LED Pool Light Repair - Waterproof PCB

Thread Starter

smwalker

Joined Apr 9, 2017
11
Hi All,

My name is Steve. First post to this board hoping I would get some guidance.

I have an LED Pool light that has gone bad after about 2 years of sporadic use. The manufacturer claims 50K hours life on the LED's but reviews all over the internet say you are lucky to get 3 years out of these things. And of course as with everything to do with pools a replacement is upwards of $900.00US. I am in the automotive field and regularly send out ABS and other modules for repair of board components so I figured someone must have started a business saving people $900 every few years. To my surprise the only reference I found to one was in Australlia. So I am on here trying to see if this is something I can fix myself. My previous experience is repairing my Flat screen TV power supply with about 5 new capacitors and that sucker is still going strong 5 years later! Hoping this light is as easy! Hope, Hope.



Condition: When 120 Volts is applied to the board the LED's sort of Pulse/cycle. Now when working properly and not paired up to it's controller I think the LED's slowly cycle tough the different colors until the controller (communicates through radio frequency I assume) pics a color to display. What I have noticed is none of the Red LED's are working, just Blue and Green and those Pulse a you can see in the video below.

Anyway here are some details
Manufacturer of Light: Jandy / Zodiac
Part Number: Entire unit: CPHVLEDS150 PCB Assembly: R0474100
PCB Manufacturer: ColorKenetics.com PCB ID: PCB-000364-00 Rev 04

Here is a video of what happens with I give it power:


Some Questions:
I tried re-soldering one of the capacitors and it was very difficult. There seems to be a layer of film over the entire board. I would guess this is some sort of water repellent. Is it possible to repair boards with such a coating? Or is it a one use sort of deal? The PCB is in a sealed Enclosure and was dry when i removed it so i am guessing if there is a film it's just there for a precaution as this is installed under water.

Should I try to get the red LED's working first? Could that be he cause of the pulsing if one whole leg of LED's is out?

Thanks for any suggestions!
 

Thread Starter

smwalker

Joined Apr 9, 2017
11
Was able to find a complete replacement board that tested fine so installed with new capsule seal and we are back in business. Would still like to find out more abut LED engine repairs as we get a lot of Third brake lights at work that I bet could be repaired easily with some minor parts. Those are 12 volt so I imagine much simpler.
 

Thread Starter

smwalker

Joined Apr 9, 2017
11
Steve, I have the same exact light , can you tell me where you found the replacement?

Ed
HI Ed. Got it from Ebay for about $300 Search R0474100 and that will give you the board only. One seller seems to have had a supply of them but has none listed now:

http://stores.ebay.com/terabio/

Also search for the entire assembly as some of them are selling for a good price and you can just disassemble and take out the board for use in your light. Make sure and get a new seal (part number R0451101 ) as it is needed to seal it up. I also found the back of the board did not have all that much thermal paste and I bet that is why a component overheated and failed. I coated it good when reinstalling.

I wired it up, checked for leaks and turned the power back on. No programming was required on mine to learn it the the system.

If you find a new board hang on to your old one as I am still going to find a way to repair mine and will share what I find. Hopefully you can benifit and have a backup for the future.
 

FryWife

Joined Jun 1, 2017
1
HI Ed. Got it from Ebay for about $300 Search R0474100 and that will give you the board only. One seller seems to have had a supply of them but has none listed now:

http://stores.ebay.com/terabio/

Also search for the entire assembly as some of them are selling for a good price and you can just disassemble and take out the board for use in your light. Make sure and get a new seal (part number R0451101 ) as it is needed to seal it up. I also found the back of the board did not have all that much thermal paste and I bet that is why a component overheated and failed. I coated it good when reinstalling.

I wired it up, checked for leaks and turned the power back on. No programming was required on mine to learn it the the system.

If you find a new board hang on to your old one as I am still going to find a way to repair mine and will share what I find. Hopefully you can benifit and have a backup for the future.
HI we are having the same issue and need to order a new light engine. Can you share what product you used to increase your thermal coating? And how you applied?
Thanks
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
It's called "heat sink compound" on the tube I bought at Radio Shack.
Very easy to get, right after you know what to call it.:D

You are supposed to place it between the hot part and the heat sink so it conducts heat. It does not conduct electricity. It does not help if you paint the board with it.

Please go to your profile page and tell it your location so we can send you to the right places for parts.
 

Thread Starter

smwalker

Joined Apr 9, 2017
11
HI we are having the same issue and need to order a new light engine. Can you share what product you used to increase your thermal coating? And how you applied?
Thanks
Stuff I bought at Fry's was called thermal compound. Came in little taco sauce sized packs so I just spread it around evenly on the back on the aluminum board backing and mushed it down into the housing. Just want to have enough that it makes contact through out the back of the board.

I think we are getting quite a supply or burnt out board owners in this thread. Really need to come up with a tutorial on fixing them.
 

Rong8s

Joined Jul 29, 2017
3
I don't see that option in the profile page??
Have the same light, but it's tripping the GFI sensor. Any idea what might be causing this before I pull it out of the pool and open it up? Can order the R0451101 assy from several places, but the replacement assy costs about the same as a new light ($600); however, don't have to pull the cable thru if I can get away with replacing the internals poolside. Assume the R0451101 assy replaces anything that could be tripping the GFI??
 

Thread Starter

smwalker

Joined Apr 9, 2017
11
Have the same light, but it's tripping the GFI sensor. Any idea what might be causing this before I pull it out of the pool and open it up? Can order the R0451101 assy from several places, but the replacement assy costs about the same as a new light ($600); however, don't have to pull the cable thru if I can get away with replacing the internals poolside. Assume the R0451101 assy replaces anything that could be tripping the GFI??
Well what you would want to test first is if the short is in the cord. Turn of all power to the lighting circuit at the panel. Remove the assembly from the pool. Open her up. Remove wires from PCB leave them unhooked and out of the pool and try the GFCI. If it does not trip then the short was in the board. If it sill trips the short is in your wire or you have a bad GFCI. How old is your GFCI? Might be worth a swap out for a new one if very old.

While you are doing this testing you might find water in your assembly in contact with the board, if so that is most likely the cause of the short. If dry then something on the board gave up and is shorted. Still have not been able to find a schematic for these so cant help much in tracking it down.
Good Luck.

Let us know what you find.
 

Rong8s

Joined Jul 29, 2017
3
Well what you would want to test first is if the short is in the cord. Turn of all power to the lighting circuit at the panel. Remove the assembly from the pool. Open her up. Remove wires from PCB leave them unhooked and out of the pool and try the GFCI. If it does not trip then the short was in the board. If it sill trips the short is in your wire or you have a bad GFCI. How old is your GFCI? Might be worth a swap out for a new one if very old.

While you are doing this testing you might find water in your assembly in contact with the board, if so that is most likely the cause of the short. If dry then something on the board gave up and is shorted. Still have not been able to find a schematic for these so cant help much in tracking it down.
Good Luck.

Let us know what you find.
 

Rong8s

Joined Jul 29, 2017
3
Thanks, Steve. Already did some preliminary checks prior to my earlier post, but didn't want to open up the light until I decide what I want to do, i,e., buy a new light w/cable or just the R0451101 replacement assy, again both about the same price ($600). Pulling a new cable thru the conduit is the most difficult part of replacing/repairing the light, so was looking to avoid that task. Light was installed only 4 yrs ago and cable at light looks like it is in good shape. Really don't think the cable between light and panel is the issue. GFI/GFCI seems to be working properly. It's hooked to both the pool light and a companion spa light. GFCI only trips when the pool light is turned on. Disconnected the pool light cable connectors at panel just to be sure the relay in the panel was not the problem. Applied pwr, relay operated normally without tripping GFCI (with or without spa light powered).
I was hoping to hear that someone had a similar problem and could shed some light, so to speak, on what they found before I decided to repair or replace. Guess my options at this point are to open up the light and do some troubleshooting, as you suggested. Is the $20 silicone seal installed in such a way that it can be removed without damaging/destroying it, i.e., such that it can be temporarily re-used while waiting on the replacement part/light? If a new light is ordered, is it fairly simple to remove the PCB assy from the new light, i.e., with limited risk of damage to the assy/seal, and install in the old light housing, i.e., assume a multi-pin connector or screw terminals (not soldered in)?
Thanks again. Anything you can offer up would be much appreciated.
Ron
 
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