A360x keeps shutting off

Bpb · Jul 8, 2022

Quick question before I exhaust more irritating solutions. I’m running 3 a360x units with wifi dongle and k links. One of them Keeps randomly shutting off. The only thing that will get it to fire back up is disconnecting and plugging back in the wire that goes from the light to the power brick. It fires right back up on program with the others. But after some hours it shuts off again. Intensity is only like 40%. Any ideas or thoughts

fusch13 · Jul 9, 2022

I had same issue. Finally got tired of it and bought new light.
So following along

Bpb · Jul 9, 2022

Did you ever contact kessil directly?

areefer01 · Jul 9, 2022

Contact Kessil. They will respond during normal business hours usually within 24 to 48 hours. Maybe sooner. During the height of Covid I submitted a ticket and they had a replacement a360x on my doorstep the next day.

Few things maybe to look at or be ready for when they contact you back:

1. How old is it, get serial number
2. Do you regularly clean using low pressure compressed air to remove dust and debris
3. Connections secure
4. You said you have two - have you swapped them around and see if it follows
5. Isolated the one showing signs of on/off and does it do the same thing
6. Remote problem light and does the other one behave normal

When I was actively running them over my display I would clean them about once a month. Worst case scenario two months. I didn't like to go much further and preferred every month due to my German Shepherd hair getting into everything. I have one over my refuge now and follow the same process. Every month it gets a gentle cleaning.

Reach out to Kessil. They have a great support team.

Bpb · Jul 10, 2022

areefer01 said:
Contact Kessil. They will respond during normal business hours usually within 24 to 48 hours. Maybe sooner. During the height of Covid I submitted a ticket and they had a replacement a360x on my doorstep the next day.

Few things maybe to look at or be ready for when they contact you back:

1. How old is it, get serial number
2. Do you regularly clean using low pressure compressed air to remove dust and debris
3. Connections secure
4. You said you have two - have you swapped them around and see if it follows
5. Isolated the one showing signs of on/off and does it do the same thing
6. Remote problem light and does the other one behave normal

When I was actively running them over my display I would clean them about once a month. Worst case scenario two months. I didn't like to go much further and preferred every month due to my German Shepherd hair getting into everything. I have one over my refuge now and follow the same process. Every month it gets a gentle cleaning.

Reach out to Kessil. They have a great support team.

1. It's about 6 months old.
2. Havent cleaned it yet, but will pick up some canned air and get on that
3. Connections secure
4. I actually have 3. I've swapped power sources around
5. Correct
6. I've removed the offender and spaced the remaining two out and turned up my other lights to compensate. Tank can function fine with only 2 as the kessils aren't necessarily the primary par generator of the tank, though they do dominate the aesthetic with the bright white shimmer.

Upon closer inspection, it appears the fan is no longer running on the offending unit and it is hotter than a firecracker even at just 40% intensity. Like I had to yank my hand away instinctively as if I touched a hot stove when i grabbed the body and accidentally touched the metal screw on the top. So it appears the fan has given up the ghost. I removed the unit from operation and have emailed Kessil. Hopefully it is a simple fix. If it is...I may have it fixed and just use two kessils and keep the 3rd as a backup for when the inevitable happens and one of the working two decides to have a problem. Fingers crossed theyll be able to help me out.

Lbrdsoxfan · Jul 11, 2022

Bpb said:
1. It's about 6 months old.
2. Havent cleaned it yet, but will pick up some canned air and get on that
3. Connections secure
4. I actually have 3. I've swapped power sources around
5. Correct
6. I've removed the offender and spaced the remaining two out and turned up my other lights to compensate. Tank can function fine with only 2 as the kessils aren't necessarily the primary par generator of the tank, though they do dominate the aesthetic with the bright white shimmer.

Upon closer inspection, it appears the fan is no longer running on the offending unit and it is hotter than a firecracker even at just 40% intensity. Like I had to yank my hand away instinctively as if I touched a hot stove when i grabbed the body and accidentally touched the metal screw on the top. So it appears the fan has given up the ghost. I removed the unit from operation and have emailed Kessil. Hopefully it is a simple fix. If it is...I may have it fixed and just use two kessils and keep the 3rd as a backup for when the inevitable happens and one of the working two decides to have a problem. Fingers crossed theyll be able to help me out.

Sounds like you got it. Had one shipped out by kessil years ago in a warranty exchange for the same reason. It was a breeze to do at the time.

Bpb · Aug 8, 2022

If anyone is interested, or if anyone finds this post in the future, I was able to resolve it this weekend finally. Life afforded me a couple hours to inspect the light.

A month or so ago I took the offending light apart, as I figured "what is the worst that could happen, its already not working" Before I could even undo the screws, I noticed the fan had an issue. When peering through the vents on the side I could see the fan was not sitting flat and flush inside the housing, rather it was parked at an angle and appeared wedged against the heat sink and the top of the housing.

Taking it apart I confirmed my suspicions. I blew some canned air all over every surface which didn't do much. I gently unstuck the fan blades and set it back down on it's shaft that it spins on. Unfortunately when turning the light back on after reassembly, the fan just made loud noise, the light heated up, and shut off again after about an hour. Down it came again.

Finally got back around to messing with it this weekend. This time I used rubbing alcohol and q-tips to thoroughly clean all surfaces inside the light, taking care to clean all wire connections, fan blades, circuit surfaces, etc. After cleaning the fan and shaft, rather than just setting it back in place, I applied pressure to make sure it was snug, and it actually snapped in place. I was unable to lift it back out. Upon reassembly, the fan now spun as designed and was dead silent.

The light has now been running for two full light cycles and has remained cool to the touch and no shut offs. I consider it fixed as far as I'm concerned right now (unless a separate issue arises). I don't know if this was a problem in manufacturing but the fan was not properly seated on its shaft, and I'm not sure it ever was. It snaps on there snugly enough, I would expect you to break a fan blade before being able to un-snap it and pry it back up. Either way. I'm happy to be complete on lighting again. The tank just didn't look right with only two. Wasn't bright white enough.

Side note...Canned air alone inside the vents is not adequate to clean these lights. I'm not suggesting people void their warranties, but just be aware. You can use all the air in the world and that dust won't go anywhere. It needs physical removal, which I see no other way to safely do than to disassemble the housing.