LEDS- From theoretical to practical HELP

[TimberTDI]

Ok so after months of reading and reading and reading and more reading I actually embarked on building my array last night. I got as far as screwing the leds to the heatsink and pre tinning the wires.

Then I froze!!

I've never soldered anything before and am a bit nervous in screwing it up. So help me out here

• Is it okay for the insulation on the wire to melt a bit while pre tinning?
• The positve from the driver goes to the 1st + on the led?
• Do I then go like this; +led- to +led- to +led- with the last led- going to driver?
• How do I actually solder the wire to the cree? Do I apply the tip to the star? Do I put the wire on the star and then put the tip on the wire?

 

[regal]

1) Is it okay for the insulation on the wire to melt a bit while pre tinning?

It is OK but make sure that the exposed wired is not touching anything else like the heat sink or you wil create a short circuit.

Make sure you pre tin the stars before they are glued to the heat sink. It is much harder to do because the heat sink will suck up the heat from the soldering gun.

2) The positve from the driver goes to the 1st + on the led?

Correct

3) Do I then go like this; +led- to +led- to +led- with the last led- going to driver?

Correct, the last led- goes to the - of the driver.

4) How do I actually solder the wire to the cree? Do I apply the tip to the star? Do I put the wire on the star and then put the tip on the wire?


I apply the tip to the wire first to melt the solder that is already on the wire and then the tip and wire together to the star.

 

[TimberTDI]

ok so I sold & wire everything up. Plug it in and nothing!

But a second after I unplug it all the leds begin to warm up, they flash bright and shut off.

What gives?

Steven

 

[ming]

ok so I sold & wire everything up. Plug it in and nothing!

But a second after I unplug it all the leds begin to warm up, they flash bright and shut off.

What gives?

Steven

Is this a dimmable ballast? If so, are you giving it a 0-10V power?
The flash is normal when there is 0V power in the dimmer, and you unplug the power to the LED's so it sounds like you're just missing the 0-10V power...or you're just giving it 0V power

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

we would be able to help you alot more if there is some pics.. and some more details... what drivers are you using,,, what ma are you running the strings at... etc.

 

[TimberTDI]

to tired to to post pics tonight. I will tomorrow.

I haven't gotten the 10v power supply and potentiometer yet. I was just trying to test the array to see if soldered and wired okay.

So I guess wiring the blue and white dimmer wires together does nothing? They need 10v in order to light up the array?

I'm thinking about ordering the Enercell to use for dimming, it's $40 but sure would make it a lot easier.

 

[ming]

Correct, wiring the blue and white on the meanwell does nothing since neither of them gives off a charge.
You want to be careful not to give the meanwell over 10V, otherwise you can damage it.
If you're simply trying to test to see if it works, you could use a 9V battery and attach it to the blue and white wires.

 

[TimberTDI]

this is where i got the idea for using the enercell

check out the videos
http://www.reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/how-to-adjust-your-eln-60-48-driver/

 

[ming]

this is where i got the idea for using the enercell

check out the videos
http://www.reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/how-to-adjust-your-eln-60-48-driver/

That only shows you how to adjust the max current going through your LED's at 10V. If you mistakenly apply 12V to it, it will likely damage the meanwells because its designed to accept up to 10V only.

 

[wld1783]

That only shows you how to adjust the max current going through your LED's at 10V. If you mistakenly apply 12V to it, it will likely damage the meanwells because its designed to accept up to 10V only.

+1 You dont want to use the 12volt setting.

I adjusted the max current of the driver at 9v to 750mA. This way when its on a controller and 10V or full power, you will be well below the 1000mA the XR-E LEDs are rated for.

Bill

 

[bad coffee]

you can get one of those switchable power supplies for much cheaper than $40.

here's one for $14
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-...NG_POWER_SUPPLY_w-_SELECTABLE_OUTPUT/-/1.html

B