Opening a work light from a commercial fishing boat (with schematic)

This was one of the hardest things I've tried to open. They must put the glass in with a machine or have specialist silicone injection equipment. I had to Dremel the front of the case off to remove the glass. That means it is effectively unserviceable.
It looks like an expensive and well made light, as the waterproof seals had actually kept the stormy waters of the Irish Sea at bay. The unit had suffered an electronic failure that caused half of the LEDs to be out, and the others were showing signs of age.
These units were replaced with standard LED floodlights which the fishermen prefer anyway, as this unit has a very narrow beam.
It's notable that although the casing was well designed for heat dissipation, there was no thermal compound between the PCB and housing.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators

[@mattelder1971]

I'd think that they put a sealant in the track for the glass that cures after the glass is slid in. Seems a very intelligent design choice for an electronic device that is expected to be used in harsh conditions. But yes, that does effectively make it unserviceable.

[@eliotmansfield]

probably the same stuff they bond windscreens in with

[@mattelder1971]

@@eliotmansfield Exactly what I was thinking. That would explain his difficulty in getting it removed from the housing.

[@Tim_Small]

I took apart a similar light with an acrylic sheet instead of glass. In that case I reckoned they'd used something like alcohol to slide the acrylic sheet in with preformed sealant beads in the extrusion. It becomes immobile once the alcohol evaporates.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@eliotmansfield , a good chance of that. a sort of polyurethane adhesive. its used in car windshields and probably train and bus windows as well because when it sets it becomes structural. and one of my cars is 35 years old and the window adhesive is as good as new.

[@hobbesscott1014]

Yes, a cured urethane adhesive as used to bond windshields in place. If you are ambitious you can usually remove glass like this by cutting the adhesive away from the glass with a thin wire saw. This requires access to both sides of the glass so a long tool with an eyelet is needed to position the wire on the inside surface of the glass.

[@clownhands]

I would like to see more pirate electronics on this channel.

[@brianmurphy8790]

'Pirate' - like how to make car key-fob repeaters? I've considered making my own channel of that stuff, but this is YT so it probably wouldn't last long.

[@fromthetaperoom6325]

The high seas not be so friendly to electronics, yarrrr. Pirates, arrrrr

[@colfaxschuyler3675]

@@fromthetaperoom6325 Pie rat humor bee an Arrrt form. The pun-ish meant to fit the crime. Aye, just as they say, Virtue Is Its Own Reward - we'd rather have treasure. September 19th be nigh, only a few short days until we revel.

[@primateinterfacetechnologi6220]

I grew up in the small and unique town of Bolinas, on the west coast of California, about 50 minutes north of San Francisco... Bolinas is basically a peninsula; surrounded on three sides by water, and fish. back in the Cretaceous era, when I was about 14, I saved and purchased a commercial fishing license, so I could go out fishing with some of the local fishermen. we fished Chinook salmon, halibut, Dungeness crab, and "rock cod" (various species of small basses). fond memories of many an adventure... and was the hardest work I've ever done. a couple of years however... I discovered music, girls, and pot... as one may. peace be upon you, sir.

[@Super1337357]

As someone who goes off road all the time the best thing I've found is to take the light bar apart right when you get it and just smear silicone on every mating surface you can.

[@solrosenburg9595]

Window weld is the best thing I have found for sealing them.

[@darkknight145]

Silicon as in the setting type or Silicon grease?

[@95rav]

@@darkknight145 or the type used for boobs...

[@mihamaker]

@@darkknight145 silicon grease is completely another type of paste, just for greasing/lubricating where you don't want petroleum product. Silicone sealant neutral or acetate like bathroom sealant. Or something much stronger like polyurethane or polimer sealant.

[@obliviousostrich1002]

@@mihamaker Could the acid released into the sealed enclosure result in corrosion? @ acetate silicone. Nail polish is a popular choice, I think clive used it on some of his outdoor lights with good results.

[@kevinleesmith]

I started my electrical and electronic journey in around 1974 by taking things apart to see what they were made of and to try to figure out how they worked. Thanks for reminding me how interesting that is.

[@HakoFrost]

Finally. I was waiting for you to get an led light bar. Offroad light bars are one of the largest offenders for over rated stats. Every single one I've ever purchased has drawn less power then stated. Having purchased "name brand" bars, and eBay specials.

[@johnnodge4327]

Technically that's a good thing, as life of the LED emitters will be longer.

[@quandiy5164]

Yes, they often quote the total rated power of the leds but not the consumed power. Heatsinking is always an issue when the vehicle is stationary (they still get pretty warm even when underdriven) that's probably why they never run the leds at max rated power. Still good though as underdriving leds make them more efficient in lumens per watt input.

[@HakoFrost]

@@quandiy5164 I get that. But when you pay more for a 180w bar, over a 100w bar. And the 180w draws 90w... Gets kinda frustrating

[@quandiy5164]

@@HakoFrost yup, it is kind of frustrating but think about it, the 100w bar you passed up most probably have been 50w actual 😁 I believe even the brand name ones are made the same way (not sure, never owned or tested one - too broke to pay for a set) but you just pay for better after sales support and warranty.

[@MostlyInteresting]

You have to see if they are talking about actual consumed power or relative to incandescent power. Also they lie....

[@hullinstruments]

I really miss your troubleshooting and fixing videos. Love them! Hope you and all those Irish fishermen are doing well.

[@offdagrid877]

Got your self a new video light then Clive! A bit screw and glue happy that one, no wonder it survived the Irish Sea most things don’t for long.

[@Jedda73]

Ive been hanging out for so long to see one of these led light bars on this channel. Many thanks to your friend for the contribution.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

"Well worth taking apart" - a sentiment I can relate to.

[@keithking1985]

CLIVE YOU NEVER LET US DOWN WHEN IT COMES TO LEARNING COOL STUFF OFF YA!! YOU BLOODY LEGEND.. ; )

[@mikerhodes9198]

Good review. As use is for the ocean cannot fault them for over designing seals. Since the the tiniest leak would be disastrous.

[@OnlySlightyRadioactive]

Wait, they weren’t cooking the LEDs and the housing was well put together? It’s got to get up doots for that at least.

[@travisash8180]

It still failed.

[@OnlySlightyRadioactive]

@@travisash8180 indeed.

[@FlatBroke612]

@@OnlySlightyRadioactive >>>back to plebbit

[@OnlySlightyRadioactive]

@@FlatBroke612 you seem nice, thanks for your input.

[@andrewedis9907]

Your name made me smile Mr cats😊

[@westinthewest]

I managed to remove the glass on a small version of one of these floodlights. I noticed that the black rubber strips had a few millimeters sticking out of each end, so I was able to pull both these ends - not to drag the strips out, but to stretch them to a reduced diameter, thus reducing their grip on the glass. The rubber strips had been fitted dry. There was no glue or cured sealant involved.

[@johnpossum556]

All Hail Clive as our Lighting Overlord!

[@Nono-hk3is]

Thank you, Clive and Jiffy. o7, LED light.

[@Nono-hk3is]

I just love when the dremmel makes an appearance

[@johnpossum556]

What is the Mannish version of the name Dremel Dan?

[@bandit4550]

Yes, he goes a long way for the money shot, love it.🤗

[@AdrianDowthwaite]

And the handheld X-Ray device too!

[@spacemanbowkonami]

Me hearing Clive say "Louis Sr.", and thinking: "That's a bit random to just shout out a name, even for Clive... Oh waaaaaaait...... LOW ESR!" ;-)

[@grayeaglej]

This thing lools nearly identical to the bar I recently installed in the grill of my mom's minivan. The reason for the lensed LEDs on each end of the Bar are to act as Fog Lamps. By rapidly turning the power switch on and off you can switch between 3 modes, 1 where the entire Bar is lit, a 2nd where only the center bar is lit, and a 3rd where only the lensed clusters of 8 at each end are lit. Its a pretty good little light for the price. Really illuminates the Deer and Raccoons on these country roads out here in the Midwest Wasteland. :3

[@solrosenburg9595]

We throw a few on everything that moves here in the Appalachian mountains.

[@grayeaglej]

@@solrosenburg9595 I know, I lived in Mt Hope WV, smack dab between Beckley and Oak Hill, from 1992 to 2007, and even before LEDs were really a thing everything had to have a Halogen or Zenon flood or spot ziptied, hogringed, ductaped, or plumber's taped to it. O.o

[@tbelding]

@@grayeaglej I've run that road more than once. My mother's from Oak Hill, and relatives were from Deepwater to Beckley. People in Houston don't believe me when I tell them the routines for driving around the hill roads, especially those only paved in the center.

[@grayeaglej]

@@tbelding Be absolutely fall on your butt drink because if you are the slightest bit sober you might accidentally go Straight for half an inch and end up either smeared across a rock face or rolling 300 feet down a gully through a few dozen trees. O.o (Edit) I drove an Ambulance for Jan-Care 2005 and 2006. Taking the gravel roads into the hollars at 80+mph at 3am in ford F550 Box Ambulance on Two Wheels will make you appreciate seat belts. O.o

[@tbelding]

@@grayeaglej - I don't even like running the back roads at 30 MPH in daylight, let alone what the nutjob RidgeRunners would do at night. I don't know whether to applaud your courage, or try to find where to have you committed.

[@johnnodge4327]

Thanks for sharing. That's a different design to the LED bars I've pulled apart to reverse engineer. All the bars I've stripped have all the LED emitters in groups of 6 series strings. Each series string comes on it's own PCB (a module if you like), complete with separate boost drivers for the 6 LEDs on that module. Using this module design, means the LED bars can be made into different lengths, in multiples of 6, with 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 42 and so on. The only difference between them being the length of the aluminium extrusion, the length of the glass, and the number and design (spot or flood) reflectors used. Additional this LED bar uses sealing compound to seal the glass, end caps and cable entry point. All the bars I've pulled apart have used greased O rings to seal the polycarbonate lens and the extrusion, with additional O rings sealing the end caps, the cable entry being the only area sealed by compound.

[@d.t.4523]

Great teardown! Now you have the perfect lamp assembly for the fridge! 👍

[@richardturton6900]

A faulty MLCC strikes again! I wonder how much much electronic equipment is sitting in land fill with just a faulty MLCC?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Or is causing short battery life in normally low current equipment with one across the battery connections. I see that a lot.

[@RK-kn1ud]

Lots of TVS diodes and shorted MOSFETS as well. Multi-thousand dollar products being tossed over $0.02 parts

[@jeremyp7293]

I fixed one for a friend few years ago. It was a 50" ebay chinesium one. The construction was similar but much easier to take apart and back together. The glass was held by 2 strip of aluminium screwed with a ton of screw in the body of led bar. The fault was only after 2 -3 min of use all the led bar went out except a small group of led on one side. Once open, the fault was easy to find. The power cord was solder to the board and traces power all the other power supply. They added small wires over the traces because the lamp draw a lot of current. At one place close to the power cord a wire was solder on the + trace, 2 inches of trace vaporised and another wire going to the rest... I solder a piece of 14 awg solid wire and it was fixed, + a lot of silicone to put it back together

[@goodun2974]

What about internal condensation from moist air? Ideally, a product like this should have been filled with dry, conditioned air or better yet some inert gas like nitrogen before being sealed up. The fumes from the curing silicone caulk could also be corrosive over the long term, especially if it's the vinegary-smelling stuff.

[@trevorbaldwin2935]

As always, interesting. I have an idea for a kit project. We'll call it 'The Talent Distance Checker'! It would consist of a tiny sensor with a tiny light on attached on a mic stand. The talent would discretely wear a second part on their garment at the front. The sensor light would eliminate when the talent moves away from the microphone thereby warning them they were too far from the mic. Sounds easy enough ! Up for the challenge Mr BC? I'll buy the first one off you!

[@bigclivedotcom]

That's why wearable mics are such a good idea.

[@richardgraham785]

60 seconds in, excited to see the guts. These are very common Stateside, and I’m curious to see the innards! Edit: potting! Heck!

[@RichardT2112]

Nice catch Clive! 😜

[@JohnAudioTech]

They use those same Epistar style LEDs in the cheap 1$ flashlights sold at Dollar Tree here in the US.

[@eeunatela1]

Now, do a new "super computer" with the reflectors

[@azazeldeath]

Honestly alot of the offroading/at lights are good nowadays. Used to be a mechanic and ive worked on ranger vehicles that had 800k km on the clock, most their in or partially underwater and I noticed within the last 10 years things like spot lights and light bars just seemed to slow down on failures and even some of the cheap ones ceased being mobile water reservoirs. Was good to see inside one though most are sealed like that and if I had to replace them the customer always wanted them back so they knew we changed it....despite the fact it was usually a different brand or style and going some water filled not working to brand new and working should be pretty clear proof the job was done.

[@DavidSmith-zx7wz]

This is the kind of stuff I like!! Great content.

[@quandiy5164]

I had a single row version that I had taken apart a few times due to moisture ingress. The trick is removing the endcap then using needle nose pliers, pull out the silicone rope/string seal. It stretches and pulls out easily, then the front glass will slide out with ease. Putting it back is tougher though sliding the glass along with the silicone seal pulling along with it and not ending up with a lot of stretched out seal in the ends. I took out the lenses on mine that covers the leds, which allows some side spill so I can see more at the sides when turning on mountain roads.

[@U014B]

For as much of a pain in the rear-hinder it was to get past the glass, it _better_ have been clean and dry inside.

[@SwichMad]

To clear such subborned glass use a thin steel wire to cut the seal, kind of like they do when removing windshields

[@blockbertus]

But there would not be a good way to pull it on both sides in this scenario.

[@goodun2974]

And if that doesn't work, garrote the product's designer with the thin steel wire!

[@dcallan812]

It looks like the light was not built on the cheap, such a shame it failed for such a little component.

[@andygozzo72]

modern caps, especially the highly miniaturised things, are cack! stick a mylar cap in and doubt it'll ever need changing

[@dcallan812]

@@andygozzo72 yes just a pity that must folk have no idea how to fix things now. ANd to change it you have to bust the unit apart. 👍

[@demef758]

We engineers can get fooled when a schematic gets turned upside down, but what you have here is a conventional buck regulator with a very small "twist" to it: no output filter capacitor. LEDs need regulated current, not voltage, so the TB99B controller does away with the unneeded (and sometimes unreliable) output filter cap. If you turn Clive's schematic upside down, you will see a standard buck regulator but without an output filter cap. Of course, you need to reverse the polarity of the catch diode, and swap out the NFET for a PFET, after which Bob's your uncle. Probing the drain of the FET, you will see a rectangular voltage waveform whose duty cycle is Vout/Vin, although in this case, Vout is referenced to the positive power rail, not ground. You see this kind of arrangement with the load referenced to the positive power rail rather than ground in a lot of LED mains-fed switchers. It crosses many engineers' eyes when they first see it, but that's what's going on. Beginning engineers think everything must be "ground" referenced. That's not necessary. Electrons don't care what your reference is. "That's your hangup, not mine." Not sure why the ceramic filter cap on the output of 7.5V regulator failed. In my experience, ceramic caps are usually quite robust. It may be "just one of those things."

[@bigclivedotcom]

Traditional ceramic capacitors used to be extremely reliable, but they have made the layers thinner and thinner to the point where stress can cause then to crack and develop parallel resistance.

[@demef758]

​@@bigclivedotcom I want to state that I am NOT trying to pick a fight, only try to understand why the regulator failed, from half way across the planet. I question the blanket "stress" statement. What stress? This particular capacitor should lead a very gentle electrical life. My theory: without a capacitor on this Vdd node, the part will not operate properly. Regulators require a small capacitor to be stable. I would suspect a bad solder joint on this node, causing the capacitor to be disconnected, leading the regulator to become unstable. Solder joints are a very common source of failure. They can certainly crack. Just touching the 3 nodes (2 on the capacitor, one IC pin) with a soldering iron would have tested that theory. Oh well. Thanks for hearing me out. I look forward to all of your videos.

[@fouzaialaa7962]

it would be intresting to try to re- seal it up ... sealing for salty water is different than regular water mainly becoz of the salt residue and the fact that salt will eat up and erode most of the sealing compounds

[@MadScientist267]

Water is a damn tricky thing. You get what appears by all accounts a good seal on something from the elements... You'll find out the seal works, but only in reverse. Never have figured that out lol

[@jons6125]

Im amazed at the water proofing that’s normally what kills those lights if they are cheeper

[@enlightendbel]

Only the solder joints being affected means that while it is water proof, it's likely not 100% air tight and the corrosion is from salty moist air getting in.

[@stridermt2k]

Hehe someone thought they were gonna keep Big Clive out. As if.

[@TopEndSpoonie]

Where there is a will, there is a way ... or a bigger hammer/xray machine.

[@undernetjack]

Metal cutting band saw?

[@BenQuigley]

Plasma cutter

[@McTroyd]

Pity about the fixture, but water ingress is a stubborn one. Good to know about the MLCC fault mode, though -- I hadn't seen that myself yet, but it totally makes sense. 👍

[@kingblatz]

Well pleased as always!

[@Krzys_D]

I had to repair one of these and on both edges it had a solid copper wire for the positive and negative that was maybe a 10 gauge, hardest thing I've had to unsolder the aluminum housing was acting like a heatsink and I didn't have a heat gun, it ended up being a broken trace cause the thing heats up so much and expands and contracts

[@jordanmillard3802]

Almost positive these are sold in Australia through the retailer Anaconda, under the 'Dune 4wd' brand, I have one on my Landy and it does its job incredibly well!

[@mcomiskey7]

Good morning all.

[@wisher21uk]

Great thanks Clive

[@timteecvhn]

Oh not even 2 minutes in and this is already gonna be good. (yes commenting before I've even watched the whole thing.)

[@RadioJonophone]

I saw the vice of knowledge make an appearance, but the star of the show has to be the Dremel of Determination.

[@ronnierush9379]

Great Video: Capacitors seem to be the main failure point in loads of circuits, can somone reinvent them so they last longer ?

[@Spectral_Penguin]

Excluding for a moment the cheap knock off capacitors prevalent for sale on various sites, the main way to extend the life of capacitors is not to cram too much capacitance in a tiny package, and run them around I think it's 60-70% of their rated voltage. The closer to rated voltage they are run the shorter their lifespan.

[@assassinlexx1993]

There is Engineer who sole job is to make it work till the warranty expires. It is like they put a clock in the chip. Tick tick bang times up. Now buy a new one. Yes I am very jaded.

[@MadScientist267]

There's nothing really to "reinvent", just the (as Clive mentioned) over miniaturization bit. There's nothing "wrong" with the caps these days (true "plague" was a slightly different thing), they are simply rated with way closer margins than they should be. Old school rule of thumb... No more than 50% rated "whatever" at the intended operating temp... That's partly (not close to entirely lol) why things were so damn big back in the day... "Make damn sure". Everything these days is within a few % of failure, LEDs in fact (the individual dies and cooling combo) being one of the worst. They would be *crazy* more efficient and last long enough to pass them to the grandkids by just backing off the ask a few points... There are other ways to get the lumen count desired... Clive has even done videos on it... But where's the money in that? Same thing with the caps... Tiny doesn't just mean small phones, it means less raw material the manufacturer has to spend cash on to make the components... So it's win win for them... Push everything to the limit by minimizing what it's made of, save money there. If it fails? Sweet! They gotta buy another one.

[@bigclivedotcom]

They used to be reliable, but they's over miniaturised them.

[@MadScientist267]

@@bigclivedotcom They also kinda found themselves in a predicament with 'lytics and SMPS. I very rarely (only the super high end electronics) see electrolytics bypassed correctly (normally not at all) for the demands high frequency switching puts on them... We're starting to see those issues fade because the frequencies of supplies are getting so high, 1uF can do the job 10,000uF (or, higher) would have been needed for with 50/60 Hz linears, and several hundred to a couple thousand can do for slower SMPS. 10,000uF caps have to be electrolytic. Not practical to do more than handful uF without them. 1uF can be damn near anything in theory (SMPS wants it stiff tho, lol sooo..) It is what it is. Some equipment won't escape them... And proper bypassing is a way to greatly extend their lifespan... And it's cheap... Leaves only one thing. Just more fuel for the theory... "We *want* it to fail" 🤦‍♂️

[@CitizenSmith50]

Only the Irish would think of using an off-road vehicle light on a boat!

[@rjmun580]

The Isle of Man is in the Irish Sea but it isn't part of Ireland.

[@danlemke6407]

@@rjmun580 Awesome motorcycle races there.

[@svchineeljunk-riggedschoon4038]

If you want to put this back together, 3M 4200 is the most economical marine adhesive sealant for the job.

[@chrisglen-smith7662]

I was expect the bigclive X-ray machine to come out!

[@bigclivedotcom]

It almost did. The Stanley hammer was used to try and tap the glass out longways with a pad, but still managed to shave off some glass.

[@BensWorkshop]

Many thanks Clive, quite interesting.

[@markevans2294]

Interesting approach of using the same kind of diodes in parallel. Guessing this translates into a cost saving.

[@Chris_the_Muso]

Yes it will increase the current carrying capacity so can replace a much bigger and more expensive diode, however it is fraught with danger since not all diodes are exactly the same. The diode with the lowest forward voltage will still carry much higher current. It's not something that is usually recommended. I guess that's how China do...

[@dbspecials1200]

Quite a difference between a "Poundland" fixture and this marine-grade/off-road build. it probably did it's time and served the owner well, for what it was.

[@kira07]

that black stuff is most likely a self expanding foam rubber , quite popular now as its cheaper than ordering a custom size orings and gaskets

[@theguywithajeep]

amazing this is exactly the type of tear downs i like

[@devil2005iscool]

it needed the capcitor since the inductor needs to source its current into a cap and that is what that cap will do as its part of the chip . its hidden because you normally see it after the shottkey diodes and it still is if you explode the inside of the chip. so thats why it wasnt working and thats why replacing it worked.

[@kimsleep4111]

ARRRRRRRRR...BigClive goes to Sea, Billy!

[@burntorangeak]

I wonder how this compares to the extremely expensive Rigid and VisionX brands. I'm guessing they're very much the same.

[@assassinlexx1993]

They probably come from the same factory. Just with different name on it. For higher profit margin.

[@gadgetwob]

I had a similar one to this. Supposedly 250W, but only took 10A with a 12V supply. Marketing watts = real watts * x, where x is whatever you think you can get away with. Still really bright though!

[@cypeman8037]

When you counted the ten LEDs, did you expect less or more at the other side? You carried on counting to twenty. 😂

[@TKC_]

I have one of those I wanted to make a flood light. Was going to remove the glass to sand blast it to make it frosted to diffuse the light… guess I’ll just tape up the whole unit and do it assembled ha.

[@iainburgess8577]

Re differences in corrosion, would electrolysis be a possible explanation? Salt water in atmosphere + current in circuit. Possibly heat differential from hot leds W colder climate? Rig a diffuser panel across the top of the old extrusion, that could be an interesting indoor/covered floodlight. Maybe lower wattage to bottom limit to make that more reasonable?

[@PH03N1X0M3G4]

@4:00 likely a thermoset plastic adhesive, permanently set by the heat of the LED's upon burn-in.

[@thomasbarlow4223]

Best advice I could give you guys is when you buy LED lights such as this, before you even install them on the vehicle take clear adhesive sealant, !NOT SILICONE! and go all the way around the light. Put some under each screw everything. For me it works best if you can somewhat disassemble the light first. I've never had water intrusion on any of my light bars since I started doing this years ago. Oh and make sure to put dielectric grease on the wires because the light will absolutely 100% wick water up the wire.

[@jensschroder8214]

The word "vessel" amazes me. It means something like ship or barrel. All I can think of is the German word "Fass" = barrel. But not everyone lives by the sea.

[@tactileslut]

The same word comes up in plumbing and biology.

[@geofham8332]

Hi , very interesting, many thanks.

[@jdrissel]

I wonder if that corrosion around the capacitor and those LEDs is related to incompatibility between the plating on the components and the solder used on the circuit board? And also how could we tell?

[@starfox6335]

I, too am half lit sometimes. ❤

[@ProtonOne11]

Interesting. I would have guessed that most circuit boards that go out on the sea have some conformal coating applied to survive a bit longer if the case seal does leak. Guess they saved a few cents there on not having to wash the board after soldering and not using a spray robot that manages to avoid the LED lenses while coating the pads...

[@DejitaruJin]

"Over-miniaturized" is right, that board is relatively huge for the components they decided to use.

[@patomahony9747]

Thanks Clive. Great tear down. I learn something new each time I watch one of your videos. So on electronics for dummies 101 can some one explain how to check likes of that faulty cap while still soldered to the board ???

[@bigclivedotcom]

It depends on its location in the circuit. Normally it's difficult to test capacitors in circuit.

[@patomahony9747]

@@bigclivedotcom thank you. Hoping you demonstrate the process some day as part of one of your videos.

[@henrikcarlsen1881]

We missed seeing him putting it all together again.

[@jon-paulgrainger1303]

Could the glass of been bonded in place with heat afterwards Clive? Intresting construction 👍

[@bigclivedotcom]

I'm not sure how they achieved such a linear seal in that confined space.

[@Tim_Small]

@@bigclivedotcom I took apart a similar light. I thought they'd probably used a preformed sealing strip, and used something like alcohol as a lubricant to slide the glass sheet in (mine was acrylic) alongside it. Same technique is used to get bicycle handlebar grips onto the metal bars. Once the alcohol evaporates, it's stuck fast.

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

i've seen issues where silicone is used to seal the enclosure and it releases acetic acid whilst curing which can be traped inside. So copper tracks can be eaten away over time. I've got to seal a box for an antenna tuner and i'm trying to work out how long does the acetic acid get released for if i use cheap sealent. Maybe after a week with the lid off it might be OK to close the box.

[@bigclivedotcom]

You can get neutral curing silicone.

[@mallow173]

Now this is another good one! just wondering if it was built for the conditions it was used in? those things are very common in this neck of the woods (Eastern Canada) and as you say, commonly used on ATV's. Excuse my ignorance, but what is potting compound? Is that something the components are mounted in or a protection for the components? Wasn't expecting to see the interior so neat and clean for sure. That was a very very interesting dissection! Thanks again

[@bigclivedotcom]

Potting compound is a two part mix used to encapsulate components.

[@mallow173]

@@bigclivedotcom Thanks for that, makes perfect sense now

[@Terrorist939]

How would one go about increasing the power of one of these units? Such as replacing the LEDs with higher wattage and then modifying the circuit. I have a very similar Chinese LED bar that had some 1w LEDs burn out so I replaced them with the 5w variant and I wish to try and get them a bit brighter.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Using better quality LEDs can make a huge difference at the same power. If you increase the power the new LEDs may fail fast if the heatsinking is not rated for it.

[@wingerrrrrrrrr]

Does the actual power draw of LEDs translate into greater heat or does the efficiency factor in? If it puts out more energy in the form of light, does that mean less heat needs to be dissipated compared with an LED of lower efficiency that puts out less light for the same power input?

[@spidrespidre]

Before Autoglass came with the insurance, I once (with help) fitted a replacement windscreen and used washing up liquid to lubricate it into the seal before it dried when it acted more as a glue or in any case no longer a lubricant. Are there other substances that would do this better? Maybe a mastik ...

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's guess the automotive glass installation industry probably has some specific products optimized for that use

[@spidrespidre]

It certainly makes sense, otherwise many of the more modern glass shapes employed would be impossible to fit. Back when I cared more about these things the VW dealership (my missus got her Beetle from) had to fit the rear spoiler after it had been imported and we had to wait a couple of days. That was back in 2001. Slightly different job but clearly one hell of an adhesive that needed 24+ hours to fully cure. Now we've got Bodykit Metal Panel bonding for £12 a tube on ebay

[@richardmellish2371]

I'm a bit bemused by the 22 ohm resistors. They are presumably intended to drop about the same voltage as one LED. That implies a current through their two LEDs (and presumably therefore also through each set of three LEDs) of around 250 mA, so nowhere near the suggested 2 W per LED. Of might you have misread the resistor values?

[@johnq8792]

Very nice screw driver, the small one

[@danlemke6407]

Hey Clive, have you done any videos on remote 3-way switches? I was gonna sift through your past VJs and seen that I would need a cray computer and an X rated version of Excel to find what I am looking for. I love how you do your vids, and how well you explain what is taking place, so after buying some of these 3-way switches to save me from ripping apart walls to install switches, I thought, Hey!, Clive would know! And if you haven't, I wish you would. I would love to send you a set, and an IC chip I have that has a window in it (I think it is from a color laser to detect?), but it would probably cost me more to ship it than just pay you to buy one... I'm wide open... Please keep on keepin on. Dan

[@bigclivedotcom]

Technically speaking, any of the standard remote switches can be made as many ways as you like by pairing multiple switches to the same receiver. You can get the remote wall plates that cover existing switch positions or can be stuck directly to a wall.

[@danlemke6407]

@@bigclivedotcom That's the ones. I was hoping to see how they are configured and am not sharp enough to do the reverse engineering. I am a retired HVAC guy and have an interest in electronics, but alas, I am not up to par with guys like you. I would like to see remote temp alarms using thermistors to ward off frozen pipes in the dark corners of the crawl spaces. I may be able to find them online or perhaps using a thermistor, pair it with a remote... Chances are, I could shop around and find they are already available.

[@azrobbins01]

After you have destructively disassembled something like this, what do you do with it? Trash it? Keep it for some other purpose?

[@johnpossum556]

He eats it, but that's on his other channel.....

[@bigclivedotcom]

I keep key components.

[@kellytruong8461]

Wow this is amazing !

[@thesunexpress]

Did the boat not have a proper sacrificial anode? It's a bit of a stretch, but the solder corroding... might be a good idea to see if BoatyCaptain McBoatFisherman has other sealed electronics presenting the same corrosion. Would suck if radio / engine management electronics fail at inconvenient moments.

[@bigclivedotcom]

That only protects the boats own hull.

[@ryanroberts1104]

LOL! I came in for a few minutes to take a break and saw this video. I was installing the same light on the front of my riding mower so I can mow after dark when it isn't 2,000 degrees outside. I'm curious how long it will be before the neighbors call the police...

[@a.i.gorerithmit456]

lol, awesome

[@Subgunman]

Ah yes the Irish Sea is full of salty items not to mention very salty sailors. Now if the glass is not broken one could get a tube of that 3M windshield adhesive and rebound the glass back into the housing. Its rather expensive but if you know someone who has an automotive body shop, they might have an open tube available. Interesting power circuitry. Those multi layer caps can be found as decoupling caps on the final transistors of RF circuits on some equipment. When they fail they usually take out the RF power transistors they are soldered to as well as cooking the circuit bord underneath them.

[@MrDbone75]

Good Friday morning to you sir

[@josephking6515]

1:10 Is poor Clive succumbing to the COVID-19 lockdown on the IoM because it looks like he now *torx* with his screwdriver. 🤦‍♂️ Yes I know..........hat, coat and exit quickly before the crowd pummels me. 😱

[@twotone3070]

No, you're fine so long as you have offspring to prove it.

[@karzygijose]

Wonder how they will work with the cheap 5 watt lamp beads in the same fixture

[@NillKitty]

Clive, would love to see you talk about mechanical chasers. I only found one video (v=yhKqC3MHZ6Y) on KZbin of someone demonstrating a mechanical chaser. To think that one of those was whirring someplace any time we'd see twinkling lights on The Price Is Right or other TV game shows.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Not so common in the UK, but I do have a cam switch here for a video.

[@TheSpotify95]

That was well worth taking apart and autopsying! Since you managed to get it fixed, that large LED panel is just screaming to be re-used somewhere else. I'm thinking as a large panel for a desk or work bench? Or as a low voltage workshop/garage light?

[@DiniM]

We should rename capacitors to butler, it's always the cap. I'm not an expert in electronics, but my friends think I'm a genius because I go for the caps first and that fixes about 75% of devices.

[@andygozzo72]

NOT always,😉 people obsess about bad caps, bad electrolytics, etc. but in my experience, especially pre 90s stuff, not !

[@andygozzo72]

i collect and repair all sort of old stuff such as radios, tvs, and pretty much all of my 50's onwards transistor radios at least, have not needed new capacitors ,

[@DiniM]

@@andygozzo72 Pre 90s was the pre-historic era of good caps. Planned obsolescence overcame that issue with self destroying electronics

[@andygozzo72]

@@DiniM hmm, yeah, not helped by the 'capacitor plague' in the 2000s....

[@davidvanson1786]

Could a Transient Voltage Suppressor protect a temp sensor signal? I've have a 3d printer board die because somehow the temp sensor found the 12v from the heated print bed, I have seen some schematics with the symbol for TVS's but some don't and I'm not quite sure exactly how they work. Any thoughts?.

[@bigclivedotcom]

You could possibly use a 5V transorb.

[@Sandw0rm]

Cool. Do you think that they put the fault-prone cap there accidentally, not knowing it would fail easily? Where should I start learning electronics so I could design a light like this with all the protections for reverse polarity and such? Thank you for the videos, they have been interesting, informative and funny. I built some 100W led spots(driver + single chip led) without any protections and are looking to have temperature, current, voltage and reverse polarity protections at least.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I think it was an unexpected failure. The best way to learn electronics is to start tinkering.

[@Sandw0rm]

@@bigclivedotcom I am tinkering as I said. Do you have any recommendations for learning? Websites, books, anything? :)

[@lordpitnolen2196]

On your next visit to Poundland i suggest that you ask if they have a small, battery-powered screwdriver. Could reduce the risk of RSI and, even, cut the length of your videos by 15 seconds :-)

[@iamdarkyoshi]

One of the rare instances where the LEDs aren't the failure mode. Well, the main failure mode at least

[@joopterwijn]

Well you now have a Hugh camera/workbench light 💡

[@exorbis9880]

Please make a "how to de-pot (Chinese) circuitry" video ? I have some small soft start modules which are stupidly expensive and am dying to know what kind of rare elements they used justifying the cost.

[@wetwareerror9511]

Will you be installing .5 Hz flashing leds to make a new supercomputer?

[@joshfriesen9401]

I think Clive has a closet in his house that is full of stuff he has taken to bits and this light bar is not going to fit!😂