OK, so I,m trying to make a solar garden light out of a small lighthouse I have laying around, I,ve wired and soldered a series of reclaimed led,s lead-to-lead for close spacing to encircle the cupola and run a 2 cond wire long enuf to go down the middle of the lighthouse to the base, where a reclaimed garden light pcb will go, and then another 6inch length of wire goes to the small solar panel. The dual AA battpack is also attached. There doesn,t appear to be a photoresistor in the Solar panel, since there,s only 2 leads off of it. My problem...in testing b4 mounting in the lighthouse, if I cover the solar panel the LED,s will come on, but if I expose the panel to the light, the LEDS stay on, at a reduced intensity. Huh? They,re supposed to go off. If I disconnect the batts, wait a few minutes, then reconnect, the LEDS stay off till I cover the panel, go on again, and then do the same confusing latch.
So. I thought the photoresistor might be on the thumbnail-size PCB, but all I see is a BP transistor-looking thang. Could it be, I thought, that the xsistor is used as a switch, and when the voltage from the panel drops below say..point 6 (darkness) the xsistor gate opens? But that would cut off the voltage from the batt to the LEDS, the idea is to get the opposite.
I dunno. Or maybe, the xsistor is actually shunting the supply voltage off away from the LEDS when the gate is closed. I,m pondering this and wondering what the next experimental step shall be.
Any thoughts? I,m almost ready to crack open one of my old nightlights to pull out the photoresitor and introduce it. But mysteries bug me, they serve as dares to solve.
So. I thought the photoresistor might be on the thumbnail-size PCB, but all I see is a BP transistor-looking thang. Could it be, I thought, that the xsistor is used as a switch, and when the voltage from the panel drops below say..point 6 (darkness) the xsistor gate opens? But that would cut off the voltage from the batt to the LEDS, the idea is to get the opposite.
I dunno. Or maybe, the xsistor is actually shunting the supply voltage off away from the LEDS when the gate is closed. I,m pondering this and wondering what the next experimental step shall be.
Any thoughts? I,m almost ready to crack open one of my old nightlights to pull out the photoresitor and introduce it. But mysteries bug me, they serve as dares to solve.
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Possibly you need to have a look of how this concept works all ready.
Outdoor solar powered LED garden lamp / Tear down.
Outdoor solar powered LED garden lamp / Tear down.
Yes, but that device has an IC. This one has only a 3 pin component. I have a lot of experience with garden solar lights. The most common problem is batteries that wear out, too many cycles...the next most common is rusted battery contacts, third is corroded pcb,s, 4 th is failed photoresistors.
This doesn,t appear to have a photoresistor. That,s why I,m stuck.
This doesn,t appear to have a photoresistor. That,s why I,m stuck.
You could make a simple solar controller with a npn transistor, a diode and a resistor.
https://youtu.be/B0H5iWZ0N60
https://youtu.be/B0H5iWZ0N60
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Well that sorta confirms my suspicion on how this thing is configured. This is obviously what,s being done, the solar panel has a standard blocking diode to isolate it from the battery source during the night so the batteries don,t waste energy discharging thru the panel, then a 22K resistor (for 6 volts, presumably divided by 3 for my app of 2volts) is used to bias on a xsistor to provide current for the LEDS. The batteries discharge, no current to bias on the xsistor, the leds shut off. Day returns, solar panel feeds current up thru the emitter cutting off the supply to the LEDS.
Maybe I,ll try that, but it still doesn,t reveal why my old PCB circuit is latching on. Must be the xsistor is defective. Ill try soimply replacing the xsistor to see if that works, if not, I,ll just bypass the pcb altogether and wire up that circuit. Thanks m8e
Maybe I,ll try that, but it still doesn,t reveal why my old PCB circuit is latching on. Must be the xsistor is defective. Ill try soimply replacing the xsistor to see if that works, if not, I,ll just bypass the pcb altogether and wire up that circuit. Thanks m8e
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