California lightworks SolarFlare 200 repair help needed needed. needed

Hey guys and girls!

I have been growing in my tent for some years now. I started off with a SolarFlare 200 with great success then I updated with a Vero29 DIY lamp that I made and lent my solarflare to a friend.

After a couple of years, I took back my SolarFlare and only half of the LEDs are lighting up which leads me to think one of the 2x drivers has burnt out. I would really like to use my solarflare as supplemental lighting in my 4x4 tent with my DIY Vero29s.

Did anyone ever opened up a solarflare lamp? Is it fixable? I have novice to intermediate skills in electronics, I can solder up a DIY lamp without any trouble, but the internal workings of a constant current driver is a mystery to me!

I started by opening the lamp and checked every diode with my multimeter, every single one of them works! so that is good news I suppose.

As for the driver, is it possible to identify the exact piece that is burnt out? Can it be fixed easily with some soldering?
If it can't be fixed, is there any way to maybe replace the driver with an equivalent meanwell driver?

I have the solarflare 200W lamp made with 40x 5w diodes and 2x drivers. It pulls an actual power of 165W at the plug.

Any help would be greatly apprieciated!! I can put up pictures and videos if it is needed.

I suggest a large hammer.

If you're having trouble with the repair technique, ask @REALSTYLES for advice.

lol @ttystikk

c'monnnnnnn help a brother out!

Its fixable, just need the right driver, that's if it is the drivers and not the power supply to the drivers.

I would be tempted to get in touch with the manufacturer and ask what driver you need.

Measure the output of the working driver, directly from the driver and report back, shouldnt be hard to find something that has similar output. Fixing individual components of a led driver might be beyond most people here but it shouldnt be so hard to find a compatible replacement.

coreywebster said:

Its fixable, just need the right driver, that's if it is the drivers and not the power supply to the drivers.

I would be tempted to get in touch with the manufacturer and ask what driver you need.

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Generally mfters wont give this info, in many places they arent allowed to give you advice which would null the warranty (which any home fixing and opening the box would).

Rocket Soul said:

Generally mfters wont give this info, in many places they arent allowed to give you advice which would null the warranty (which any home fixing and opening the box would).

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yeah... it's all assembled with pop rivets... I doubt CLW wants me to open it.

The MFG is the first place I tried. They don't want to give any info other than ''it is a special driver built by us''. They don't even want to give the info on the driver... but it's nothing I didn't expect.

So what I should do is measure the output on the working driver and that would tell me what I would need as a replacement driver, correct?

Rocket Soul said:

Generally mfters wont give this info, in many places they arent allowed to give you advice which would null the warranty (which any home fixing and opening the box would).

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The twats!

ttystikk said:

I suggest a large hammer.

If you're having trouble with the repair technique, ask @REALSTYLES for advice.

Click to expand...

Ideally I would like to make use of the 420$ (ohh yeah 420!) I spent on that light!

but yeah... the hammer isn't too far away!

did you ask CLW to repair it for you?

they fixed a SS400 of mine out of warranty and paid for return shipping.

Yomandude!!! said:

yeah... it's all assembled with pop rivets... I doubt CLW wants me to open it.

The MFG is the first place I tried. They don't want to give any info other than ''it is a special driver built by us''. They don't even want to give the info on the driver... but it's nothing I didn't expect.

So what I should do is measure the output on the working driver and that would tell me what I would need as a replacement driver, correct?

Click to expand...

Determine the current and voltage and it should be relatively easy to figure out. Its the one with red/white/blue channels? That could be trickier. Make sure its actual driver broken and not a buck driver or similar.

rkymtnman said:

did you ask CLW to repair it for you?

they fixed a SS400 of mine out of warranty and paid for return shipping.

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It is a 5-6 year old light... they said I can send it to see if it can be repaired. I would very much doubt they would do it for free. And it was discontinued about 4 years ago.

But now it is too late, I opened it up...

Yomandude!!! said:

It is a 5-6 year old light... they said I can send it to see if it can be repaired. I would very much doubt they would do it for free. And it was discontinued about 4 years ago.

But now it is too late, I opened it up...

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i ended up selling my SS400 on ebay for 200 bucks less than i paid after using it for about 5 years. not bad.

Rocket Soul said:

Determine the current and voltage and it should be relatively easy to figure out. Its the one with red/white/blue channels? That could be trickier. Make sure its actual driver broken and not a buck driver or similar.

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I have no idea how to figure out which part is busted and if it is the driver, power supply to driver or a buck driver. (not even sure what a buck driver is). I tested all the leds individually and they all work. Any tutorials out there to know how to test the driver parts?

rkymtnman said:

i ended up selling my SS400 on ebay for 200 bucks less than i paid after using it for about 5 years. not bad.

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pretty good! hahah
I really just want to add a bit of red and blue without spending much. I've been eyeing those Rapidleds Emerson and exotic boards and controllers for a while now... but that would be a 400+$ investment which I don't have for the moment haha

Yomandude!!! said:

pretty good! hahah
I really just want to add a bit of red and blue without spending much. I've been eyeing those Rapidleds Emerson and exotic boards and controllers for a while now... but that would be a 400+$ investment which I don't have for the moment haha

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now that you've got it open, are there any good electronic shops close by? somebody with some decent knowledge should be able to test each component and figure out what's bad. if it's a driver, i can't imagine it's proprietary and couldn't be replaced by a meanwell.

rkymtnman said:

now that you've got it open, are there any good electronic shops close by? somebody with some decent knowledge should be able to test each component and figure out what's bad. if it's a driver, i can't imagine it's proprietary and couldn't be replaced by a meanwell.

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Ohh! that's a good idea! I didn't think to bring it to a local shop!

CLW actually said it is a proprietary driver... but I'm pretty sure there is a meanwell equivalent! I think they used OSRAM diodes in that light if I remember correctly, so nothing to complicated to power up!

Yomandude!!! said:

I have no idea how to figure out which part is busted and if it is the driver, power supply to driver or a buck driver. (not even sure what a buck driver is). I tested all the leds individually and they all work. Any tutorials out there to know how to test the driver parts?

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A picture is worth a thousand words.
We can probably talk you through trouble shooting.

Here are some pics I have in my phone.

The black stuff on the board is some foam that got stuck on it, it is not charred material, but there are some evidence of heat damage although both drivers have similar ''heat marks'' yet, one is still working.

I see a test lead there...... if you check the voltage on the working side and we figure things out.