Exploring a set of very dead solar lights (Patreon)

Published:

2023-10-20 02:54:01

Imported:

2023-10

Content

I get the feeling that these lights have had an apocalyptic overvoltage incident, since every single one of the bulbs is dead with dark blotches visible under the phosphor gel. They are 3V lamps with no resistors inside that have possibly been plugged into the end of a matching 240V string.

The solar panel is pretty big (no sunshine to test it at the moment) and the circuitry is surprisingly complex with a very modular approach. A lot of the reverse engineering time was spent hunting for elusive datasheets.

The cells are currently under test to find out their true capacity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ1E9O6onDM

Files

Dead solar lights.

The random black dots in the dead lamps makes me think they've had more than a simple overcurrent experience, especially as the solar unit has a current regulator set for 220mA (about .7W at 3V) meaning that a single lamp would handle the current on its own. Thanks to the wonders of zero electrical standards the lighting loom on this string of lights is full compatible with one used for 120/240V lights. That makes me think that someone without proper electrical knowledge has tried to extend a higher voltage set with this solar string and in doing so, blown every single lamp. They have then probably returned the set they destroyed as being "faulty". It's interesting that the phosphor gel covered LEDs actually break high current in a controlled manner like a fuse without exploding. Previous tests have shown that they are almost boring when overvolted. It's likely that the gel contains the fault in a controlled manner without letting a metal arc form from the failing tracks and bond wires. There is a single chip solution for powering LEDs from a single lithium cell, but in this instance the designer has gone with a fairly complex circuit using some novel components to achieve a more customisable result. The large solar panel looks promising. I just need some sunshine to test it. The 18650 lithium cells are each marked 1800mAh with a date code of 2021 and are branded Yueyu. If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- https://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty. #ElectronicsCreators