EcoTech Radion G5 failure

[PrayingMantis]

Hi everybody!

This is my first post. Back into the hobby, after decades, being away…

I need everyone’s advice on an EcoTech G5 light as I am a old-school fluorescent guy.

I began cycling the tank February 15
The G5 never came on until around March 8.

For a while things were good.
I enjoyed the technical advances; sunrise,sunset, adjusting spectrum, etc. with LEDs. Impressive stuff.

Friday, June 30 while doing maintenance the light flickered off.
I thought nothing of it assuming that I’d hit a cord on my Hydros system

Red channel only for a moment, then off.
I set it in front of a fan for hours (in case it was water? as a guess)

Then plugged it back in. It lit up,ran fin , reconnected to Mobius (did backup)
after about 20 minutes it went out completely.

The history of this light is interesting and poignant.
It was WON on ReefDudes as a promo for EcoTech Radion G5 when it came out.
My friend Steve pushed in my way to get me back in the hobby as I was slowly gathered equipment.

So this light ran from March 5 to June 30.

That’s approx 115 days…. Then catastrophic failure

We disassembled it to see what might be the issue. And, possibly troubleshoot parts/fix.

I contacted EcoTech. Ther service was great. I asked for parts (replacement chip)
After an email exchange, they would only accept shipment to them for inspection and assistance.
I sent this at a cost of +$50.

Their feedback was the following:
That there was a diode burn out?
(I challenge this based on the pictures.) How is a diode connected to a fried chip?

Option 1:Their solution is repair it for US$150 - of course zero guarantee here
Option 2: Replace with a G6 for US$299
Plus shipping
Plus duties and taxes
+ exchange rates

1. Someone’s gotta know way more about LEDelectronics than I do, to give me some sort of insight/feedback on this?

2. opinions of the best choice to: 1) repair, 2)replace, 3) walk away?

This is becoming an extremely expensive light.
Beyond any rational spending with this high-tech equipment.

Luckily I have a Nicrew 150 lamp and bracket I was saving for my inevitable multiple aquarium syndrome
I must say I am impressed by this unit.

Thanks, everyone
J

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

It's quite possible that a faulty diode did all that damage.

@_AV

 

[zoomonster]

Like most stuff these days the boards are usually just tossed in trash and replaced with a new one. Very little in the realm of board repair. If it was me, I would have just bought the G6 upgrade online at $399 being that board looks well beyond repair (more than a chip). Sounds like for your trouble they are at least giving you $100 off on the G6 upgrade. Based on your dates I'm surprised it's not under warranty unless you bought it used.

 

[_AV]

Really hard to see from the close up pictures, but it looks like corrosion to me. The damage on the board is also consistent with a short caused by water damage/corrosion. It looks like the water came in through the mounting hole at the top. This would explain the disaster on the board as there is a lot of current and voltage going through each LED channel. Surprised that ecotech didn't pick up on that, but then again I could be wrong.
I have seen many of those diodes failing but that usually results in a dead short, which is quickly blocked by the PSU.