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Fixing a favourite solar garden light.
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- Опубликовано: 24 мар 2016
- This light is one of my chunkier and brighter solar garden lights, so I was a bit disappointed when it stopped working. This video is how I traced down the fault and then ended up making it better with a nicer colour of LED.
"hooookay there's a spider there" and instantly touches the fucking thing *shudders*
+Max Beefsteak When taking apart garden LED lights, you always find ~3 spiders, among other bug webs, etc. Super dirty, too. Taking apart 3 really cheap older lights for the RGB leds, batteries, and solar panels wasn't too fun.
This chap is like the Bob Ross of electronics.
Please keep making videos Clive. I very much enjoy them, specifically your humour.
"this might be full of spiders"
-gets my hopes up-
opens it and nothing 😕
I wanted to hear a scream 😁
Awesome video.....as usual.
I'm surprised at you Clive, not making your own garden lights, but on the other hand you do mod them to make them better, Yeh ok.
Even with amazing 50 minutes of clive today, I can't get enough of your content, haha. I've taken to re-watching some videos..
Nice fix =D But would you mind showing the backyard, showing the light in its usual position? I really dont mind only seeing you at the bench, but would be fun to see your lights in the garden as well =D See how much it lights up and so =)
If you dont want to its ok, of course, just an idea =)
+Chris Fredriksson There's not a huge amount of lighting in the garden. Just random test lights.
+bigclivedotcom - Alright, but still, if possible and if you'd like, it would be fun to see the light in question tested back in its place so that we can see how much or little it lights up.
I'm really not complaining or anything, but it would be fun just as an ending part of the video. Right now it feels like you leave us hanging with.. How does it really look out there in the garden when it gets dark? =D
Maybe you just dont want to share it and just keep the warmth and cosy feeling of the light all to yourself? ;) hehe
Anyhow, thanks for the reply and really, no complaints at all, just an idea and it would be interesting =)
+Chris Fredriksson That would be cool to see!
Your garden must already contain about 1000 solar lights :). You should take a night photo...
DiodeGoneWild I too want a tour!
Thanks to your video have just fixed a solar light! I am going to get the other three from the bin and have a go at fixing them too.
I bought 16 solar lawn lights. 1 of the 16 would not come on. after further investigation, I found if I push on the unit from the back the light came on. Dismantled the unit and found they make their connection via springs from the light, and should make contact with the touch plate (solder) on the board. One of the springs was bent so I straightened it out. As covered the solar plate/panel the light came on. Re-assembled the unit and put it back in the lawn. Tested during the middle of the day, but the light comes on with my hand completely over the solar plate/panel. Thank you for your video.
Surprising (or not) that so often it's just a corroded switch.
It's fun to see how how many seasons you can keep your favorites going.
Thank you.
Adoring your lovely accent 😊
We call them alligator clips here across the pond 😁
In Australia we are built tough
The spiders aren't too bad until you go north anyway. I don't see that many in Melbourne. Too cold for them I guess.
If I fixed it, I would have stuck a spare CREE XM-L2 led into it or one of the newer XHP LEDs into it even if it is entirely overkill! Running LEDs at lower than rated current will increase their efficiency, and for CREE LEDs, they can achieve over 200 lumens per watt at low currents!
I worked at a second hand store years ago, We got some solar lights in one time witch did not work.
So I took them apart to check the batteries.
When one was opened it was Full of ants and mud, and it all fell out all over my lap, So i yield like a little girl.
Good times lol.
+TruckingCrazzy - Awesome! =D
Great video Clive. Thought I had some weird obsession in trying to get a couple of these to work and now see I'm not alone?
The ones I have are amazing (after having tried a couple other brands). They're Harbor Breeze and I know I should know better but they were a gift. They have the LiFePO4 14430 batteries and have been in service continuously for close to 3 years now here in the NE US. Only in the past couple months have I noticed a couple have weakened. I replaced the batteries but they don't seem to charge back up fully even on a cloudless day in full sun. Put a fresh battery in and they're fully bright.
So my question, for anyone, is can the solar cell on top die? Because that's the only thing I can point to as being weak. I know that rooftop solar cells have limited lifespans and maybe I'm seeing this on a smaller scale?
Thanks again!
I've fixed a lot of these myself. Besides simple things like the battery is no longer good, the most common cause of failure seems to be bad solder joints. The solder joint quality is horrible! Also, the switch can go bad. I usually take the switch out of the circuit at that point. Look for bad solder joints everywhere! I had one under the glue where the LED was soldered. Take a picture, or write down where wires go. They break off easily as you are looking at it.
Yes! That's my biggest problem. The solder break so easily! I'm trying to reattach by solder, but there's a microscopic amount of wire at the end to do so. So I'm cutting away some insulation, took a break to look for videos .. so far none address he solder issue EXCEPT FOR YOUR COMMENT
I have the same light as you, with the same issue! LOL! Liked and subscribed!
I like the idea of a LiFePO4 cell rather than the usual cheap NiCd cell.
On the other hand, we can get a cheap one for US $1 and use it for an indoor night light, or harvest the solar panel, cell, LED, and circuitry for other projects.
great video and i am surprised to see a lithium cell in a garden light
Just remember, Australia even has a mammal with poisonous stinger so it is not just the spiders, snakes and jellyfish that wish you pain and suffering.
If it helps, I know more of my countrymen/women (Australians) who are cared of mice then snakes or spiders.
Just because a few friendly natives want to kill you is no reason to ever worry about them. Spiders are often cute little critters and not all of them are poisonous.
+Sean N Is it the Drop Bears that have the poisonous stinger? :(
+bigclivedotcom No need for poison from a drop bear, they will maul you to death long before poison had a chance to take effect.
The male platypus is rocking two poisonous spurs on its back limbs, appears to be primarily to fight rivals when it is time to get kinky.
+bigclivedotcom LOL, nah, the drop bears have been outfitted with quite a decent set of branch shredding claws, dare i say, they look like a fist of small velociraptor toes :) and even though everything is poisonous/trying to kill you, you don't need to worry about anything small enough to get into that light :) a funnel-web spider with a body the size of a squash ball is another story all together :S you should prob run away squealing like a lil gal
nice and easy. cheers my friend
This guy is like the Ashens of the electronic side of youtube
+Kerbd I think Stuart and Clive must make few videos together.
+ANDIY GreenGanjaMan I agree
I really love these simple solar lights. I bought some just for the sake of getting solar cells.
and they're rubbish too. . The broken ones I pulled apart had the solar panel wires glued to the panel itself with some sort of conductive glue.
Alas my bottle of magic tears from the last Tibetan yak that strolled by is empty. sigh . .
Richard. They sell these cheap you'll things at the dollar stores here in the US
Im australian and every goddamn time i pull apart something from outside, check the letterbox, open the shed, lift the hood on the barbeque there is a spider in there.
I wish you were my neighbor! I have been unable to fix my lighted solar windmill.
Ca you do a video about one of these cheap ebay camera endoscopes?
I added new batteries the light comes on but turns off after 3 minutes in the garden. Out of 4 very nice solar lights from Costco, only 1 is reliable. You sound like you might be from Aberdeen area.
Glasgow.
Thanks for the video. Im having an odd issue with my garden light that maybe you could make a suggestion to fix... opened up the solar light that is not working and it is only working when I physically touch the circuit board where the ground wire is connected at (blue wire which I am guessing is the ground). The light will only come on while I am touching it. The connection itself is not loose bc I can touch anywhere on the circuit board that leads to the grounding circuit and the light will come on. To confirm...this is the circuit board on the solar panel itself. Not the circuit board that the battery connects to. I tried re-soldering the wire for a better connection but NOPE. I have 3 more of the same light and they all work except this one. Any ideas what might be wrong in my case or how to fix (other than chopping my finger off and taping it to the circuit board?) :)
..... Well done Mate, enjoying all your informative & entertaining productions. Mate, it's only 'DROP BEARS' & 'BUNYIPS' you have to worry about if you visit Australia. (But don't bring the Hideous Creature on your right hand at 1:46).
Clive there's a bug on your hand at 1:45!
I put on some over ear headphones once that were so full of house roaches I could hear thousands of legs scratching the plastic. I reflex laser hummed them as hard as I could literally without thinking and the exploded with a roach mushroom cloud upon impact... I hate thinking about it every time I remember it.
Has a bug crawl up his right hand at 1:45
yes, good eye
That wasn't from the light, that was a flying insect that landed on him.
How odd that an led died at such low levels of current, never mind, its happy now :-D
At least it wasn't an ants nest inside, like one of the lights we had lol.
I had one in my game cam a few years back, that's an experience you never forget
OMG he does waffle on a bit doesn't he,mind I have never knew a Scotsman not to waffle..:-))
Lol the bug at 1:45 on his right hand
do you have a link to where you got that one from?
all the ones I've found in Australia are either AA or AAA shitty ones.
John Douglas basically sounds like Dollar Tree ones here in America and 99 cent only stores to
How do you know which voltage panel to get. I need a 1 7/8 x 2 7/8 garden light panel but they offer 2.5, 3, 5 or 6 volt mini panels. The rechargeable batteries are AAA 1.2v and it takes 3 of those to light the light. The light doesn't have anything written on it. The old panel reads: PCB-03210A. 0550 and it is the dimensions above.
If I only knew if I should buy a 5v then I could diy my old solar garden lights. Please advise. Thanks
In Oz, we don't really worry too much about spiders. I've been stung / bitten by paper wasps and big arse ants way more times than spiders.
+bigclivedotcom Cliv, I'm a bit stupid and would appreciate some help. You sometimes mention "using a bench power supply to test discharge of blah blah". Are you literally connecting to , and then discharging it? Is it a giant load resistor setup, or something with electronics?
Any recommendations?
+TheJohn8765 It's a variable voltage bench power supply with adjustable current limiting. I'm not going to recommend the one I have, since it has a software or hardware issue that causes it to crash and send out random voltages. It seems to be quite common with these units. Try looking on eBay for a bench power supply, there are lots of options.
bigclivedotcom "*it has a software or hardware issue that causes it to crash and send out random voltages*" Really? lol! (sorry) Is yours a 12-30v DC model, or a "mains" version? I've seen the DC models for not much money, but I suspect the AC models are a fuckton more.
+TheJohn8765 This is the dodgy one. Apparently sold under various brands, and they all do the same thing.
www.maplin.co.uk/p/80w-switched-mode-dc-multi-voltage-slim-bench-power-supply-n27gg
bigclivedotcom Ah. Actually, that's one of the ones I was looking at (going by the look). Shit. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since they're all cheap crap. Maybe I'll get lucky and win one of EEVblog's super-duper ones??
Wow, where did you get this one? I've only seen the ones with 600mAh crappy AA NiMh batts which are prone to UV and rust damage. Ok fixed them up with clearcoat which seems to protect it but this one looks nice and seems to have a good panel.
Wow 600mAh ours (oz) are down to 200mAh now. You don't know how lucky you are:-) LiFePo cells are perfect for this job, I'm getting to be a fan of the little AA (14500) ones they have the advantages of Li-ion but are more robust and forgiving of charging mishaps etc.
+Nic Green well it says 600mAh, but those are Chinese mAh's ;-) Haven't seen the LiFePo cells here.
3.2V and a led sounds really nice. Current goes down when the Voltage goes down. Wonder how long a single low power led could burn (does it still burn?) on these cells.
1:46 there is a tiny little Spider walking on your right hand, and you didnt notice it! D:
+Pryside He's so metal, he can joke about being scared of spiders, and tend to his at the end of the day.
On the road to 100 k.
+John Gotts It's not long since I found out that RUclips gives out the framed play buttons at 100K subscribers. I'm actually quite intrigued now. It's almost like the equivalent of the metallised records that used to be given out by the music industry.
+bigclivedotcom
You would be lucky if you get it within a year of reaching 100 000 and applying for it, though!
Love the videos, it's quite refreshing to come across a channel with low production value again.
I've replaced new boards in many things and soldered parts onto my mothers solar . But which particular thing other than sensor in solan panel helps switch it off during the day ? My 2 particular ones simce our bits had them stopped working it's not battery its because they are perm. On . Any suggestions other than replacing driver etc?
Most use the voltage from the solar panel to detect dusk.
Wish you were my neighbor. I have quite a few solar lights out. I ended up giving up.
Call me if you need service to the lights . Yes true
so Clive is this a "pound land" special? or Ebay? I've never seen a solar garden light with a lithium battery before. Must last for ages on that battery?
I think it's a Wilko brand unit from the local supermarket.
I have a solar powered garden fairy that the light stays on and turns off when I put my hand over the panel, any ideas?
Maybe needs a new battery.
Can I ask where you bought this solar lamp?
The one I'm working on only now works with a standard non rechargeable battery in place. Anyone concerned this would be a fire hazard to use the regular battery? It's an indoor led strand btw.
Awesome eire.
hi got solar light, and when it is in sun the light comes what do you suggest.
Got my solar light working but doesn’t go off? Any ideas
May be a faulty solar panel. Possibly corroded contacts.
@@bigclivedotcom cheers for getting back to me, I will check this out.
Fascinating! I was thinking of converting my solar crackle globe RGB LED garden lights to 12v DC. I want to do this because I have uneven sunlight so my crackle globes don’t light up for even lengths of time. Any advice for a novice, BigClive?
Could you please check out some cheap Chinese multimeters, I'd really love to see how accurate they are.
+bubblemanpie if its digital, then they easily meet their specification, digitals are pretty amazing and consistent at any price, its safety that is the compromise (and build quality) but the measurements are done on chip and are not a problem. i have a 30 year old taiwanese budget meter, it still easily within its specs today, although its relegated to workshop general purpose meter now as its not cat rated for any safety.
With no desire to terrify you, all spiders are venomous. It just seems that British spiders all have pretty weak venom and at most hurt as much as a bee sting. I would like to know why tropical spiders have a more dangerous venom, but without any real knowledge I'd assume its to do with what they eat, and therefore what the venom is made from and used for.
1:46 Refugee is escaping from your garden light probably to Calais...
don't tell me that it's euro truck simulator 2 irl
No, no... It's Call of Social Benefits: Modern Socialism 2... Coming this fall.
+Electester OK...
+7367Network RUclips Just playing. But however... Europe gotta problem.
1:25 ---- Thanks
what did you use to test the led
Hi I know it's just a cheap fairy light that was left here by the previous owner but I'm bored and I stripped it down because they aren't working. The battery is flat. And when I put the panel up to the light and take reading from battery holder terminals it's read 0. How do the panels fail? It's glue on obviously so I'm prob not going to bother fixing it and it's only a £6.95 thing from b&m but I'm intrigued how something that just doesn't move and just stays there fails. I took the reading from direct back of panel as well as battery holder and still 0
Quite often the solar panels corrode with water at their back.
LiFePO4 is actaully Lithium Iron Phosphate :P
What's the best way to remove the white stuff covering the tops of the solar panels after a few years? I've been using sand paper and whilst it does seem to help remove the worst of it there are still hard to remove coatings covering the panel. Its almost like the plastic breaking at the surface or some kind of limescale build up.
The resin covering the panels tends to degrade from UV exposure. I'd guess a T-cut like compound might remove the worst from the front, but will not prevent the deep discolouration.
Thanks, I'll give it a try. Not too bothered about the color just as long as it still allows a good amount of light to pass and into the cells. Fighting off shadows is hard enough at high latitudes!
Any ideas why a solar light would be on during the day and how to repair it? It seems like the sensor for night/day is not functioning properly.
That usually indicates that either the on/off switch is corroded (just short it out) or that the battery has dried out and gone high resistance.
Alligator Clips!
2:00 Of course there's a cob: you just poked at it like twenty-three seconds ago.
I've got a broken solar light - the LED lights up using my multi-meter diode mode, the Solar panel is putting out 2-3 volts under my work lamp, the battery has 3.3 volts, but I'm only getting 3-4 milli-volts from the circuit board that goes to the LED. Bad board or am I missing something? I'm expecting that when I cover the solar panel, it should light the LED.
If the battery is a NiMh cell it should only be showing about 1.5V so it sounds like it might be worth replacing it with a new one. If it's a favourite light you can replace the PCB and cell with one from a cheap pound/dollar store light.
@@bigclivedotcom Thanks for the response! Checked and it's Lithium ion and seems to be within specs. Great idea about using board from dollar store. I'll check it out. Love your videos.
I just automatically click your videos, without even reading the title...
+Al-Moutasm Bellah Rajab
I usually hit the like button without watching first, but yeah, Clive's videos are always worth the time
I tried to put the solar cell a bit farther away with longer wires and once I have everything resoldered the light will not go out. There is no manual switch involved
+Robert Peterson Did you solder directly onto the solar cell? They are very easy to damage.
bigclivedotcom the solar cells not connected that's how it goes off the turn on the light
I wish you were my neighbor.
Perhaps you might have a fix for a problem I'm having Any idea why in a set of solar string lights every second light is lit? If I switch polarity of the wires, then the lit bulbs go out and the previously unlit will light? Thanks in advance
That sounds like the chasing lights where the LEDs are alternate polarity and the circuit swaps polarity to chase them.
@@bigclivedotcom thanks for your reply. Think you may have solved my problem. I salvaged these lights from another set a while back, and it's possible they were a chaser set. I'm now trying to use with just a constant light panel. If I understand rightly, the lights are fine, I' just have the wrong type of controller?
Hello from the USA home of SMA. I like solar lights and have one just like yours. My problem is that the light stays on and bye night fall the battery is not fully charged. Do you know what controls when the light comes on? I don't see a photocell.
The output from the solar panel is used to sense light level. If the light is masked byu leaves and branches or other shadow casting things then it will come on too early.
What I meant was that as soon as there is enough power to turn the light on it comes on. Even in full sunlight.
@@billburkart9087 Somertimes if the battery is dead the solar panel will light the LEDs directly.
Faulty light sensor. Idk why this guy doesn’t know that, like 5 people have asked him. I was hoping to find wear it’s located
i put 2v new cell on the old gutter lights and used sillicon to seal then now there back brighter than ever i have a security light dosent seem to hold charge or not charge clive any ideas ?
Corrosion around the solar cells is common.
My lights are always full of insects I live in Aus but the worst I have had is a harmless house spider
I reckon ant nests are the worst . .
Nice troubleshooting and repair exercise, but I'm of the opinion that these Chinese-made solar garden lights are a waste of money. I've never seen one last more than two years. After replacing or repairing a number of them, I've come to the conclusion that despite the higher initial outlay, a mains powered or low-voltage lighting system is cheaper and easier to maintain in the long run.
Just take it apart and do some waterproofing before using it, fully charge the battery from time to time and bring it inside during winter and it will last for a long time.
ted clubber lang Just buy a low-voltage system or mains-powered system, NO waterproofing required, NO external recharging required, it DOES NOT need to be taken inside during the winter, and it will still last a really, really long time and will still be going strong long after the pampered solar lights have landed on the rubbish heap.
+Milosz Ostrow Well, the big weakness of that is wiring. Wiring must be installed in the ground, and repaired when it's damaged. A suitable outlet is needed for power. Personally I prefer easy and quick, cheap and cheerful. Throw them away every year and buy new. I'm not going to make it hard on myself...no pun intended.
I have solar decking lights that only work in daylight they only have an on off switch no adjustments I've cleaned the solar panel.Any ideas why its doing this?
The two most common issues are either the on/off switch corroding (it can be bypassed) or the rechargeable battery needs replaced.
@@bigclivedotcom thankyou I have changed the batteries but I'll try some more.
My solar light wouldn't work because the wires from the led bulb became unattached. Is it worth trying to fix something like that.
If it's just corroded leads on the LED then you can fit a new one.
No corrosion at all. The soldered connections just came undone. I'm just not exactly sure where the connections from the led bulb go. It looks as though only 1 connection was soldered and the other was free. Does that sound logical?
Both would need connected. There may be a clue with holes through the solder in the PCB. The LED needs to go round the right way.
if spidy got across the led he would have been fried
I have just looked in the garden and binned all solar lights as they only last one year before they are ready for the bin just China junk I don't think I will bother this year you must have lots of time to keep repairing
No, the first one I worked on I just unsoldered the wires from the board added length to them and re soldered to the board . The next two I worked on I cut the wires midway and soldered in the splice. All have the same bad .result
Whooa. No idea what language you’re talking. I love smart people
I want to run some 3v led lights (4 of them) off of a 4x AAA battery box. How would I do this without frying the lights? What resistors would I need? (If I do need them).
You can tell I'm new to all this haha
+X-FLIGHT101 I'd suggest a resistor value of 150 ohm (quarter watt) and also suggest using one per LED.
+bigclivedotcom thanks for your help! How can I tell what ones are 150ohm?
+X-FLIGHT101 Colour bands brown, green, brown. (And then silver or gold at the other end.)
+bigclivedotcom thanks :)
how much was this?
Bought a set of 8... One solar light isn't lighting. The battery works fine ( tried it another lite).. Is there anyway fixing it to light?
two inductors in parallel lowers the inductance apparently 🤔🤷♂️
I'm an Aussie and I haven't been eaten by anything yet.....they must prefer fresh meat from overseas...
RIP LED
+Sirus *sad mlg airhorns*
+PianoVideosJustForU (PVJFU) noot noot noot noot NOOT
+ted clubber lang Don't you mean, noot noot noot NOOT? ;-)
When you look for help But don't understand anything!!😢
For Reelz though!
Actually I have to say that you leave them alone and they leave you alone, unless its mating season then some snakes can get a bit nasty, I had one Eastern King Brown snake lenth of 7 feet chase me for about 600 feet before he got bored but I dumped my school bag so I had a better speed behind me. Doing mechanics as I got older became a bit of a pain as all sorts fall onto you while your under a car.
Not 100% sure if there's a spider in there...
Did anyone notice a tiny bug running on his hand at 1:46?
eek, crawley thing on your hand at 1:47
+C101horse I was just looking at comments if someone else noticed as well. :D
Mine works with new battery just will not turn off with light. Battery was dead
That suggests a faulty solar panel. Probably corrosion.
So junk it. Other 5 just needed new battery use my bc700 charger and 3 came up dead.
And do you have your RUclips play button yet Clive? Since your subscriber count has rocketed recently
+SuperSonicSpeedGuy No. Apparently it takes ages for them to contact you about it.
tylko akumulator a nia zwykła bateria 😎
most of those bitey things try to avoid you.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🇹🇷
Something just walked on Your right hand in 1:46, we are doomedruclips.net/video/bcSwIOBmfdM/видео.html
+T0NGPU A hibernating bug that just got a rude awakening when I dismantled its solar hotel.
+bigclivedotcom With all the build-up I kinda hoped at least for a domestic house spider ;) Love the channel, now I know what cheap stuff from china should I get to dismantle fot parts!
+bigclivedotcom lol ur so funny!
Would make more sense to just spend $2 on a new one.
+Barry Jones This was quite an expensive one.
i have the 19th like :D