help...my blue LED's won't turn on (fixed..but there were casualties)

So I got my 90 degree optics in today, i have been running the fixture no problem for the last couple weeks with no optics.

I attach the optics, turn on the lights and the blues don't come on. I have no clue what happened.

I thought maybe I pinched one of the connections with the optics but all the connections still look good. I haven't checked the connection to the potentiometer itself but that wouldn't stop the lights from coming on would it, it would just prevent any dimming capability. When I plug in the driver, it hums suggesting that the driver is ok...does this mean I blew all 16 blue LED's somehow? I had the power on the potentiometer on full when I plugged it in again...would this have blown the LED's?

If anyone can help me trouble shoot that would be great...I am so pissed right now.

EDIT: its an aquastyle dimmable kit, 32 LEDS 16 CW and 16 RB on individual drivers.

 

I've disconnected a solder or wire before moving my build around, same thing happened, a string wouldn't light up. It shouldn't matter if your potentinometer was turned all the way up, as long as the driver was turned down so not to overdrive the leds. If you did not change the mA's for the driver then you wouldn't have blown them that way. Do you have your led tester, test each light to see if it is blown, if they all work redo the connections. thats my advice.

 

thanks, I don't have the tester unfortunately. Is there any other way to test the leds?

I will try to redo some of the potential problem solders and see if that does anything.

 

Radio Shack sells a tester for 1.99.

 

Thanks, I guess I will go and get one tomorrow.

It looks like there is some char on one of the solders...not sure if that means that that one is burnt.

If one LED is burnt will the others light up?

 

Good question, iv never had a burnt out LED. Hopefully someone will chime in.


You might want to check your driver and discharge it fully by unplugging it and sit for a few min. My blue driver was not turning on when I first got it, I had the controller and driver unplugged for a day and now it works.

 

The driver is definitely working, I can hear a slight hum when I plug it in.

sigh...I wish I had the tester lol. I am sitting here staring at this thing wanting desperately to fix it but I need to know if the LEDs are in fact burnt out.

 

On mine a humm sound appears when the lights are dimmed way down. Maybe your dimmer is broken :/

 

yeah i get that hum on my other driver when it dimmed way down as well.

I tested the leds and they all work. I just soldered some wire onto a 9volt battery and touched the wires onto the leds, I hope I didn't screw them up by doing this though...

In any case, they all lit up, so it must be a loose connection somewhere or the driver is faulty...lovely. Time to get some beers and get to soldering.

 

I found the loose wire, it was the one connecting the led line to the driver. So I reattached it and they all turn on now, but they are all stuck on the lowest setting. When I crank up the potentiometer they don't increase :/