Led problems

kole · #1 05-31-2012, 09:41 PM

Hoping someone can help me out. I have a diy led setup from MOdularled. This is my second build. This build has an inventronics 96watt driver driving 21 royal blue led boards. it is dimmed by my Apex with the VDM miodule. Problem is the blues are having an issue. Last week I noticed 1 of the LEDs on the first board in the string wasn't lighting up but all the rest were oK. Last night I noticed none of the blues were lighting up. I removed the first Led from the circuit and connected the driver to the second led board and the blue light worked. This morning the blue lights came on but when I got home from work the blues are off. My white string of Leds work perfectly as does the first DIY led setup on my other tank. Whats happening any ideas?

martinmcnally · #2 05-31-2012, 11:41 PM

Hey have you tried switching the drivers exchange the white for blue to see if it could be a driver problem? Other than that check all of the connections and make sure the wires are all the way into the housings on the connectors.

Next step would be to test each led board to see if perhaps another one has burned out and is stopping the whole string. Also look closely to make sure there is no salt on the LED boards that would cause a short circuit.

kole · #3 06-01-2012, 01:49 AM

I found another loose connection. Hopefully they will continue to work now. Would you have any idea as to what may have taken out the first led in the string? I hope it was just a faulty led? I think I may order some extra connectors.

kole · #4 01-13-2013, 10:10 PM

This string of leds are continuing to give me problems. The blue string has 21 royal blue boards and the first 5 are not working. I had some salt on a couple of boards so I bypassed them a couple of months ago but now again the first board in the string isn't working. Any ideas? My whites are perfect.

The Grizz · #5 01-13-2013, 10:22 PM

I found with mine that just the littlest bit of salt creep can short out a board really fast. Do you have a splash gaurd on them? Also it doesn't take much of a water splash to bugger up boards.

kole · #6 01-13-2013, 10:36 PM

I was wondering if that was the cause. I don't have a splash guard covering them but there is glass covering half of the tank. I know its probably in your build thread but what did you use for a splash guard? I had the fans blowing air across the leds and I thought this may have been causing salt build up due to the damp air constantly drying on the boards so I reversed the fans. I was thinking it may be another problem because my whites are working and it always seems to be the first in the string of blues to be taken out.

The Grizz · #7 01-13-2013, 10:40 PM

I used some acrylic to cover mine. Are the boards mounted onto a heatsink? If the are the best way to keep the cool is to have the fans blowing down into the top side of the heatsink to keep them cool. If the fan is not keeping the whole heatsink at a decent temp it could also be a heat issues popping the LEDs. I forget what the temp difference is before the led will pop but I know my heatsinks only raise in temp by 3-4 degrees.

kole · #8 01-13-2013, 11:00 PM

I'll check out some acrylic. I used square tubing for the heat sink. Three rows of square tubing with 12 boards per tube 2.5 inches apart. 2 fans expelling warm air. The tubing is a little warm when touched this is after the lights have been on all day. I can add more aluminum to increase the heat dissipation and maybe place a fan on the end of the tube blowing through it.

The Grizz · #9 01-13-2013, 11:05 PM

I really think that its a heat issue now that I know what there mounted on. the cooler the leds are the longer they will last. If you can find some really small fans to put on the end of the tubes to blow threw them it should keep it a lot cooler. when mine have been on all day the heatsinks are cool to the touch cause the fans are on the whole time. Hope this will help with your issues and if you have any other questions let me know.