COB build flickering again..

salmonetin

salmonetin

Well-Known Member
...maybe a electrician or electronic friend near your zone (or maybe a electric or electronic store dependant) with experience with multimeters... can show you locally... how to test volts amps and continuity with your multimeter...

...the kilawatt only show you the ac side... multimeter show you both... you must check the driver dc side with multimeter...

:peace:

Saludos
 
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silvrsurfer77

silvrsurfer77

Well-Known Member
Can you solder? maybe ditch the cob holders?....also silly thing, the dim +- wires touching eachother or the fixture could make it flicker....as far as the multimeter use, I would think just go down the line testing the current and voltage. theres lots of videos on youtube on how to use the multimeter
 
gk skunky

gk skunky

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking either bad driver or bad connection from source to driver. Especially if only one driver started out with one diode and spread to the fixture.
 
SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
Im gonna take a stab here, if your diodes flicker with the same pattern over and over, it could very well be a driver/power supply issue, this is common.
If you have a loose connection on one of the chips, it will flicker when you tap or bump the chip or chip mounts.
Take a multimeter and check resistance (put it on the ohm setting) on each cob (+&-) to make sure they are in spec and atleast disconnect all live wiring prior.
If you need help. Pm me
 
Al Yamoni

Al Yamoni

Well-Known Member
SPLFreak808 said:
Im gonna take a stab here, if your diodes flicker with the same pattern over and over, it could very well be a driver/power supply issue, this is common.
If you have a loose connection on one of the chips, it will flicker when you tap or bump the chip or chip mounts.
Take a multimeter and check resistance (put it on the ohm setting) on each cob (+&-) to make sure they are in spec and atleast disconnect all live wiring prior.
If you need help. Pm me
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for taking the time to explain it hands on like that
 
Al Yamoni

Al Yamoni

Well-Known Member
So the 5K will only let me have 0-5% of the lights capability? I don't have this holed up yet, I just ordered them. Now it seems I'll be sending them back.
 
Al Yamoni

Al Yamoni

Well-Known Member
SPLFreak808 said:
Im gonna take a stab here, if your diodes flicker with the same pattern over and over, it could very well be a driver/power supply issue, this is common.
If you have a loose connection on one of the chips, it will flicker when you tap or bump the chip or chip mounts.
Take a multimeter and check resistance (put it on the ohm setting) on each cob (+&-) to make sure they are in spec and atleast disconnect all live wiring prior.
If you need help. Pm me
Click to expand...
IMG_20150925_230318.jpg it seems there is a section for ohm setting. Which one is the best?
 
D

DocCox

Well-Known Member
I guess if you wired a bunch of POTs to it you could get some real precision...
Look at the driver spec sheet and it tells you exactly what size potentiometer you need.

I asked a bunch of questions in your other thread and didn't get responses... This could be an issue with how clean your mains power is. Take a pic of the your setup please, you might be overlooking something others could spot.

Did you place your driver to your heatsink? Do you have an Earth or a ground interacting on your DC side? What else is on your circuit (breaker) and if you move to another circuit does the flickering stop?

EMF is a possible cause here, fans and other items we see in grow rooms (timers, other lights, pumps, etc) can cause some pretty dirty power.

Lastly, where did you order from? Imitation COBs or drivers are a sure way to get flickering and less than optimal light.
 
SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
Al Yamoni said:
View attachment 3508215 it seems there is a section for ohm setting. Which one is the best?
Click to expand...
Go to 2k, take a reading from all chips individually and see if one is off from the others, if you have a leaking diode it will show resistance. If all diodes have no readings then re assemble and take readings with the chips powered on. Also, make sure that your leads (wires from the dmm) are good first by touching both ends together on the 2k setting. Should read 0 or close.
 
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Al Yamoni

Al Yamoni

Well-Known Member
DocCox said:
I guess if you wired a bunch of POTs to it you could get some real precision...
Look at the driver spec sheet and it tells you exactly what size potentiometer you need.

I asked a bunch of questions in your other thread and didn't get responses... This could be an issue with how clean your mains power is. Take a pic of the your setup please, you might be overlooking something others could spot.

Did you place your driver to your heatsink? Do you have an Earth or a ground interacting on your DC side? What else is on your circuit (breaker) and if you move to another circuit does the flickering stop?

EMF is a possible cause here, fans and other items we see in grow rooms (timers, other lights, pumps, etc) can cause some pretty dirty power.

Lastly, where did you order from? Imitation COBs or drivers are a sure way to get flickering and less than optimal light.
Click to expand...
Ordered the driver through jameco, and the cobs from mouser. I'll try it on another breaker in the house.

About the ground I don't know exactly what you're asking me, sorry I'm a gardener not an electrician ;) you're so kind to bear with me.

Here are some pics of the cobs, the wiring, the entire build sans the reflective material, and the driver, as well as the plug wiring which does have a ground (not sure if that's what you asked?)

I don't even have a potentiometer yet.
IMG_20150925_231813.jpg IMG_20150925_231821.jpg IMG_20150925_231837.jpg IMG_20150925_231830.jpg IMG_20150925_231830.jpg IMG_20150925_231843.jpg IMG_20150925_231848.jpg IMG_20150925_231927.jpg IMG_20150925_232011.jpg IMG_20150925_232026.jpg IMG_20150925_232031.jpg
 
Al Yamoni

Al Yamoni

Well-Known Member
SPLFreak808 said:
Go to 2k, take a reading from all chips individually and see if one is off from the others, if you have a leaking diode it will show resistance. If all diodes have no readings then re assemble and take readings with the chips powered on. Also, make sure that your leads (wires from the dmm) are good first by touching both ends together on the 2k setting. Should read 0 or close.
Click to expand...
When I turn the multimeter to the 2k ohm setting it reads 1. When I touch the + lead to the + on the led and the - lead to the - on the led it still reads 1 on all 5 cobs.

Could you explain further what you are asking me to do with the pot wires?
 
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