Hi guys,
Long time reader, but first time poster of these forums. I have learnt a lot reading the wealth of info on here, and managed to save a number of failed lights over the years, however my latest loss has me a bit stumped.
Just as a bit of background on my electrical ability, I am an ex vehicle mechanic and have wired race cars from scratch, so I am fairly able when it comes to 12v systems. I have not had much to do with circuit boards, other then the odd DIY repair of audio amplifiers or modification of vehicle dash circuits etc. I have had zero experience building LED components from scratch, but believe with a bit of guidance I could learn.
So...
I have a 5000Lm video light that was made by (I believe) an Australian guy that went under the name HDVSeaTek. This light was amazing and outperformed a number of much higher rated lights my dive buddies have used.
Unfortunately it looks like this company has stopped trading, so I cant go directly to them for help, hence this post.
So I believe the light has turned on in my dive bag after a dive one day (yes I know.....should have taken the batteries out), and subsequently overheated. It would have been on for a number of hours as I hadn't used it much on the dive, and it had a full charge.
I have pulled the light apart and done a number of tests with a multi meter. It looks to be functioning as expected, all the way up to the power input in the LED PCB/LED's themselves. I have 4.7v at the positive/negative inputs in the LED board, but am only getting a faint glow out of the LED's. I am also seeing the voltage move up and down as expected when controlling the dimmer, so that leads me to believe the supply circuit and driver are all ok, and the LED's themselves have failed (The batteries themselves are giving me 4.97V we measured together and 2.7v/2.28v individually so these may be poked as well?).
Does this sound accurate, or do I need to be looking for more then just battery voltage at the LED board?
If the above fault finding does sound correct, and the LED board is at fault, what are my options here? Is it possible to buy a pre made LED board to replace this one, or would this have been a custom board/LED selection, and if so, where do I begin to start fabricating a replacement?
Some tech details on the light:
Output as advertised: 5000Lm
Batteries: 2x 32650 5500mAh 3.7V Li-ion
Driver PCB has LG-70 printed on it (cant find anything on Google for this however)
Mag dimmer switch PCB has LG-69 printed on it
LED PBC - 6x square LED's mounted on Aluminum plate PCB - nothing printed on the board
Housing - looks to be custom made
Photos below:
These photos are in comparison to a BigBlue LV8000P video light.
Long time reader, but first time poster of these forums. I have learnt a lot reading the wealth of info on here, and managed to save a number of failed lights over the years, however my latest loss has me a bit stumped.
Just as a bit of background on my electrical ability, I am an ex vehicle mechanic and have wired race cars from scratch, so I am fairly able when it comes to 12v systems. I have not had much to do with circuit boards, other then the odd DIY repair of audio amplifiers or modification of vehicle dash circuits etc. I have had zero experience building LED components from scratch, but believe with a bit of guidance I could learn.
So...
I have a 5000Lm video light that was made by (I believe) an Australian guy that went under the name HDVSeaTek. This light was amazing and outperformed a number of much higher rated lights my dive buddies have used.
Unfortunately it looks like this company has stopped trading, so I cant go directly to them for help, hence this post.
So I believe the light has turned on in my dive bag after a dive one day (yes I know.....should have taken the batteries out), and subsequently overheated. It would have been on for a number of hours as I hadn't used it much on the dive, and it had a full charge.
I have pulled the light apart and done a number of tests with a multi meter. It looks to be functioning as expected, all the way up to the power input in the LED PCB/LED's themselves. I have 4.7v at the positive/negative inputs in the LED board, but am only getting a faint glow out of the LED's. I am also seeing the voltage move up and down as expected when controlling the dimmer, so that leads me to believe the supply circuit and driver are all ok, and the LED's themselves have failed (The batteries themselves are giving me 4.97V we measured together and 2.7v/2.28v individually so these may be poked as well?).
Does this sound accurate, or do I need to be looking for more then just battery voltage at the LED board?
If the above fault finding does sound correct, and the LED board is at fault, what are my options here? Is it possible to buy a pre made LED board to replace this one, or would this have been a custom board/LED selection, and if so, where do I begin to start fabricating a replacement?
Some tech details on the light:
Output as advertised: 5000Lm
Batteries: 2x 32650 5500mAh 3.7V Li-ion
Driver PCB has LG-70 printed on it (cant find anything on Google for this however)
Mag dimmer switch PCB has LG-69 printed on it
LED PBC - 6x square LED's mounted on Aluminum plate PCB - nothing printed on the board
Housing - looks to be custom made
Photos below:
These photos are in comparison to a BigBlue LV8000P video light.