10W LED Floodlight Alterations

A 10W warm white LED floodlight is opened to fit a longer flex.
Ebay item: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161146291469 , seller name: support_team2000
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[@campbejouc]

Very good overview. I've wired up many of these with old PC power cords. Quality issues on the lights does vary greatly; stay with proven vendors.

[@xtort107]

+James Campbell wirenuts, heatshrink tubing old pc power cords then you have a portable light using a 10w as a fixed spot is rubbish start at 50w led and go up

[@bobrose7900]

Nice review John. The insulation tape before the shrink wrap is a nice touch... soldered joints only need one stray strand of wire to form a dangerous shard. I'm late into your reviews but am quickly catching up. Some of the negative comments though beggar belief. Well done for sticking with it and some of your acid, dry remarks have me falling of my seat in laughter!

[@NavinBetamax]

OFF my seat.....

[@QlueDuPlessis]

I did this same mod a few months back except that I used a terminal block rather than soldering the wires. The floodlamp I bought had a plastic cased el-cheapo drive circuit though. I do ultimately plan on replacing the 220V∿ driver with a 12V⎓ driver as I want all my yard lights running on solar power. Isn't it strange how nearly everything electronic runs on 12V⎓ today. We drop 24V⎓ from a solar panel via a buck converter to 12V⎓ to charge a battery, then we invert that to 220V∿ just to convert it back to 12V⎓. The L.E.D. chips in these seem to have 28V drop for the 10W lamps and 30.5V drop for the 20W lamps.

[@damonbtc9701]

I kinda like the idea of having a wee jb next to the fittings...the industry seems to be taking that direction and it's always an easy method of changing fittings

[@sdgelectronics]

A crimped connection is technically classed as more reliable than a soldered connection. The rear cover should also really be earthed given that it is isolated by the gasket and has paint in the countersunk holes.

[@5084204]

Ditto.

[@devonfuse]

sdgelectronics I'm surprised to see the incorrect size of crimp used here. Smacked wrist for you JW.

[@at3313]

devonfuse Who cares about what size crimp he uses. He still improves the crappy product, was nice enough to warn youtubers of said crappy product AND even posts a vid on how to improve said product for anyone who may have bought one unwittingly. Smacked wrist for you DF, and thanks JW for posting your vids and helping out others.

[@devonfuse]

Q. T. If you're showing people the correct way to do something then show them the correct way. A crimped termination made with the incorrect crimp is useless as it may fail. Ask any crimp manufacturer. So in answer to your question .... I care!

[@frankiesparkes3947]

Also in response to you mentioning the earthing of the back case, it is earthed via the screws holding it in place, and even if that fails, I can bypass the screws and go straight to the case if it was screwed back on sufficiently

[@copelandaa]

Interesting video, I admit I have forget to put heatshrink over the wires before soldering. Made me laugh when you said that. Anyway, keep the videos coming and happy new year John :)

[@KarlUKmidlands]

I also seal the front glass on both sides with silicone sealant otherwise they can fill with water with the standard seal.

[@mrsecurity]

I’ve got a very strange mystery... we have a security light by the side of our house, there’s no PIR on it and there’s no remote PIRs or light switches. It’s been off since we moved here, but suddenly it was ON, I went out to have a look, it was still on, went back inside, looked out the window and it was OFF! Not sure what is going on With it.

[@KK4CNM]

Would you say that it's worth the financial savings buying the cheap LED floodlights and spending the time to do these mods than it is to simply buy the higher quality lamps which come with decent cable length?

[@jwflame]

dnelms2 Yes, as replacing the cable only takes 10 minutes. The example in the video is £10, even less if buying 3 or 4. The problem is knowing what the 'higher quality' ones actually are - price is no indication at all, and they are all made in China regardless of who is selling them.

[@jayja45]

I would always prefer to use a 16 amp IP67 type plug and socket with any outside light fitting, that way, it can be replaced without circuit isolation, and of course, the person who is installing or removing the fixture can see that there is a physical break in the electrical supply. Also, I'd use NYY cable, for some UV resistance.

[@TheSoxmania]

One thing regarding that Earth... didn't look like it had lock washers on it... Luckily it's not likely to loosen from vibration where it's going but it's a good thing to take into consideration if you do put one of these in a high shock environment. You don't want the Earth to rattle loose, get a failure that shorts to the chassis and someone get a little surprise when they go to service the fixture!!

[@GrumsPlace]

Good vidoe showing what is actually inside. I have been interested in getting a couple for security lighting outside the house. So definitely not an eBay special.. question, what voltage are these 10 watt leds actually running at after the LED driver has reduced the voltage ? Purchased from ?

[@pcuser80]

I run mine at 12 volt 900ma, you got two types 9-12 volt and 30-35 volt. The internal config is different.

[@jwflame]

***** The driver module is constant current 300mA, voltage about 33 volts. These were obtained from ebay, seller name @support_team2000

[@KingOfKYA]

Yeah around the 35-24v range on all of them i have bought. You have to be careful about those thing too the chines like to use a blow touch to solder the wires to the converter pcb.... Or something equally stupid. (The black plastic ends slide off.) As a side note Spare PC power cords make great replacement cords, often available for free.

[@at3313]

***** I may have bought something from @support_team2000 lol!

[@dead.format]

far better than my recent purchase, which came with the earth wire just cut short and hidden in the stuffing gland...

[@renedelafuente123]

I got the same exact flood lamp, and received it new not working of course. I just want mine fixed and working, can u do it? If not who could fix it for me? I'm not a hands on guy. Thanks for video.

[@abhinavvishnu1208]

I have the same product. But after some months of use it started flickering. Do u have any solution for this problem?

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

I saw these with RGB LEDs and ones with 100w LEDs are those safe too? Looks like it has a nice tint.

[@jwflame]

Knuckles the Echidna Some of them are - others are not. The only real way is to open them and look inside. It's fairly common for the earth to be left loose inside and not connected to anything.

[@wvresident7004]

Knuckles the Echidna I have a grey 100w model and it works great, lights up my front yard.

[@douro20]

Ideal makes a tool for stripping insulation off of PVC jacketed cable...I find it works quite well, and you don't have to risk cutting the cable inside. Are twist-on connectors (also known as Wire Nuts, a registered trademark of Ideal Industies) illegal in the UK?

[@jwflame]

+douro20 Wire nuts are not illegal, you can actually buy them from a few places. Most electricians do not use them.

[@cup_and_cone]

John Ward - What is the specific name of the flex cable? I cannot find anything at the hardware stores here. The stuff they have that is similar is too large gauge and twisted (not smooth outer housing). Thanks,

[@whitefields5595]

John, I have watched all of your videos and most are very informative. However changing a wire is not one of them

[@andljoy]

Where did you get your wire strippers ? They look very good.

[@voltlog]

is the inside of that metal enclosure painted? because it looks like and that earth point contact wouldn't be as low impedance as it should be due to the isolation created by the paint.

[@orbitaaltube]

Hi John have you tested any other reputable led floodlights. I'm looking for a 20w one but have had bad experiences previously from amazon bought lights that were not as stated and relatively dim.

[@NxthannHD]

now that the cable has been extended, what would be used instead of a junction box? :)

[@TheFastness]

What cable did you use to lengthen the pigtail? Can I use 22AWG 3 cores PVC jacketed cable?

[@andrewkennedy5113]

can you use a butt crimp or connector block to join the to live and neutral wire inside the case

[@vindicator5640]

Running a hot soldering iron along heat shrink tubing also works as i have done many times when it`s too close to a circuit where hot air or a lighter may damage smd components....hope it helps someone!

[@BenjaminGoose]

0:28 I tested mine recently (and managed not to blow up the MM this time) and it was a 30v job dissipating about 6W. Ridiculous! But then again maybe the heat dissipation wouldn't be good enough for a real 10W. I'd be interested to know how much you spent on yours - I spent about €4.50 for my one that came with an underrated driver and no earth connection. But for about €1.50 I'm able to upgrade it to the full 10W version, requiring just a 12v (in reality more) power supply.

[@jwflame]

+BenjaminGoose These were about £7 each.

[@BenjaminGoose]

***** That seems very reasonable for a properly rated (and earthed) product. It's a shame so many Chinese suppliers don't spend just a bit more time and money making sure their products are up to standard.

[@tommyling8348]

BenjaminGoose i

[@andrewkennedy5113]

can you use a 30w driver to power a 100w led flood light chip

[@AlanLiefting]

I would have just used a couple of insulated inline crimps. Quicker, easier and just as safe and reliable in this situation.

[@nativee-waste3493]

ok can you add a link to where I can get that spool of wire or the name of it

[@danmoss1254]

Did you say 0.5mm cable or 1.5mm cable? thanks

[@jwflame]

+Dan Moss 0.5mm

[@wvresident7004]

How many countries use the brown/blue/yellow wiring? In the USA we have black/white/green (or bare copper for ground).

[@jwflame]

WVresident The UK, most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand at least - possibly more.

[@wvresident7004]

***** ok. I had never seen that setup until I got my first led flood light. I thought maybe it was just China until I saw your video. I just installed a 100w light on a light post and had to figure out what was hot and what was neutral ground was easy but I didn't use it.

[@martijnvv8031]

+bishplis just like the USA is one of last in the world thats not using the metric system..... LOL

[@killer1479]

+WVresident incase it ha snot been answered for you, ill let you know :D ... brown: live/hot....blue: neutral...green-green/yellow: earth/ground :) hope it helps ya :D

[@wvresident7004]

killer1479 Ya I saw when I bought my 100w floodlight and was able to wire it no problem.

[@jeffreylengal446]

I have the same one but how u know which one is positive and negative?

[@jwflame]

Output from the driver is usually marked + / -, and if not the positive is usually marked on one side of the LED.

[@jeffreylengal446]

Thank you

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Please could you link to your workbench mat. I'm after something similar but having no joy on ebay.

[@jwflame]

***** The green one with a grid on it is one of these cutting mats: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170858816100 A2 size. The larger one which covers the whole bench is from Farnell / element14, part number 1503201.

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Thanks John.

[@Ostap1974]

Did you notice that when you started, the wire out was in the opposite side?

[@HDXFH]

these are quite good, my ones battery powered!!

[@douro20]

+Robert Gift It's also common not to have the earth wire connected. Never underestimate the power of electricity!

[@mateosantos4980]

By earth wire I suppose that would be a ground wire right

[@DarkRaven118666]

+Bananaman 1991 right

[@martijnvv8031]

Nice way to "cover up" the mistake you made with the heat-shrinks that were to big in size for the cable , just some tape to make the cable thicker LOL

[@AlanLiefting]

+Martijn Vv yeah I thought the heatshrink was a bit big but using the tape is a good ideas for the reason he stated.

[@Blitterbug]

Actually that looked like high-shrink cable. It looked too wide to me too, but look at the edges where it grabs the cores tightly. I'd say it shrank to the correct minimum diameter. The tape wasn't to hide baggy heat shrink imo.

[@supersaiyangoku3580]

0:45 you can extend the wire without destroying it...

[@FunkySpunkyJunky]

the ones i bought were completely potted in the back. i tried to dig out the potting, gave up and bought juction boxes. how rubbish is that.

[@jwflame]

+FunkySpunkyJunky Have to wonder why they were potted - perhaps to cover up something they did not want people to see, such as a 3W driver in a 10W case?

[@FunkySpunkyJunky]

+John Ward. Yes i did wonder what they are hiding but they do seem to be a quality unit in every other respect. they do draw the 30 watts they are rated at, so i guess they have just potted a bare board into the outer casing - done for cheapness no doubt. i would have paid a few quid extra to have some screw terminals to attach my own cable though!

[@simeonminkov6058]

i have the same 10w floodlight and it''s driver is tiny. and it wasn''t seaaled,so i opened it and found a little buck converter that is usually used in the GU10 LED lamps

[@MrJamesbowen]

What are your thoughts on splicing wires together using the NASA method? Would it be a technique you would use your self for this kind of wiring? Reference: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hV7cnqptmcShj9E

[@MrBobWareham]

That is not very cleaver as when you want to change the lamp you will have to take it down wire and all but if you used a waterproof connector it is much easier but thanks for the link on the lamp.

[@syaz4380]

Someone used a TRS 2.5mm flex on a 10w floodlight. Its overkill.

[@johncoops6897]

Horrendous watching JW tearing the inside of that cable gland by ripping the cable out and pulling the new cable in like that. Surely you could have taken 5 seconds to loosen the gland, then tightening it back down again after the rewiring? Also, for proper weatherproofing this really should be cabled using silicone cable rather than PVC, as the PVC compresses inside the gland and evenually will leak.

[@NorbertMy]

John Coops i

[@m.a.kaderjibon5709]

super

[@USafortiori]

What a shame to buy something manufactured and have to remanufacture it before using it. Your instructions are great. But given the quality issue with these lights, for most of us, it is a better choice to avoid the cheap replicas.

[@raymondj8768]

dude that light isent going to the moon hahaha

[@izzzzzz6]

Radio Voice! WIcked...

[@Arexa852]

Led

[@dynomike1964]

Your organ looks very old .

[@killer1479]

+dyno mike bit of a personal statement - wink wink nudge nudge -

[@____________________________.x]

Don't do it this way. For the earth connection, remove paint and add a star washer under crimp. join wires using 'wireman splice' technique use the correct sized heatshrink do not use tape -- given this guys experience, he does an awful lot of things the wrong way.