LED Panel 1/2 the lights OUT

I have a 300 watt LED panel and one side isn't working. I'd like to take it apart and see what is going on in there. I got it off e-bay and there's a 3 year warranty, but I don't think it is worth my time sending it back etc. Can anyone give me advise to determine what could be wrong and if I can get proper parts to repair on my own. I am female and while I am quite handy I am not adept at the science of how these lights work...I don't want to sound stupid.. so please go easy on me..

most likely a driver failure. Or a diode fried. If you Volt meter or multimeter you can figure it out pretty quick. Supra, Mr Flux, SomeGuy, Guod, Stardust Sailor, Churchaze, And more people in forgetting can help you better than I can

Thanks for the input... I will attempt to take it apart. I guess a driver is easier to replace than the diodes. I don't know if I could solder but I do have a soldering gun!

Open it up and take a picture to show everyone but if you want to go it yourself see if it has multiple drivers and circuits, which from what you're saying it should. You should be able to swap the drivers, (please make sure it's not the fan driver btw). If the section that's now out is different then it's a driver problem, pretty simple fix, otherwise it's a diode problem or a loose/broken connection, which then means it's multimeter time. Certain panel designs, like Blackstars, are a bitch and 3/4s when it comes to replacing diodes so you may not want to bother. Best is to try to send it back really. Sometimes they'll just mail you a new panel so that's worth a shot. Good Luck.

Ok I will open it up and get some photos. Just won't have time until the weekend as I am working. Hopefully jointly we can determine the issue and it's an easy fix.

Yeah like fran said, swap the plugs on the drivers and see what happens. I've had a bad diode and just tried bridging around it. More diodes kept blowing one after the other and I got sick of fucking with it. After this happened on 2 blackstar panels, I wouldn't tell my worst enemy to buy one.

Yeah, I am thinking about buying a 400 or 600 watt HPS. As I don't want to run into these issues again if these LED's are toast. I will take a look inside and see if I can muck about with it. Will post pics when I do it.

Sorry to hop on OP, but I found this thread and I can see that TubeAndJar made a comment about two shitty blackstars, which is what I have atm. :/

Anyway I've troubleshooted them down to knowing that the lights that come on don't change around depending on which power supply they're hooked to. I have a multimeter but I don't know much about it..

Am I doomed?

It is hard to help peeps trouble shoot online honestly. But like Hyroot said it is really probably a driver. either that or they had them in series and some leds toasted and then the driver toasted the rest. So many variables.

As a side note I would love to get my dirty little hands on some broken led lights...LOL Turn those panel cases into cob machines..

Al Yamoni said:

Sorry to hop on OP, but I found this thread and I can see that TubeAndJar made a comment about two shitty blackstars, which is what I have atm. :/

Anyway I've troubleshooted them down to knowing that the lights that come on don't change around depending on which power supply they're hooked to. I have a multimeter but I don't know much about it..

Am I doomed?

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OK so it's a connection or diode problem from what you're saying. BS's aren't the easiest to fix so before you begin, and if it's a real Blackstar, have you talked to the people from Gotham Hydroponics before you start replacing and/or removing things? It can be fixed but is a pain in the ass.

FranJan said:

OK so it's a connection or diode problem from what you're saying. BS's aren't the easiest to fix so before you begin, and if it's a real Blackstar, have you talked to the people from Gotham Hydroponics before you start replacing and/or removing things? It can be fixed but is a pain in the ass.

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I have emailed gotham about the warranty as well as lighthouse hydro where I purchased it from. I think it's a Chinese hunk of junk. There's hot glue splattered all over the inside of this thing.

sunnygrowman said:

Check this company's Heat cooling system http://www.ecosunlite.com/html_info/FAQ.html

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Yeah, that's the heat sink that I have! (Shitty competitors flat aluminum garbage)

I'm sure that the heat sink is the culprit with these lights failing. There is no way that this thing dissipates heat properly being so flat and thin. Where are the ridges!?

sunnygrowman said:

Oh , its heat system can cool 300W LED light heat ???

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Apparently, no it cannot. I took it apart very carefully. This thing is simple, I didn't realize. Makes me think that my issues are directly due to the quality of this fine "heatsink".

sunnygrowman said:

The heat cooling system is very important for LED light products , what's more its led chips quality , led driver quality . If their heat cooling is not that good , it's a big problem .

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Makes sense. I should break into the LED GL biz. I', so sick of these clown shoes products! I have never used HPS because they are too hot for me to ever want to deal with. That said I still have a grow panel pro that I am going to crack open and see if the strip it has out on it is just a controller/driver or whatever. That thing has a sweet heatsink. Thanks for all of the knowledge presented in a palpable manner everyone. I have so much to learn.

Anyhoo, this has definitely helped me think out a possible plan of action.

FranJan said:

OK so it's a connection or diode problem from what you're saying. BS's aren't the easiest to fix so before you begin, and if it's a real Blackstar, have you talked to the people from Gotham Hydroponics before you start replacing and/or removing things? It can be fixed but is a pain in the ass.

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They replied, and of course said that they don't care about my problems, and as it falls, apparently they care not for the customer either.

$135 +shipping for a new 500w board and they claim that it will solve my issues (I told them that I swapped the cords around and the same lights are out.)

You say that it will be a PITA, being that I am fairly competent (maybe not as much as I think.) do you think that it could be worth it to try to get this thing going again on my own? Rather than paying the $150 or whatever dollar amount they come up with.

Scrape the leds off the aluminum

Hole saw a circle

Mount a arctic silver 11 or other CPU cooler over the hole

Get a matching driver and cob. Maybe 4 cobs or so..

Use the existing fan power supply for the fans

Enjoy the best lighting available.

I wouldn't bother fixing it, it'd probably just break again

Positivity said:

Scrape the leds off the aluminum

Hole saw a circle

Mount a arctic silver 11 or other CPU cooler over the hole

Get a matching driver and cob. Maybe 4 cobs or so..

Use the existing fan power supply for the fans

Enjoy the best lighting available.

I wouldn't bother fixing it, it'd probably just break again

View attachment 3278928
View attachment 3278929

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You're a motherfucking G my friend. (Excuse the French, I'm just a diy whore and get excited.)

So I would be using the existing aluminum and the existing LED's? Can I use the existing power sources and the fans as well? I just learned about COB's so I'm still in question mode. Time to go find a nice tutorial on RIU. Do you know of one or two that you like as a design better than others? I want to make one of these things as efficiently as possible.

It looks like the led board is screwed down virtually around every led. That suggests they used a silicone thermal pad between the sink plate and the board. If that's the case, all you need do is de-solder the burnt led and replace it with a new one. It's likely that you have only one led out which will kill the whole string. To determine which one it is you can power up the board and very carefully jumper around each led. When the board lights up you will have found the culprit. The fix should be relatively easy but tedious. Try not to over tighten or lose any screws! If you don't know what color you need you can just use a warm white chinese 3 watt led. Real cheap on Ebay.