kessil spectral controller not responding

lonewonderer · Oct 6, 2017

Hello, I just got a kessil spectral controller. I have 2 A80 tuna blue. I plugged each light on port 1 and port 2. I have tried doing manual mode and it does not respond to the controls. the amount of color and intensity it gives is around 50% max and color is around 20%. Is this thing defective? if i unplugged it the light works and i can change the color and intensity manually. need help please.

Crabs McJones · Oct 7, 2017

lonewonderer said:
Hello, I just got a kessil spectral controller. I have 2 A80 tuna blue. I plugged each light on port 1 and port 2. I have tried doing manual mode and it does not respond to the controls. the amount of color and intensity it gives is around 50% max and color is around 20%. Is this thing defective? if i unplugged it the light works and i can change the color and intensity manually. need help please.

Are both lights not responding or just one?

lonewonderer · Oct 7, 2017

Both lights are not responding. Even if i only plug one it does not respond

Crabs McJones · Oct 7, 2017

lonewonderer said:
Both lights are not responding. Even if i only plug one it does not respond

Are you using the correct cables, and do you have the lines going to the input port on the lights? Any chance you can snap some photos and post them?

Ranjib · Oct 7, 2017

lonewonderer said:
Hello, I just got a kessil spectral controller. I have 2 A80 tuna blue. I plugged each light on port 1 and port 2. I have tried doing manual mode and it does not respond to the controls. the amount of color and intensity it gives is around 50% max and color is around 20%. Is this thing defective? if i unplugged it the light works and i can change the color and intensity manually. need help please.

Probably, if both is not working then its likely that the controller is defective. You can use a multimeter to be sure , it will read 0 to 10 volt as you increase the intensity . if you just bought it, then return , that's easier

lonewonderer · Oct 7, 2017

I got it from a local reefer so not sure if its under warranty. I emailed kessil and asked for help. The controller lights up the LED is working it it's just I can't control it manually

Timrpn · Apr 28, 2018

My lights are doing a similar problem. How was this resolved?

SashimiTurtle · Apr 28, 2018

Timrpn said:
My lights are doing a similar problem. How was this resolved?

Make sure your 3.5mm cables are plugged in all the way. I noticed my A160s will come on when I touch the controller side of the cable. Something similar happened when I plugged it in before it seated all the way into the controller.

Timrpn · Apr 29, 2018

It is pushed in all the way on both ends

Timrpn · Apr 29, 2018

Peter K · Apr 29, 2018

I would contact Kessil and see if they have an solution like a firmware update, when the spectral controller first came out I received a defective one very similar to what you are experiencing and they hooked me up with a firmware update that had not been released yet, their customer service is awesome and if they can't fix it with firmware or another solution I'm sure they will send you a new one.

Timrpn · Apr 29, 2018

Ok, I wrote them last night and sent them pictures as well, the firmware is correct at 1.04, and i even redownloaded it to make sure nothing was corrupt, but didnt make a difference. I bought the controller off of a fellow reefer. Only been used less than a month. Makes it odd and he said he did not have problems with it, so I am not sure what changed. I have googled and googled and there is nothing about this issue out there, so i hope they can help.

lonewonderer · Apr 29, 2018

I bought those Duracell 3.5mm audio cables and it worked. Had the same problem but that fixed it.

Timrpn · Apr 29, 2018

Yeah, i tried different audio cables and same problem. Just frustrated now. I have the Apex Jr, so I cant even hook it up to that.

lonewonderer · Apr 30, 2018

try to buy it and keep the receipt. you can always return it if it does not work.

marlowe · Sep 9, 2020

I have exactly the same problem, I have 5 360we lamps and I cannot adjust the color and intensity with the controller. Everything works manually, what I set earlier also works, but I can not introduce new settings anymore

Blue Spot Octopus · Sep 9, 2020

There are two controllers and I do not believe that they work on both type of lights, which controller did you get?

marlowe · Sep 10, 2020

I'm talking about the A-Series Controller. This is the controller to control my Kessil 360 WE Tuna Sun lamps. By setting any parameters in it, the lamps do not respond to these settings