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LED lamp fans not working - anyone familiar with this sort of wiring?

S

SYNCHRONIC

New member
Hi there guys



I've got a problem with a 300w LED lamp, it turns on fine but the fans do not spin, leading it to overheat after just 45mins to an hour or so... it started making popping sounds and smelling like solder last time so I immediately turned it off of course.



If it was normal wiring I would probably be able to rewire the fans, or even switch them out. But the wiring is all these new plastic clip connectors etc... which I've never encountered before in my life. The interior is very neat and professionaly done, but something has caused the fans to not be powering up (they are not obstructed, I've tried running it with the lid off etc...)



Just wondering if anyone has a clue at all on how I might be able to solve this issue? Bought the lamp in Feb off ebay and not getting much luck in trying to get a replacement or refund for the seller since it was a while ago I purchased... this fan problem happened the second time I ever switched on the lamp.



Heres an image of the wiring/interior...



http://imgur.com/a/qnMG5



Cheers!
 
Firebrand

Firebrand

Active member
From your photo, it appears that the driver for the fans is the small white object attached to the fans, this should be checked with a volt meter (VOM/Multimeter) for voltage on both sides when the fixture is powered up. One side, the input should read 110-120 volts AC if US based, the other side (output) should be much lower, maybe 1-2 volts, check specs to be sure. Start your troubleshoot there.

Edit: I just looked closer, the muffin fans are 12 volt DC so the output of the driver should be about 12 volts DC.
 
Last edited:
Firebrand

Firebrand

Active member
Now, lets go further, the orange/white/orange connector appears to be the fan drivers input, this is a good place to test for input voltage. The driver output appears to be the red/black wires, that connector is a good place to test output voltage.

Note: It appears that there is an unconnected orange/white connector, this should be tested for voltage too. It could be an assembly error and the fix could be as simple as swapping the connectors, loose orange/white swapped with connected orange/white.

Please be very careful when testing, probably not enough volts/amps to really hurt you, but definitely enough to get your attention.
 
Firebrand

Firebrand

Active member
Also, you could cut the little cable tie and spread out the wires, take another picture and lets see what wire goes where.
 
A

AvidLerner

Member
SYNCHRONIC said:
Hi there guys



I've got a problem with a 300w LED lamp, it turns on fine but the fans do not spin, leading it to overheat after just 45mins to an hour or so... it started making popping sounds and smelling like solder last time so I immediately turned it off of course.



If it was normal wiring I would probably be able to rewire the fans, or even switch them out. But the wiring is all these new plastic clip connectors etc... which I've never encountered before in my life. The interior is very neat and professionaly done, but something has caused the fans to not be powering up (they are not obstructed, I've tried running it with the lid off etc...)



Just wondering if anyone has a clue at all on how I might be able to solve this issue? Bought the lamp in Feb off ebay and not getting much luck in trying to get a replacement or refund for the seller since it was a while ago I purchased... this fan problem happened the second time I ever switched on the lamp.



Heres an image of the wiring/interior...



https://imgur.com/a/qnMG5



Cheers!
Click to expand...
most likely the driver. check it out and replace it.
 
S

SYNCHRONIC

New member
Thanks very much guys, I'm going to try and track down a multi-meter, I wonder how hard it is to replace the driver with all these fancy connections... I guess I could just snip the wires and entwine the new wires to the old bare ones and cover in tape.
 
Phychotron

Phychotron

Member
Fan drivers are 12V constant current. To figure out the amps for the driver just add up the amps of all the fans. You have two .2A fans, therefore you need .4A from the driver. A .5A driver will supply that much. $3.50 on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Consta...hash=item3d0cff58b9:m:mNFDZIIREyPa4J5E4oSb0sQ

Looks like your fan driver/white box has a connector on it for the power input. If you determine its the power supply just chop the wires at the box and use its connector.

Those "inline fuses" are just wire crimps in place of solder. Test for voltage by using the probe up into the metal part. DONT chop them, it wires 2 fans into 1 driver. I would chop both input and output wires as close to the defective power supply as possible to reuse as much of the factory wire. It eventually gets chopped down to nothing over the course of a few repairs.

Its most likely the power supply if they both died. But those fans are cheap too. Ebay, $2-3.

TAPE is not insulation. Get a couple of wire nuts if you have to splice wires together. Wrap tape around those if you have to, but they're usually pretty secure. And get the right one's for the size wire your using. $3 for a bunch at a local store.
 
Firebrand

Firebrand

Active member
SYNCHRONIC said:
Thanks very much guys, I'm going to try and track down a multi-meter, I wonder how hard it is to replace the driver with all these fancy connections... I guess I could just snip the wires and entwine the new wires to the old bare ones and cover in tape.
Click to expand...
Tape is no longer the preferred solution for spliced wires, shrink tube is the new tape.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat-shrink_tubing

https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/heat-shrink-tubing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD9kBax1DDk
 
I

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Skip the wire nuts and crimp connectors. Go with these wago connectors. Lift the lever, slide the wire in and push the lever back down. Tug on wire to make sure it has grasped the wire. It is that easy.

You wont have to cut the wire the next time it goes bad. Just lift the lever and slide the wire out.

There is a wire length guide on the back of the nut to tell if you did not strip enough or to much wire.



Personally I would go with a Meanwell APV 8-12 driver for the fans if your driver is bad. It is UL certified unlike most Chinese drivers.

Also you can get it at Jameco which will take much less time to get here than one from China. It will cost you more but you get a much more reliable driver. With out your fans cooling your LEDs the LEDs burn up a whole lot quicker. And are you going to be there the next time?
 
Phychotron

Phychotron

Member
Stranded. I could see it working with solid much better. Solid is more for home wiring, stranded is more common for electronics. With solid wire if you have to move the wire/unit around the solder/wire breaks from lack of flexibility and metal fatigue.
 
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