dsuny drivers

[beaslbob]

In our new tank setup the installer put our dsuny lights in a hood that was shorter with the lights nearer the top. After a week two channels in one panel no longer operate. I presume the long skinny no fan led panel over heated due to lack of ventilation.

Does anyone know of the drivers or other parts that would need to be replaced to fix the two channels?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Are you saying the fans in the top of the fixture were up against, or close to, the roof of the canopy and not able to vent? If this is the case, you'll also need to open up the top of the canopy to allow the fixture to cool


Anyway, you'd need to open the fixture and check those strings that are out.....using a multimeter. Most LED's that I've looked at, the LED's are in series, so that if one is out, the rest are out as well. So my guess, if things got too hot, you "burnt out" one of the LEDs, causing the rest of the string to no longer light.

 

[beaslbob]

Are you saying the fans in the top of the fixture were up against, or close to, the roof of the canopy and not able to vent? If this is the case, you'll also need to open up the top of the canopy to allow the fixture to cool


Anyway, you'd need to open the fixture and check those strings that are out.....using a multimeter. Most LED's that I've looked at, the LED's are in series, so that if one is out, the rest are out as well. So my guess, if things got too hot, you "burnt out" one of the LEDs, causing the rest of the string to no longer light.

thanks
the fixture does not have fans. hence my thought there was not enough circulation.

Will check (ohm? LOL) out the system this week.

the other panel is still operational so I can compare.

Also was looking on rapidled site. I have 6 3w leds in each channel that is out. so hopefully an 18w driver or two may be needed. A couple of blown leds would be easy also.

Thanks.

 

[redfishbluefish]

By chance, are those 6 LED's that are out, is one or more a UV / Purple LED. If so, they blow if you look at them cross-eyed. Again, I'd look at the LED's first. If you suspect one is the problem, simply jump it with a piece of wire....I actually us one of the leads from the multimeter....and see it the rest of the string lights up.

I actually look for volts across the LEDs, but you could also simply test each of them for continuity (ohm setting) without turning the thing on.

 

[beaslbob]

By chance, are those 6 LED's that are out, is one or more a UV / Purple LED. If so, they blow if you look at them cross-eyed. Again, I'd look at the LED's first. If you suspect one is the problem, simply jump it with a piece of wire....I actually us one of the leads from the multimeter....and see it the rest of the string lights up.

I actually look for volts across the LEDs, but you could also simply test each of them for continuity (ohm setting) without turning the thing on.

never though of shorting around the leds. thanks.

not sure of the color but I can get cross eyed all the time.

Was thinking of checking voltage and "ohming" the leds for diode action.

sound like I'm gonna have fun this weekend.

My wife will be really surprised if I fix this. We met long after I was working as an electronic tech and I build heathkit TV's and stuff. So she should be surprised. LOL

 

[redfishbluefish]

@beaslbob , I'm not sure of your history of replacing LEDs, but you will also need thermal compound between the replacement bead and circuit board.....just a very light dab. I've used both Arctic Silver, Arctic Silver Ceramique and Noctua NT-H1.....all good thermal compounds.

And Heathkit gave me a deja vu moment.....an FM radio in the 60's.

Best of luck.....I'm sure you'll get it figured out.

 

[becks]

It most likely was due to ventilation, I have the same lights around a year old and as your aware the whole unit is a heat sink with no fan so it's not good enclosing the unit. You can look at the temperature on the controller by the way to see what it's running at and I think it may even log the highest temperature I can't remember.

 

[beaslbob]

thanks all.

got it out even with the 20 or so screws all salt creaped and corroded. Some I have to grab the head with pliers. LOL

Two counter sunk ~3mm screws holding the ends on I had to drill out.

Found voltages on all for channels.

Tried the shorting around the failed channels to no luck.

bought replacement lights for $229 from ebay. LOL

Am communicating with dsuny who doesn't remember me. LOL

going to unsolder leds and put the bad channel led in a good channel spot. That is of course if the leds don't display standard diode behavior

which me luck., LOL

 

[beaslbob]

FWIW I got two new another brand lights over the tank now. And they will have to be replaced. Didn't cover the tank with dark side both lift and right.

I had returned the dsuny to the tank so now has a good panel and bad panel to check out. Got it disassembled and channel 3 is not on bright constantly. While messing around with the multimeter, I was checking voltages and accidently plugged in the positive lead to the 10a not the vom plug. When I touched a point with the other (black) lead grounded, channel 4 came on. So when I short out a lead to ground all channel 4 leds light up.

So now all leds do light up and my efforts to unsolder the small driver pcb wound up pulling up the pc pad. Kinda like I was doing more damage. LOL

So I have reported this to dsuny 2 days ago with no reply and asked them how much a replacement panel would cost.

Guess I wasn't cut out to the an electronic technician after all. LOL

 

[beaslbob]

update: dsuny agrees that the driver pc is bad. They want $5 for the driver and will throw in the first (of 3) led panel next to the drivers in case that is bad also. Plus some free connectors. and $40 for shipping LOL.

meanwhile, I have ordered a temperature controlled soldering/desoldering station to help with my future repairs. Plus a set of reverse drill stud extractors and a whole bunch of stainless screws with everything from ebay except the dsuny stuff.

Me email reply I asked how much for 10 driver boards so I'll have a spare or perhaps people with the same problem won't have to pay the $40 shipping.

Will see how it goes.

The replacement lights I got don't cover the whole tank with the edges being dark. So one things good about the long skinny dsuny lights was that they lit up the entire tank uniformly.

will keep you posted in case anyone is still reading this thread. LOL

 

[becks]

Yeah they are pretty good, if you find a decent brand driver you could swap them out and replace the leds too.

I downsized and got a maxspect 15k not tested it yet

 

[beaslbob]

Yeah they are pretty good, if you find a decent brand driver you could swap them out and replace the leds too.

I downsized and got a maxspect 15k not tested it yet

The driver is a small flexable pc board actually in the fixture itself. With the controller external to the fixture. So I got a feeling the driver is dsuny. But then I wouldn't really know.

@beaslbob , I'm not sure of your history of replacing LEDs, but you will also need thermal compound between the replacement bead and circuit board.....just a very light dab. I've used both Arctic Silver, Arctic Silver Ceramique and Noctua NT-H1.....all good thermal compounds.

And Heathkit gave me a deja vu moment.....an FM radio in the 60's.

Best of luck.....I'm sure you'll get it figured out.

Heathkit is missed. I build in 1969 the Model airplane radio control, and thumbtac. later a 25" color tv in cabinet. and an old h-89 computer and bought a z-100 under government employees offer. Modified the z-100 motherboard to expand the memory to all of 756k. the 100 had a tendency to lockup. So I troubleshot and found a foil run that looked like it had been cut. It turned out it had not been fully cut and a positive and inverted signal was fighting in the memory circuits. Cut the foil, memory circuits looked fine and it stopped locking up.

Awe the memories.

 

[beaslbob]

Yeah they are pretty good, if you find a decent brand driver you could swap them out and replace the leds too.

I downsized and got a maxspect 15k not tested it yet

I have a feeling the driver is dsuny proprietary.
LEDS all light up just not when they are supposed too. LOL

 

[oreo54]

Sorry to revive this old thread but curious as to what they use to dim these..
The protocol..Some say 0-6V PWM.. but seems odd
any idea?
How about the numbers off the driver chips?

 

[beaslbob]

Sorry to revive this old thread but curious as to what they use to dim these..
The protocol..Some say 0-6V PWM.. but seems odd
any idea?
How about the numbers off the driver chips?

hard to read the numbers. will check at home. only have that picture here at work.