Solar Garden Light Repair 

Hello John, no matter how inexpensive the item, it is always nice to get it working again. A win is a win. Take care my friend, Regards, Dave

Replaced a bad solar panel on a lamp last night and also bridged out the switch to eliminate another problem source in the future. Simple repairs like these are still very satisfying and keeps the item out of the landfill. Take care.

Great tutorial. I don't have a voltmeter and don't know how to solder but good to know how a repair can be done. I want to troubleshoot a bundle of non-working solar lights so this has helped me better understand the process of elimination.

Great attention to detail. At last, someone who obsesses over things to the degree that I do. Thanks for confirming my diagnosis.

Knowledge about electronics... almost zero. Desire to learn and understand ... very high. This video was great. I don't understand all the pieces and their uses but I could follow WHAT you were doing. This was great (yes I am repeating myself) and your camera work and explanation made me enthusiastic at the end not frustrated because I couldn't understand or keep up

Very helpful. Thank you. In this throwaway world every little helps. £5.00 here £5.00 there adds up if you have lots of these.

The 4-pin IC in these solar lights is usually the YX8018 or some variant of it. Quite an impressive little chip as it not only drives the LED, but also handles the light/dark switching, battery charging and voltage boost (the NiMh batteries are nominally only 1.2V and most LEDs need at least 2.5-3V to operate, so this chip, inconjunction with the inductor and small capacitor fors a voltage step-up converter similar to a joule-thief circuit which lets a weak battery run the LED for quite a while. You can increase the LED current (at the expense of battery run time) by changing the little green inductor for a smaller one. Most faults in solar garden lights are due to corrosion, with the switch being the usual culprit, followed by the battery terminals. Bear in mind that like all batteries, these cells have a limit number of charge/discharge cycles (500-1000 depending on the quality of the battery installed) and if you have them in use all year round, as most people do, then that's 365 cycles per year, so 2-3 years at best before the battery performance starts to degrade noticeably. In the UK climate, most solar lights will fail due to moisture ingress long before the battery gives up though. You can reduce this effect by applying waterproof clear tape (the kind you use for fixing greenhouses) before you put the light outside for the first time, though moisture will still tend to build up inside due to condensation - if it has a plastic light housing, then drilling a 3mm hole in the bottom will help to drain this. People usually throw these things away, but it's fun to fix them (though I've picked lots of them up off skips before now and wired the solar cells together to make a phone charger :) )

Wow, and I catch grief for trying to fix these solar lights. I was excited to find your video and can't wait to try out my new skillset. I know how to test continuity but was afraid to whack off parts and try to resolder. Thanks for sharing!

Thank sooo mutch for this great Video, please make some more of it. Greetings from Germany from Elke W.

A bit of distilled vinegar will stop the oxidation process and after cleaning up I use DeOxit Gold contact cleaner/conditioner and put a drop of 100% DeOxit on the ends of batteries when inserting them...don't know if it helps but like to think so! Thanks for sharing John, I was pretty worried when that IC leg wouldn't take solder.

Repaired one today. Ours are kept in a sun room so don't get moisture ingress but after a 3 or so years the battery must have leaked and by capillary action rotted the red wire inside the insulation. It was off the PCB when I dismantled, so having replaced battery I re-soldered the red wire to the board and the damn thing didn't work. Checked the battery, I.4 V, checked it at the board 0.4V, re-soldered both ends to ensure no dry joints, still dead. I just couldn't believe a short length of wire soldered at both ends would fail like that but replaced it and good to go.

Good information, I would have put some sealant around Solor unit to help keep it dry inside that circuit board area.. thanks for your show & Tell

Well done. A wizard would not have your ability.

Yep a cheap-eeee but having a go is part of the hobby :-D Water is a right pain to keep out, I had to replace the mains bulb in the old oblong domed glass light nailed to my shed. it was outdoor sealed but not against H2o lol. I was thinking clear nail varnish might work as a pcb sealing coat. For a second i thought you had named your dmm, i thought you said ' Rita' lol my bad hearing again lol. Always nice to see you repairing things john, better than throwing away like modern society.

I just grabbed two tiny solar garden lights from my moms place that were not working anymore. I'll try to fix them as I generally have fun doing that kind of stuff... if there was just more time! :P

Nice job Very informative

Nice video, I've been doing exactly the same thing today! Have very similar lights. Interesting to see your board, I wonder if that resistor is a zero ohm link? I think I spotted a QX8018, I bought a packet of 10 of these from china and all but 3 were dead when tested on a copy circuit made on breadboard. I changed mine to use two different colour LEDs in series and can get a brighter light with that by using a schottky diode anode on pin 1 and a .1uF cap and LED connected in parallel from the cathode to ground, think that effectively makes a boost converter. Amazing how much fun there can be had by tinkering with these circuits! Thanks for sharing

Where can I buy the circular fixture tool you are using to snap the board?

Hi, have you any experience in Ebike battery repairs?. There is a demand for persons with such a talent.

Thank you very much!

Like the vise you are using to hold the PC board. Where could I find one?

Can you show us how to resolder the disconnected wires into the solar cell that is hidden in the plastic?

Hi, great video, I'm new to multimeters, can you please tell me the setting to test for a solar charge?

Hi, thanks for the video really informative. Could you just confirm the lube for cleaning and protecting and what you painted on the back of circuit board for protecting. Thanks again x

Most of the time i find that it's the little switch that has rusted on the inside so i ether bypass the switch or solder the place where the switch connects to the board together and change out the battery to an ever ready energizer battery

Used solar cell how voltage value is genrate

What is the proper name of your “board-vice”-? Thanks for a great, informative video

Hi, wonder if you can help. I have a solar-powered garden light string. Some of the bulbs don't light up, many do but only very dimly. The whole thing is powered by a 1.2V 800mAh AA cell. So clearly there is *some* current getting through. I've taken the COB out and there are no obvious signs of damage/rust to the battery, the terminals, or the solar panel.I have a multi-meter. Is there a set sequence of tasks I should go through in a given order to track down what the problem might be ?

Unfortunately not helpful for me and the light I am currently trying to fix but might be handy on other solar lights I have

I have similar lights with the same board , but a few stay on during the day .Do you think the 4 pin driver is at fault ?.Also the best thing to do with these lights is strip them when new and spray the board and contacts with white grease , or something like GT85

If I don’t care about the light and only use them as battery chargers is there a more direct way to wire it?

The solar charges on mine but doesn't work and that's touching the battery so connectionis there .but if I charge the battery with a another battery it works for a sort while the solar puts out 1.3v .

Hi wonder if you can advise got a string of LED lights powered by a solar panel but they don't shut down in the daytime, there on all the time, any ideas what might be wrong any help will be appreciated.

Hey. Have you ever fixed a lumier Orb. Looks like new inside the orb. I'd love to fix it. Any help welcome

I had replace the battery and it stays on

How do you change a colored light to white

Hi People, anyone know where I could buy one of those PCB holders @ 6:44 or what they are called, Cheers.

I have similar one which is working. But there’s no battery just using solar power.Do you reckon I will more brightness if I add battery to it?..And what is the importance of adding rechargeable battery to it.Thanks

We're did you get that solder clamb.. I gotta have that..

D-light solar lantern s500 no power on sir and last miss my hand sir

What did you use to clean the rust please?

Nice fix always good to fix than throwaway - would have been good to see how you test one of those led controller chips! New subscriber I like your style but is any item you look at ever a SHE? haha Got to watch out for the PC mob they might do you for sexism lol >;o)

30 seconds in, my guess corrosion. Every time I look at these its 85% corrosion, 10% battery, 5% something else like photocell/broken wire, etc. OK, back to the video now.

yes these made very poorly 99% of people will throw them away