Pentair IntelliBrite Pool Lights are garbage

[@gregsimonini5891]

Thanks for the info- My Pentair 601105 Intellabrite started going out with less than 8-hrs on it and just out of the two year warranty. I was going to order a preplacement board from them but decided to do some research and your video came up. I will look into FL Sunseeker for a replacement. Thanks you

[@kevinthompson4690]

my Pentair intellibrite 5G lasted 10 years until it failed, estimated use was 40 hours a year or more so I guess I got my money out of it. I have done some research on a replacement and will be looking into FL Sunseeker thank you.

[@SwimmingintheDeep]

I wondered why my pool builder recommended against these lights. They said fiberstars where the way to go. Of course I was disappointed when I could not adjust the colors directly from my Pentair system, now I guess I'm glad I have a different brand. My experience with Pentair customer service (for the rest of my system) was really good while I was under warranty at least. the biggest frustration I had with my system was a comport chip that kept going bad on my boards. They kept sending me brand new boards until I was out of warranty. I finally found the workaround and made a video on that on my channel.

[@jerryg7565]

Any way to just retrofit it? I have 120v cob LEDs and I figure why not just solder the 120 wires into the leads. Then just toss all that out dated tech.

[@Son_of_Aragorn]

Could I check mine using a multimeter? Trying to figure out which setting to use

[@michaelmcbride1548]

I am in the same situation. Can you mention what you use to generate the 12V for your test and what watts or amps should be used?

[@bryanhiggins3816]

The low voltage Pentair lights run 12 volt AC (VAC). Because of that, you can't use a car battery or most wall wort transformers as they output DC. The best option I came up with for 12VAC was a landscape lighting transformer. I would make sure you confirm what the transformer output is.

[@michaelmcbride1548]

@@bryanhiggins3816 Thank you very much. I happen to have a landscape transformer. I confirmed its voltage and tested my board. I experienced a very similar spark effect, and confirmed by board has failed the same way yours did.

[@bradt8589]

How did you get past the bad internal transformer? The sunseeker will need 12v

[@bdh5880]

I had to buy another used housing on eBay. At the time, there were quite a few used housings (with transformers) on ebay that had bad light boards but good transformers. My intuition was that the transformers are generally more robust than the PCB/light engine unit.

[@reggiekenner1527]

The Sunseeker has it's own built in transformer from 120 to 12v. It's a complete and direct replacement

[@bradt8589]

@@reggiekenner1527 it does not have a transformer, but it does run off 12v. You are correct though if you are getting the voltage from the fixture, you just pop this one in. My spa one went in no problem, pool light has issues not providing the voltage

[@xinlya9442]

got 2 of them(2 x 500$).. worked about 40 hours and started loosing colours.. opened 1 of them and found LT3496 burned.. very difficult to replace because of thick copper board not allow to get solder heat point...... I WILL NEVER BUY PENTAIR PRODUCTS AGAIN..

[@tresyoung6133]

Where was the transformer located? Are you able to to it after removing the engine board?

[@bdh5880]

Our transformer was located on the back side of the original light. It had failed along with the original Pentair light. I bought a used compete fixture on eBay and used that for the transformer. There weren't a lot of other options for submersible 12VAC transformers that I could find for the same price paid for the used Pentair transformer.

[@tresyoung6133]

bdhigs - thanks for the info and good video. was the transformer encased in the epoxy?

[@bdh5880]

@@tresyoung6133 yeah unfortunately it was encased in the epoxy.

[@bradt8589]

@@bdh5880 how did you confirm it was transformer? Mine was getting voltage across the two tab wires, now its not getting any and suspecting transformer. how hard was it to swap out. Did you worry about removing epoxy?

[@bdh5880]

@@bradt8589 I used a digital multimeter to measure voltage across the transformer output and it was completely dead. Make sure your meter is set to AC voltage, not DC. The epoxy'd transformer looks like a permanent design that would be a massive pain to heat up / chisel out / replace. I ended up buying a used housing / transformer unit on eBay for $60-70ish. My only other alternative was going to be having the 12v power supply above ground and then just bypass the dead epoxy'd transformer, but that brought a whole different series of headaches. In theory, if you take the crappy Pentair light board out of the equation, there should be a lot less heat in the enclosure, and less likelihood of transformer failure. The current draw on the Florida Sunseeker LED board isn't huge, so the transformer shouldn't get too hot from the current draw alone.

[@jackminehan679]

Can you repair this without dropping the water level in the pool?

[@bryanhiggins3816]

Yes, can be easily done without dropping water level. Hardest part will be undoing the screw holding the light to the housing. I *highly* recommending using a cordless impact driver with philips bit in it to avoid stripping the head of the screw. I wrapped mine in a big Ziploc bag and poked bit through bag.

[@johngutierrez2764]

On the sunseeker replacement, my pentair doesn’t have the quick connect. Should I just cut the quick connect off the replacement part and splice direct? Does it matter which wire? Both wires coming from the light are white

[@bdh5880]

I don't recall what the terminations were like on our light, but would not be concerned about clipping off the quick-connect and splicing direct. You'd probably want to bench test the Sunseeker light to see if it cares about polarity of the power supply. My guess is that since it runs on 12VAC instead of 12VDC, that it would work either way, but to be safe, try it with an AC landscape transformer, etc.

[@johngutierrez2764]

Just an update...the aftermarket lights I got from Sunseeker (FLALED.com) came with “Tab style” terminals that just popped right on the Pentair lights. Very easy and VERY happy with these lights so far. Hoping they last me a very long time

[@alanrosen2662]

Florida sunseeker updated the board eliminating the quick connect.

[@ChantelBartges]

Yea they are !! I’m so mad at pentair !!

[@alanrosen2662]

First board failed after several uses. Pentair sent another one after I complained. That one failed after two months. Heat issue Just ordered the replacement led from Florida Sunseeker.

[@bdh5880]

Please post back to let us know what you think of it or if need help wiring it.

[@willygordon3902]

That’s a bummer. From my experience when these lights fail, it is almost always the driver that is the culprit, which unfortunately means new board. What’s curious about your issue is the transformer going out as well. Just speculation, but I don’t think the heat coming off the board failed the transformer.. the light can get very hot when not submerged in water, and should never be powered on for more than a few second above water if testing power. I think a little as 10 seconds unsubmerged can destroy the light. Those burns on the board you showed are pretty insane, looks like a lot of damage was incurred. Maybe the problem was at the transformer and that took out the board? Or is it possible water got inside the fixture? I would test your GFCI for the lights and make sure working properly also, I would of imagined it would of tripped before that much damage occurred. Just my two cents. Hopefully that other board has not caused any hassles, And you are enjoying your pool. Cheers

[@bryanhiggins3816]

Not sure I fully track what you're saying on overheating. This light board assembly is never submerged in water, it goes inside a housing that gets submerged. As such, whether this board is in a watertight housing or on my workbench, it's still being cooled only by air via the heat sink. I'm not sure how powering up on the workbench would cause an overheat situation? Your point about the transformer is valid - the transformer may have overheated and that could have had a negative impact, but I suspect that's not the case given the amount of heat generated by this board when I powered it up on the bench with a fresh power supply. The GFCI protecting the pool lights has been tested - no issues. So far we're nearly 2 years into the replacement SunSeeker LED assembly with MUCH larger heat sink, and no issues. Time will tell. Cheers!

[@Gmoney1019]

The way the light is suppose to cool down Is through the heat sink (the cooper sheet) since there is not air in the enclosed housing to cool down the heatsink the sheet of copper transfer heat to the housing and the water in the pool cools it down, here the reason of why the light should not be power up out of the water.

[@lukesilva4286]

So the board you bought was installed into the pentair light? Was it a hard install? Cost?

[@bryanhiggins3816]

Not hard to install, and yes I installed the Sunseeker light board into the Pentair housing, and used a replacement Pentair transformer. The most difficult part of the job was dealing with the screw on the housing trim - it was pretty well stuck, and you have to remove it underwater to get the light assembly out of the pool. I knew it would be bad if that screw got stripped, so I made a watertight enclosure (aka, a clear bag) for my DeWalt 20V compact impact driver. It worked like a champ - I highly recommend this approach unless you can get the screw out easily. Ours was in the deep end of the pool, and no good way to get much pressure on the screw. The cordless impact was the hero since it makes stripping out the screw head much less likely. I don't recall the exact cost of the light from FL Sunseeker - I think it's around 200.

[@greg4673]

@@bryanhiggins3816 There is a Universal wedge plug we use at the company WaterColors Contracting, to handle the problem of broken screws/stripped or broken threaded tab. Check them out. How many hours do you have on the Sunseeker board?

[@bdh5880]

@@greg4673 going on 4 years with the Sunseeker light, with ~200 hours on it so far. Still performs like new.

[@candyalvarez6730]

Pentair pool lights are terrible. Already replaced all of them and they only lasted a couple of years and now need replacement again! They are twice as expensive now. I am contemplating going to those magnetic lights that cost about $40.00 for 4. Even if they last one season, it beats getting hosed by Pentair worthless lights that are beyond OVERPRICED, not to mention the cost of installing them by a professional pool company. Even DIYing it, is still too costly especially knowing you will be doing this again in about two years. Pentair equipment is good all around EXCEPT this junk. If you are building a pool I would discourage you from buying LED lights and stick with a traditional bulb!

[@ricardoalvarado1635]

Most of you are lucky, the first light failed in my pool 1 year after the installation, the 2nd one 2 months later and the third one yesterday, so 3 lights in 1.5 years, I only have 2 working, but I think they will fail soon, so I'll have to buy 5 lights soon. Anyone can recommend any good lights? NO MORE PENTAIR LIGHTS!!!

[@bdh5880]

Our Florida Sunseeker light is still working as new

[@CajunCoding]

I purchased the Florida SunSeeker Nicheless to replace my failed Hayward ColorLogic ($1500 ummm, hard pass)... but unfortunately the Sunseeker Pool Tone light is on it's last leg now, only shows Blue Color and 80% of the LEDs are now no longer functioning... just a couple monhts out of warranty, so it lasted just over the 2 year mark (running 1-2 hours a night). On the other hand I replaced my Dads incandescent bulb that went out with a Florida Seeker Bulb (not the nicheless), and new gasket and it's been working great still.... So even the Sun Seeker nicheless options have a high fail rate in my experience, and I had that I can't just pull it and put in a new bulb -- the nichelss requires re-running a whole new line (uggg).

[@ystebadvonschlegel3295]

I have had same experience. I don't honestly understand how pentair stays in business. We have had so many problems with their equipment and we have over 100K in our pool. Do not buy pentair.

[@rogermari7489]

Thanks for sharing, my light is working after 4 years but you are right the price is very expensive plus the spa and the controller... I look for the video on how to replace the part with a Light Engine Board 619818Z from Florida Sunseeker.

[@bdh5880]

I replaced the Pentair light with a Florida Sunseeker light and have been very pleased. The heat sink is bigger and higher quality than the Pentair part.

[@matthewbishop2367]

@@bdh5880I’m planning to go with Florida Sunseeker but my Pentair 5G doesn’t have quick connect. Is this a problem during installation?

[@matthewsaab]

THESE ARE JUNK!!! I'm on my third Pentair Intellibrite in 7 years!!! They are $600 each!!! Junk! And the company is awful with customer support. They don't back up their products past a year. A light that is $600 should last longer!!!

[@bdh5880]

Only time will tell, but the Florida Sunseeker replacement has been working well, and is brighter than the original Pentair. At this point, I'm still highly impressed with the performance of the Sunseeker option.

[@tomelicson7389]

I had a similar experience - 2 out of 3 Pentair Intellibrite lights have failed in about 4 years. Ans yes they are about $600 to replace. Maybe more with labor. I am looking for an alternative to Intellibrite and wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

[@ricardoalvarado1635]

By the way, the PENTAIR controller also failed 2 weeks ago.

[@johnziegenhohn8505]

My Pentair Intellibrute 5G light started to go out right after the warranty expired. With less than 12 hours of use. Waste of money!

[@3010prowest]

PENTAIR LED LIGHTS SUCKS!!!!! I'VE CHANGE MY LIGHT 3 TIMES IN THE PAST 5 YEARS, THE FUNNY THING IS I PUT MAYBE 5 HOURS A YEAR ON THE LIGHTS. I'M DONE PAYING FOR THE OVER PRICED LIGHTS. I NEED DIFFERENT IDEAS AT A LOW COST TO SOLVE MY PROBLEM.. I HAVE A TOTAL OF 3 LIGHTS

[@bdh5880]

We just fired up the Florida Sunseeker light and it's working fine (on year 4 now). One option to consider, anyway.

[@albertobu]

From someone that works in the pool industry I can tell you Pentair nowadays are state of the art. These lights tend to last years and years of daily scheduled use. You all have had a bad experience and I guess it can happen but should been take care off during warranty period.

[@bdh5880]

They failed outside of warranty period after less than 10 hours of use. Whether they're state of the art now or not, their quality on the lights in this video is awful and warranty doesn't apply when the lights failed outside of the warranty period. Cheers.

[@jeffs7267]

"You all have had a bad experience"??? So we are all wrong and Pentair is "state of the art"? Get a clue. Pentair is junk

[@gregsimonini5891]

I loved paying $100.. an hr for my 8 hrs of state of the art PENTAIR lighting... My Pentair 601105 Intellabrite started going out with less than 8-hrs on it and just out of the two year warranty.

[@ChronicViper]

I have had my pool less than a year and all five lights have been replaced under warranty. I found this video because the one that was replaced last week is flashing blue.

[@EdwintheMagicEngineer]

All 3 of my Pentair glowbright lights leaked, rusted inside, then shorted out after just a few years. $300 per LED is an absolute insult already... but they don't even last?!? I have actually been looking around the internet to see if Pentair has gotten sued yet.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

So if these are garbage, what is the next best option ..?? Just buy a standard light fixture and do a hot swap on the LED bulbs ..?? If this unit fails after ~10 hrs or 30 hrs of use, the entire line has to be changed out ... I would think to just buy a standard light fixture that runs on 120V and just drop in an LED bulb, and if that bulb fails, pull the unit out of the water and swap it out for another LED ...

[@bdh5880]

If you already have a Pentair light, replace the failed light board with an alternative. Florida Sunseeker is the open I chose and am still happy with - there might be other good options. If you're installing a new light, not sure what other options make sense

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

I don't have a pentair, i have a standard fixture with an incandescent bulb in it now. We purchased the house back in 07 and the bulb was good for about 3 yrs when it blew out. So i yanked the case out of the water, opened it up and took the bulb to the pool place and she gave me a new bulb ... NEVER told me to change out that outer ring gasket that goes over the lens, i was NEW to pool's so i didn't know either and didn't think to ask. So water got into the fixture and into the socket and messed up the entire thing.. Some guy said to pull the unit out of the pool and pull the lens off, pull the bulb out and let it sit out in the sun to see if it will dry out the socket ... It did and i put the bulb back in with a new gasket and it lasted maybe 30 min with the light on before the light went out and the GFCI tripped ... So we left it like that for 10 yrs LOL ... So now she wants to replace the light .. 10 years later LOL ... So looking at these prices, $520+ for this fancy light, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN .. A standard incandescent 300W replacement for $225 will do just fine ...

[@LaredoHandyman]

You tube, why are the incandescent bulbs $225?? I replace mine for my pentair for like $15 and like $75 for a colored led bulb . Now I can't get my housing to stop leaking. Replaced the gasket multiple times, I think it's leaking through the power cord. I'm at the point where I think I'm gonna buy a whole new fixture ($225) I refuse to pay over 500 for that pentair colored led. The aftermarket led bulb I used was great until the housing started to leak.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

@John Tagger: The entire fixture with 100 ft of wire is $225. Mine 1st leaked from the front face gasket. After i put in a NEW gasket, it stopped leaking from there but then developed a leak from the rear side where the power line enters the unit. So my entire unit with line has to be replaced. Yea i am NOT paying $500 for a color changing LED either, thats insane

[@greg4673]

@@ACommenterOnKZbin I would recommend the Pentair high voltage incabdescant unit but replace the bulb with and LED version so you'll have color and pattern capability. And rememebr to replace your lens gasket every 7 years to prevent failures. Most lights fail due to moisture incurrsion, whether they are LED or not!

[@lanvazquez6026]

Mines are programmed 4 hours of use 7 days a week for 3 yrs before they burned out. Maybe you got a bad one.

[@bryanhiggins3816]

I don't think 3 year lifespan is impressive for this type of component.

[@GenovevaNinova]

That is nothing, i have 3 lights and 2 burned after 2 years , so i am waiting in the third one and i have to spend $1600. That is ridiculous

[@bryanhiggins3816]

@@GenovevaNinova I'll keep the thread/video updated on how well the Sunseeker replacement light performs - so far it's a cheaper alternative that seems better built.

[@teogomez5153]

they are garbage and company don't want to be responsible for what they sale and they are spence

[@carlschroeder8208]

It’s a piece of shit !! Same happened to me

[@JPCrespo]

Yes garbage.

[@AmmoMaster]

Poop