Trubleshoot Suggestions on a Vero 29 Setup (won't turn on)

I am having trouble with my Vero 29Se setup, and I'm baffled! (skip to "The Problem" below if you are just looking for a short question )

Vero29 Cobs , HLG Meanwell Drivers , Cased Potentiometer Knob (It was ordered as a set, so the parts should all be adequately matching..i.e. the drivers are correct for the amount of cobs. I could run one extra cob on each series safely if I wanted.)

So I have 6 cobs in a series. [ + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - ] (2 series on one frame)
The positive from the driver goes to the positive on the first cob in the series.
The negative from the driver goes to the negative on the last cob in the series.
I have a "ground" wire that touches the outside of the driver's metal case, and the metal frame.

(I had a friend help me wire and solder everything together. They know electrical. We put together one series of 6 cobs, plugged it in, and it turned on right away! Then wired the second 6 cobs (which is on the same frame as the first series), they also turned on right away when plugged in the wall.
Did the same for the next two series of six cobs. (total of 24 cobs, 4 drivers) Plugged those in and they were fine.

Then unplugged the positive and negative leads, going into the first and last cobs (in each of the four series). Mounted my drivers on my wall - Mounted my lights on my ceiling. Put the Positive lead from the driver into the (positive slot) in the first Cob of the series, Put the Negative lead from the driver into the (negative slot) of the last cob.

[The Problem]
^I did not plug them in again until a week later..... Now when I plug them in, nothing turns on?! I tried taking out the leads from the first and last cob, restripping them and plugging them back. Still nothing! (The sockets I am plugging them into are fine as they can power other strong things/ fan / lamp.)

The person who helped me with the soldering said maybe the wiring, but they are just guessing and have not really had time to check. I doubt it, because the odds of wiring fault in all four series circuits would be very-very-very-low. So I'm so confused.

Joint Monster said:

I am having trouble with my Vero 29Se setup, and I'm baffled! (skip to "The Problem" below if you are just looking for a short question )

Vero29 Cobs , HLG Meanwell Drivers , Cased Potentiometer Knob (It was ordered as a set, so the parts should all be adequately matching..i.e. the drivers are correct for the amount of cobs. I could run one extra cob on each series safely if I wanted.)

So I have 6 cobs in a series. [ + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - , + to - ] (2 series on one frame)
The positive from the driver goes to the positive on the first cob in the series.
The negative from the driver goes to the negative on the last cob in the series.
I have a "ground" wire that touches the outside of the driver's metal case, and the metal frame.

(I had a friend help me wire and solder everything together. They know electrical. We put together one series of 6 cobs, plugged it in, and it turned on right away! Then wired the second 6 cobs (which is on the same frame as the first series), they also turned on right away when plugged in the wall.
Did the same for the next two series of six cobs. (total of 24 cobs, 4 drivers) Plugged those in and they were fine.

Then unplugged the positive and negative leads, going into the first and last cobs (in each of the four series). Mounted my drivers on my wall - Mounted my lights on my ceiling. Put the Positive lead from the driver into the (positive slot) in the first Cob of the series, Put the Negative lead from the driver into the (negative slot) of the last cob.

[The Problem]
^I did not plug them in again until a week later..... Now when I plug them in, nothing turns on?! I tried taking out the leads from the first and last cob, restripping them and plugging them back. Still nothing! (The sockets I am plugging them into are fine as they can power other strong things/ fan / lamp.)

The person who helped me with the soldering said maybe the wiring, but they are just guessing and have not really had time to check. I doubt it, because the odds of wiring fault in all four series circuits would be very-very-very-low. So I'm so confused.

Click to expand...

I would double check all the wires going to cobs first and go from there all it takes is one wire being loose or not making good contact also double check that it is all + to -.

Probably have a loose connection/fault on the wiring from the driver to your fixture. When I built my rigs last year, one wouldn't fire up and I spent awhile chasing my tail until I disconnected the dimmer pot. Then it worked-new out of the package potentiometer failed. Backtrack the things that you disturbed and you'll find the problem .

Thanks guys.

Victor, I took out All the wiring from one fixture (two separate, 6 cob series) and inserted them into the + / - slots again. Still nothing. I will try the other fixture again later tonight, but right now I need a break.
(And yes, I like quadruple checked, it's + in, then positive to negative through all the cobs, then negative out.

See, I can understand that GB... one of your rigs would not fire up. All four of my 6 cob series (which are four separate circuits essentially) are not turning on. This is really bothering me!

The only thing I touched (from when they worked, and when they did not work) was the main lead Positive and Negative from driver to first and last cobs.

Maybe the dimmers connections should be cut and checked next? (I'm just trying to think this through, but, one dimmer can be faulty... but all four?) Like at least one series of 6 cobs should have worked. They All worked fine before, tested them a good hour, then another 30 minutes on a separate occasion, before hanging them up.
The only one thing I can think of that is different, is the ballasts are now mounted vertically on the wall, where, when I tested them they were laying flat on the floor. But that should not really matter either should it?

You said you unhooked the main leads how were they connected wagos or tinned ?
Being on floor shouldn’t matter.
Do you have meter to check if there is power coming out leads going to cobs?

I should have a meter laying around. I will check and report back.

They are Vero 29SE, so they have a little slot you just push the wire into. And you push a little pin with a screwdriver/paperclip to release the wire.

The drivers came with wago connectors, but I opted to solder for a cleaner look. (I do not plan on adding anything else to the drivers.) Wires were cut staggered, twisted together, soldered, and heat shrink tubing was applied over the joints. Then used electrical tape to keep all the three wires (+/-/Neutral) together. (The joints are all 3-4" away from each other.)
Same method for the dimmers.

Joint Monster said:

I should have a meter laying around. I will check and report back.

They are Vero 29SE, so they have a little slot you just push the wire into. And you push a little pin with a screwdriver/paperclip to release the wire.

The drivers came with wago connectors, but I opted to solder for a cleaner look. (I do not plan on adding anything else to the drivers.) Wires were cut staggered, twisted together, soldered, and heat shrink tubing was applied over the joints. Then used electrical tape to keep all the three wires (+/-/Neutral) together. (The joints are all 3-4" away from each other.)
Same method for the dimmers.

Click to expand...

Are they the b,c or d because they range from 36 , 50 and 70 volt forward current

18 are , 3000k 80CRI D.
6 are , 5000k 70CRI D.
4 Drivers , HLG-480H-C1750B.

Joint Monster said:

18 are , 3000k 80CRI D.
6 are , 5000k 70CRI D.
4 Drivers , HLG-480H-C1750B.

Click to expand...

No problem there since they 36 volt forward 216 volts fits very well on driver

Joint Monster said:

Thanks guys.

Victor, I took out All the wiring from one fixture (two separate, 6 cob series) and inserted them into the + / - slots again. Still nothing. I will try the other fixture again later tonight, but right now I need a break.
(And yes, I like quadruple checked, it's + in, then positive to negative through all the cobs, then negative out.

See, I can understand that GB... one of your rigs would not fire up. All four of my 6 cob series (which are four separate circuits essentially) are not turning on. This is really bothering me!

The only thing I touched (from when they worked, and when they did not work) was the main lead Positive and Negative from driver to first and last cobs.

Maybe the dimmers connections should be cut and checked next? (I'm just trying to think this through, but, one dimmer can be faulty... but all four?) Like at least one series of 6 cobs should have worked. They All worked fine before, tested them a good hour, then another 30 minutes on a separate occasion, before hanging them up.
The only one thing I can think of that is different, is the ballasts are now mounted vertically on the wall, where, when I tested them they were laying flat on the floor. But that should not really matter either should it?

Click to expand...

Orientation shouldn't matter. In fact, vertical mounting on a wall is preferable. Start with checking the open circuit voltage - with no connection other than the input voltage from the wall, you should see 340V at the leads.

nfhiggs said:

Orientation shouldn't matter. In fact, vertical mounting on a wall is preferable. Start with checking the open circuit voltage - with no connection other than the input voltage from the wall, you should see 340V at the leads.

Click to expand...

Why 340 volt?

Victor6634 said:

Why 340 volt?

Click to expand...

Spec sheet says open circuit voltage on that model is 340V.

Sorry I was looking at max output volts

Victor6634 said:

Sorry I was looking at max output volts

Click to expand...

Also you might notice the spec sheet says max units per circuit ( w/16 A circuit breaker type B) is 2 on 230 volt mains.

I tested the driver's positive and negative leads, while it was plugged in. Got 331V. (Both of the 6 cob circuits tested at the same result).

I Tested the other 2 - 6 cob circuits from the + on the first cob, and - on the last cob. Got 331V as well.

The dimmer doesn't play a factor in this testing right? (I did twist it and try the leads on the driver and still got 331V.)

And I believe they all go to a 30Amp Breaker.

Still no light from any of the 4 circuits.

Based on the output voltage readings, I'd say that you have a wiring/cob issue. You will need to ck voltages at each cob to see where the problem lies.

GBAUTO said:

Based on the output voltage readings, I'd say that you have a wiring/cob issue. You will need to ck voltages at each cob to see where the problem lies.

Click to expand...

Yup - you've got an open connection somewhere. Use your voltmeter to trace it out. Connect it all up and put your ground probe on the return line and the positive probe on the input side of the first cob - you should see the 331V - then do the next cob and just keep going in the line until you lose your voltage - the break will be before that spot.

Thanks for sticking around and helping me through this, I greatly appreciate it!

So I put the Ground Probe of my meter on the 'negative insert' of the last cob in the circuit. Then the Positive Probe in the 'positive insert' of the first cob in the circuit.... 331V. Then moved the Positive Probe to the 'positive insert' on the second cob of the circuit and no voltage.
I tested 2/4, of the six cob circuits and they both had the voltage drop at the same spot, the 'positive insert' of the second cob had no voltage reading.

In both cases, it goes from a 3500k Cob to a 5000k Cob... although they're both the same voltage cobs. I'll throw up a picture and maybe someone can see something I am not seeing. All the cobs in the pictures are oriented the same way.

-First picture is one of the 6 cob series.
-Second picture is the first and last cob of the series. Red is positive input from driver. Black is negative from driver.
-Third picture is a close up of one cob. All the cobs are oriented in the same direction.

I see the bottom right cob, + to +, in picture 2, also, bottom left, - to -

Awh man! I feel like a goof lol. I misread the instructions second time around and thought it was supposed to be that way, so I looked at it, and thought it was correct.... well that was a stoned one.

Thanks for pointing that out. A big thanks to everyone! I'm just glad it was something minor! And I learned how to test for various different faults!