8 Bulb Starfire - need help to get working

[hrdneglcry]

Rapid led. Just get a nano power supply.
D

I contacted them. They told me they had nothing. I sent them the pic.

 

[oreo54]

I contacted them. They told me they had nothing. I sent them the pic.

Yea finding the orig driver in the US seems difficult.
Finding a ac/ dc substitute to run one diode also seems problematic.

Since you have a 12 v dc power supply you can use that and a dc/ dc driver.

Suggest a 700mA ldd-lw or 700mS ldd-hw
NOW THE CATCH...Not sure of the orig. circuit and how and/or when it was on.
That is a problem..

 

[Smite]

Used 12v supply from an led light not using. Fans are running! Yes I noticed a 12v port in the power box where the cords merge. Wondered whatbit was for. Fans work. Dial works. If I can ever find led driver this thing will mostly work. I did contact that company someone posted. They told me go to amazon.

Nice! With it being an older unit it thought it might be something as simple as a wall wart/power supply.
Glad to see your hard work paying off. One thing is for sure, you’ll know this fixture inside and out!

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Ya unfortunately I think rapid led prob doesn't want to deal with it or help with because of the age and liability. They aren't their to see it actually in person so they don't want u to burn your house down with it and hold them reliable. That's my long winded guess.
Lol

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

This is the driver they sold me with my moonlight set up.
It has a dial to dim it as well. Simple positive and negative. Loop.
D

 

[hrdneglcry]

Rapid led. Just get a nano power supply.
D

This could work. What do you think?

 

[oreo54]

This is the driver they sold me with my moonlight set up.
It has a dial to dim it as well. Simple positive and negative. Loop.
D

Minimum is 9 volts. Wouldn't work.

 

[oreo54]

This could work. What do you think?

Minimum is 6 volts also won' t work.

Want to thermal epoxy 2 led "stars" in series in its place it will work. (3.x X 2)
Luxeons can be under 3v each though
Safer w3.

Contact Us

Contact Us

www.eaglerise.com

You can try contacting them directly ..see what happens
SLP03SS1 .

Back to a 5v power supply coupled to a meanwell ldd.

 

[oreo54]

Possibility...

Lumistrips Search results for: 'drivers transformers us constant current led driver lumitronix ip67 700ma 230v to 05 10vdc 1 led de 3w 95041 us'

Lumistrips is dedicated to the development and production of high performance LED lighting strips and modules with the best LEDs on the market, from leading brands such as Nichia, Samsung or Seoul Semiconductor. With experiences going back to 2004, we were a part of the early success of LEDs and...

www.us.lumistrips.com

From Germany $25 int shipping.

 

[hrdneglcry]

Possibility...

Lumistrips Search results for: 'drivers transformers us constant current led driver lumitronix ip67 700ma 230v to 05 10vdc 1 led de 3w 95041 us'

Lumistrips is dedicated to the development and production of high performance LED lighting strips and modules with the best LEDs on the market, from leading brands such as Nichia, Samsung or Seoul Semiconductor. With experiences going back to 2004, we were a part of the early success of LEDs and...

www.us.lumistrips.com

From Germany $25 int shipping.

Well I paid it. The other one might have worked. Its about the mah Rapid LEd told me. If the leds are rated for 700ma max. if not the 900 ma would work provided not more than they are rated for.

I had six lights working. Down to four. Fans run. Two leds come on briefly when I shut odd main lights. They'd probably stay on if I plugged their plug somewhere else. I use a power strip to turn this thing on. The main ine must run off of the driver. Don't know why I bought it. I probably won't use these. I have read some things that they can make the fish nervous. So its working enough. Thanks to all. Marin Fauna Starfire working!

 

[oreo54]

Well I paid it. The other one might have worked. Its about the mah Rapid LEd told me. If the leds are rated for 700ma max. if not the 900 ma would work provided not more than they are rated for.

I had six lights working. Down to four. Fans run. Two leds come on briefly when I shut odd main lights. They'd probably stay on if I plugged their plug somewhere else. I use a power strip to turn this thing on. The main ine must run off of the driver. Don't know why I bought it. I probably won't use these. I have read some things that they can make the fish nervous. So its working enough. Thanks to all. Marin Fauna Starfire working!

No main t5 led replacements cannot possibly run off that tiny led driver you just bought .

As a guess your leds are flash lighting off the back voltage generated when the t5 ballasts shut down.

There are only 2 ways to use t5 led replacement tubes.

Either take the ballast out or use the ballast as a " driver"
Bulb design determines which one and how to wire the sockets.

IF someone told me it was setup to use leds I would assume they disconnected the the ballast.

If that hasn' t been done then there is no change
Need to just get the " direct" led replacement bulb.

 

[hrdneglcry]

No main t5 led replacements cannot possibly run off that tiny led driver you just bought .

As a guess your leds are flash lighting off the back voltage generated when the t5 ballasts shut down.

There are only 2 ways to use t5 led replacement tubes.

Either take the ballast out or use the ballast as a " driver"
Bulb design determines which one and how to wire the sockets.

IF someone told me it was setup to use leds I would assume they disconnected the the ballast.

If that hasn' t been done then there is no change
Need to just get the " direct" led replacement bulb.

Not sure about this post. I have no led t5's. Yes someone said it was configured to run t5 led. Maybe the last two lights need a new ballast and they made that part up. The driver is for the moon leds. Two came on when I attached the 12v adapter. The hockey puck did not. One diminished so I don't know if it runs partially off the driver. But it was brighter when I plugged it in. I have 4 bulbs running. I have seen 6 light up but can't get two to light up. Then the last two said to be led t5s. I see no differrence with their wiring and no ballasts are disconnected. But I have tried t5s in them and have not seen them run.

 

[oreo54]

Well every few posts and there is something new and unexpected...
I never considered those grey looking caps were hiding other diodes
So two led circuits??
When are which on? How are they turned on?
Obviously moonlight should be on when the tubes are off, and the opposite for the " shimmer" leds
Not sure how much shimmer you get in 2 leds assuming the grey ones are shimmer.
Not to mention 3 plugs for the whole thing?
2 for the 8 t5's ( 4x 2 or what?) and the 12v power supply.
Not to mention, why 2 relays and what all do they really do?
Too difficult for me without my hands on it.
Sorry.


One for shimmer, one for moonlight..,

There will be LED lights included in the Star Fire to replicate metal halide shimmer that some of you most have, with each LED getting its own dedicated iris for spreading the refraction of the LED. Not to worry, moonlights have also been included to keep your fish in the mood at night.

 

[hrdneglcry]

Well every few posts and there is something new and unexpected...
I never considered those grey looking caps were hiding other diodes
So two led circuits??
When are which on? How are they turned on?
Obviously moonlight should be on when the tubes are off, and the opposite for the " shimmer" leds
Not sure how much shimmer you get in 2 leds assuming the grey ones are shimmer.
Not to mention 3 plugs for the whole thing?
2 for the 8 t5's ( 4x 2 or what?) and the 12v power supply.
Not to mention, why 2 relays and what all do they really do?
Too difficult for me without my hands on it.
Sorry.


One for shimmer, one for moonlight..,

So my led driver is melted. I thought I only had the one hockey puck. Its about the size of a quarter. But when I shut off the T5s two leds came on. They must be enabled by the 12v. They stay on if the 12v is plugged in and powered. When my new driver comes I bet the middle led will light up when the T5s are off. I am glad the fans are working. I can replace the acrylic shield if I want to now. Still only 4 lights working. When it was sitting on its side I got six two work. Two I have never seen work. 4 is enough but 6 might be nice since I have them. Two cords power the T5s. The 12v the fan and probably the 3 led moons. And its not the grey caps on the ends. Its the screws closer in.

 

[Smite]

Are all the ballasts uniform, same manufacturer? Sorry if I missed that.

I worked as a lighting tech for a company that did a lot of "green" power stuff in CA. mh/t12/t8 to LED rebuild/relamps. Most LED t5 retro lamps will work with any modern ballast. Most reef LED t5 retro's banked on that making it easy to add a LED t5 lamp to a t5 fixture without replacing the ballast.
If the two lamps are LED "drivers" on the claimed LED channel, you're probably dealing with a failed driver ( the acceptable tolerance for failure was higher than I expected from the manufacturers). That burn mark is pointing in that direction. Me? I'd be throwing a t5 ballast back in that channel as most t5 led lamps aren't geared towards our hobby anyways. To me the key to t5 is # of lamps for finding the best spectrum. The more lamps you have available to you, the more you can dial it in.

A very common thing I would come across with trouble shooting rebuilds in these fixtures is the "tombstone" itself or socket. If you have green corrosion you are dealing with tombstones that have been exposed to splash or high levels of humidity. They are so cheap I would look at replacing them. Also, if the contact points have green tarnish, the wires connect directly to that and could potentially have the same green tarnish causing it to not have adequate contact. That can lead to flickering, intermittent function and sometimes burning of the tombstone itself if it causes arching when trying to fire the lamp.

Also, even for some tech I worked with it could be as simple as not have the lamp oreintation right. The pins should be horizontal when making contact (this I'm sure you know) but if you mark with a sharpie the exact point that should be pointed down, this can help eliminate something as simple as a bad pin connection. It only takes one lamp to not fire 2 lamps on a 2 lamp ballast.

 

[hrdneglcry]

Are all the ballasts uniform, same manufacturer? Sorry if I missed that.

I worked as a lighting tech for a company that did a lot of "green" power stuff in CA. mh/t12/t8 to LED rebuild/relamps. Most LED t5 retro lamps will work with any modern ballast. Most reef LED t5 retro's banked on that making it easy to add a LED t5 lamp to a t5 fixture without replacing the ballast.
If the two lamps are LED "drivers" on the claimed LED channel, you're probably dealing with a failed driver ( the acceptable tolerance for failure was higher than I expected from the manufacturers). That burn mark is pointing in that direction. Me? I'd be throwing a t5 ballast back in that channel as most t5 led lamps aren't geared towards our hobby anyways. To me the key to t5 is # of lamps for finding the best spectrum. The more lamps you have available to you, the more you can dial it in.

A very common thing I would come across with trouble shooting rebuilds in these fixtures is the "tombstone" itself or socket. If you have green corrosion you are dealing with tombstones that have been exposed to splash or high levels of humidity. They are so cheap I would look at replacing them. Also, if the contact points have green tarnish, the wires connect directly to that and could potentially have the same green tarnish causing it to not have adequate contact. That can lead to flickering, intermittent function and sometimes burning of the tombstone itself if it causes arching when trying to fire the lamp.

Also, even for some tech I worked with it could be as simple as not have the lamp oreintation right. The pins should be horizontal when making contact (this I'm sure you know) but if you mark with a sharpie the exact point that should be pointed down, this can help eliminate something as simple as a bad pin connection. It only takes one lamp to not fire 2 lamps on a 2 lamp ballast.

Yes ballasts are all the same. I have replaced several of the bulb holders because of green oxidation. So I could do a few more. In fact that was the original problem. I may get to the ballast at some point. This will almost be a new light then.

 

[Smite]

If it's a pain, swap the leads with a known working ballast to rule out the tombstones/ballast.

 

[hrdneglcry]

I found exact ballast I think. $30 ea maybe more with shipping. I may get in to swapping some out for testing. I don't like touching the light when I have it working lol.

 

[hrdneglcry]

Well I am notnsure this was worth the effort. I have four bulbs working but maybe the ballasts are going or maybe its the tombstones. I did replace some of them. Some days I have to turn it on a dozen times to get all of bulbs lit. Two light up right away. Not sure how long I will put up with it. Would have been nice if it just worked when I bought it. I wasn't lookung for a project. It probably needs new tombstones and maybe a few ballasts. I had them change the title because I didn't want it to just say Fauna Marin not working.

 

[hrdneglcry]

I wanted to ask since I sort of have this working if a 4x2 piece of acrylic at .093" would be sufficient for a new shield. I know I may have to cut it a little.