Hello!
I really need some help with bypassing a 8 function led controller. I bought 3 sets of christmas icicles and they came with there annyoing controller. I just want them to be always steady on, no flicker, no blinks etc.
Can you guys please point me which contacts should i solder or what should i remove?
This is my controller. It's kind of simple, short and has no cicrucits on the back, only the function button.

 

Wouldn't one of the 8 functions be always on?

 

hi Robert,
That Black blob is a controller IC , called a COB. Chip On Board.
Drawn a ring around it.
E

 

Sadly I assumed wrong things without testing. It seems @sghioto was right about the controller, it remember the last function even after I disconnect the string. I watched a lot of videos on those controllers knowing im going to buy lights that have such controllers and I was so eager to resolve the problem that I didnt even test to see if the problem actually exist. I am so sorry for bothering you guys with my ignorance. Thanks you tho for be kind and helpful, happy holidays.

 

Welcome RobertGHD to AAC. Hey! We all make mistakes. None of us think you're ignorant. It's just one of those silly things we sometimes overlook. Like a friend of mine who called me and asked help changing his timing belt because the car wouldn't start. Don't know why he was convinced it needed a timing belt, but there at his work we changed it. The car still didn't start. So I asked "Do you have gas?" To which he looked at the gas gauge and said "Um - I don't think so." Sometimes we just overlook the most simple thing. Probably because we expect the solution to be more complicated.

Again, welcome to AAC.

 

Your only option is to permanently wire the lights to the supply , so is it mains powered or battery?

 

Fast forward some hours, the light actually keep the last setting only for about one hour without electricity. Since I want to put them on the roof, thats kind of problematic so I can still use some help. @Dodgydave they are using 220 ac but I dont think I can power them directly, I will need some assembly of diodes in order to rectify the current. If anyone has clues about any simple bypass of this controller please let me know.

I found this on some thread, but i would like to know if it applies for me too. Im kind of tiered of blowing up fuses.

"Big W controller for 160 LED set. (PCB marked DM-K1.1) Join the three solder pads together as shown by the red lines.

Important - This mod will make the set light up steady, but it appears that the supplied plugpack is a switch-mode type and dimming the mains input (e.g. with a 240vAC Light-O-Rama or other branded controller) could see the release of the magic smoke! "

 

I found this on some thread, but i would like to know if it applies for me too. Im kind of tiered of blowing up fuses.

Probably not. Doesn't look like it matches up with your unit.
Can you provide a full image of both sides of the pc board?

 

Probably not. Doesn't look like it matches up with your unit.
Can you provide a full image of both sides of the pc board?

The other side is blanck, no circuits.

 

Take better pics of your PCB inside .

 

Ironically, there is a conversation on Amazon of many people who ordered 8 function lights this year and were sent single function lights! There is a manufacturer who shipped the wrong item.

 

 

Looking close to it I can see the following: 2 cables going to -, once of which is main power plug, 2 wires going to +, one of which is main power plug. Then one cable going to each of the following 0, 3 and 2. I tried connecting a 1,5V battery to the main plug to see and I can read the voltage between + and - and between -/+ and 0. I tried pushing the mode button to see if I can get current to the other solder point but it doesnt work. I think it would work with 220 ac but I am not confident enough to test it on 220V since i got shaky hands. My theory is that if I solder 0,3,2 and the +/- togheter it should work always on steady. Am I wrong?

 

On some other forum someone suggested me to connect pins 2 and 3 with the bridge rectifier as suggested by the yellow arrows in the photo attached. At some closer inspection I found out that out of the 5 wires that run along the string 4 of them run in parallel with the led wire, and the 5th one has the led connected in series to the pin number 2.

 

What power plug is it ?

 

What power plug is it ?

If you reffer to the power plug that you plug into the as socket it is a stanrd eu plug I think.
Meanwhile I found out that the other set of wires connected to the AC in contact are actually running along the entire length of the string and are used for a female power plug in order to connect another string of lights to it. So my string uses only the wires connected to the pins 0,3 and 2, out of wich wire 2 has the led connected in series.

Those are the yellow arrows I was talking about. I forgot to post the image last time.

 

Looks like the lights are connected to each output 2,3,4 and Posative of the bridge rectifier, so the lights will be pulled down to the Negative , I would say you could connect them directly across the output of the bridge rectifier , but with a series resistor to limit the current.

How many LEDs are on one string ?

 

Those are the yellow arrows I was talking about. I forgot to post the image last time.

View attachment 224262

That looks like the solution you need. The two left hand terminals are the power in lines. The controller is only connected at the "2" "3" and "0" pins, and the rectified power thru the "MB105" (bridge rectifier) and the "104" resistor and the brown smoothing capacitor. The controller under the black blob must have some sore of power regulator, which I have seen (and used) in some PIC devices.

Anyway, all the controller can do is either supply a small voltage/current or ground a small voltage/current from "0" to either/both "2" and "3".

VERY CAREFULLY power this thing on and set the function to off. Then using a finger insulated wire put one end at the "MB105" arrow and the other at either "2" or "3". If correct this should turn something on at either. If so, solder on the jumper to connect all three arrows.

The only other posibility I see if that doesn't produce joy is to jump the "0" to "2" and "3" and see if that works.

Good luck and let us know, and post a picture of your house too!

 

I tried the tip I received, the one to connect pines 2 and 3 to the bridge rectifier and I am happy to say that it works!
Thanks to everyone for help and suggestion and I hope this thread will be usefull for other people too.
Happy holidays everyone!

 

Shame on me for not posting earlier but I got pretty busy this Christmas. As I promised to @ErnieM here are some pictures of my Christmas decor. I didn't take pictures of stairway decor alone, so I posted a pictures of my girlfriend walking on it. Hope you'll enjoy them.