Buggy lighting kits?

Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Buggy lighting kits? - 19/08/2005 09:17

Just yesterday, one of my lighted buttons stopped lighting up. I contacted Peakmop about it (who did my install) and he said the same thing just happened to him (different button) and he resoldered the LED but it didn't help. Has this happened to anyone else? Could it be the little board that came with the lighting kit? Could the LED have burned out?
Posted by: genixia

Re: Buggy lighting kits? - 19/08/2005 11:09

Quote:
Just yesterday, one of my lighted buttons stopped lighting up. I contacted Peakmop about it (who did my install) and he said the same thing just happened to him (different button) and he resoldered the LED but it didn't help. Has this happened to anyone else? Could it be the little board that came with the lighting kit? Could the LED have burned out?


I assume that this is one of Stu's kits, not Brian's?

Is it one of the button LEDs or one of the knob board LEDs? If the former then it is either a burned out LED or a bad solder joint at the resistor pack. With peakmop's clean soldering, I'd suggest the burned out LED. If it's a knob board LED then it could be the LED, the soldering, or the pcb. I haven't seen Stu's boards so I can't pass judgement on them, but I do know that to get those LEDs in the limited space available that the traces are very small and the board is thin. Excessive vibration might have broken a trace. I had this happen eventually to a Brian board and made up my own board to replace it.

In either case, if it's the LED burned out then I have to wonder if the LEDs that Stu is providing have a lesser current rating, or whether the resistors are of a lower value than in Brian's original kits.
Posted by: mlord

Re: Buggy lighting kits? - 19/08/2005 11:16

I have a few of Stu's kits here to install, so if I remember to do so I will measure the resistance values of the supplied parts. I know what they *should* be, so let's see what they actually are. Maybe the supplier got a few parts mixed up -- the suckers are the size of grains of ground pepper, so..

The LEDs should NOT be burning out for years and years and years, if ever. Utterly reliable components when used within their specifications.

Cheers
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: Buggy lighting kits? - 19/08/2005 16:54

It is the "Right" button on mine and I believe the "Top" button on Peakmop's. We both have Stu's board but mine is the UV kit (which I regret buying to be honest - too purple) while Peakmop's is the regular LED.
Posted by: maczrool

Re: Buggy lighting kits? - 19/08/2005 17:56

Before we sourced the UV LEDs, we checked the forward voltages and current ratings carefully angainst the white LEDs that have been used by Brian and others in the past. The UV LEDs should have the same ratings. Also, the resistors are of the same values as those used by Brian in his kits. Remember also, that the LEDs see pulse width modulation and so can withstand at least some overcurrent conditions depending on the width of the pulse.

Have you checked the resistor pack solder joints? These are very delicate and may fail. We've been running our light kit for a few years now and have not had any failures.

Has anyone measured the pulse width on setting 1- max?

Stu