, 2014

I have had this CP power supply kicking around for some time. I was going to throw it away not too long ago. Can this be utilized for a DIY LED light fixture. I should have saved the metal case and it could have been the housing for the COBs with reflectors! Here's the unit? Is it usable?
Watching a uTube video on how to power LED lights using a PC power supply.

Alpha & Omega · Oct 29, 2014

Eeep! I wouldn't risk it mate, ive been a computer engineer for a looooong time now and the amount of those danged psu's I've replaced over the years when they've blown,., and when they blow, they can go BANG! proper frightener lol.
Especially that one, 500W? for the price of a new one, I wouldn't risk playing about with that, plus...., excuse me for saying but it does look a bit, old and mouldy.
Reminds me to clear out my work room of all me old bits.
Buying proper LED drivers isn't that expensive for a DIY job, loads and loads and loads of DIY experts on here, all could point you to the best place etc..
But imo, I would bother with a pc power supply. Too bulky, noisy, etc,,,

SomeGuy · Oct 29, 2014

grasscropper said:
I went through your thread and I am very impressed. Don't know if I am that handy.. but i'd like to try to hook up one and if I can get things to LIGHT UP, then that's pretty much most of the battle. Money is something I need to save for sure.

Save up and do it right the first time and you will end up happier for sure. Try building a one cob fixture first for practice. :-)

grasscropper · Oct 29, 2014

Agreed then.... I will toss it. DUST it is not mold....It is old... or was old. I did go to SG's link and looked at the parts pricing. Parts look to be cheap. And yes that's what I intended to start with one COB fixture and see how I do. Gives me a project for the winter months. And the winter is long and cold here in Ontario, Canada.

LED Panel 1/2 the lights OUT

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