Kingbright 240w with Meanwell driver flickering?

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

I recently got a 240w Kingbright board with a Meanwell HLG-240H-48AB driver from Alibaba. Everything was working great, until noticed the light flickering. The connected potentiometer (the dimmer knob) no longer works. I disconnected the potentiometer, but the issue persists.

The Meanwell driver is EXTREMELY hot, and it's also buzzing. I have a dedicated fan blowing on it which seems to help, but I don't know if it's necessary. Are dedicated heatsinks necessary?

I just haven't had this long enough to know hot it's supposed to get, or if the buzzing is normal. Any advice is appreciated!

Moabfighter · Apr 21, 2020

It’s cranked up too high and shutting the driver off as a safety feature. Turn your voltage down some.

Airwalker16 · Apr 21, 2020

Remove the plug and turn the internal potentiometer with a small Phillips screwdriver, counter clockwise just a tad.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

I'll try adjusting the knobs on the driver and see if that fixes the issue. Thanks for the tip!

Kind of bummed the external potentiometer is no longer working though.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

I should also mention that the flickering is VERY high frequency. I'm talking multiple flickers per second, if that matters.

Barristan Whitebeard · Apr 21, 2020

I

sugarleaves9999 said:
I'll try adjusting the knobs on the driver and see if that fixes the issue. Thanks for the tip!

Kind of bummed the external potentiometer is no longer working though.

If you want that flexibility, buy a new potentiometer.

Moabfighter · Apr 21, 2020

sugarleaves9999 said:
I should also mention that the flickering is VERY high frequency. I'm talking multiple flickers per second, if that matters.

like this?
https://streamable.com/egzppk

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

Here's a video of the flickering: https://streamable.com/sp5thh

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

Airwalker16 said:
Remove the plug and turn the internal potentiometer with a small Phillips screwdriver, counter clockwise just a tad.

Sorry I'm a newbie with these drivers. Is that the Vo (voltage?) or Io (current)?

Barristan Whitebeard said:
If you want that flexibility, buy a new potentiometer.

I definitely would, but I think the potentiometer is working and something is wrong with the driver.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

Airwalker16 said:
Remove the plug and turn the internal potentiometer with a small Phillips screwdriver, counter clockwise just a tad.

I just tried adjusting both Vo and Io counterclockwise and it didn't seem to have any effect on either brightness or the flickering.

Barristan Whitebeard · Apr 21, 2020

sugarleaves9999 said:
I just tried adjusting both Vo and Io counterclockwise and it didn't seem to have any effect on either brightness or the flickering.

That's odd, could you feel the internal screws turning?

Do you have a multimeter?

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

Barristan Whitebeard said:
That's odd, could you feel the internal screws turning?

Do you have a multimeter?

I could definitely feel the screws turning. I actually turned it until they stopped (less than a whole turn). I didn't have the light on while I turned them, but I think I would have been able to tell the difference once I did turn the light on. When the external potentiometer was working, it was very easy to notice the difference in intensity.

I do have a multimeter. Need me to check the output? I assume it's fluctuating all over the place.

Airwalker16 · Apr 21, 2020

Absolutely check the output

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

With none of the boards connected, it starts around 40ish volts and goes to zero. With a single board (out of two), it's pulling a consistent 47volts. At one point the internal potentiometer started working, but then the flickering returned. It almost seems related to heat or something. I turned it off to plug in the other board and disconnect the multimeter, but then neither of the lights turned on.

The inconsistency is driving me nuts. At this point I'm thinking it's the driver. It's hot enough to burn my hand if left on for a couple seconds. Is that normal for these drivers?

GBAUTO · Apr 21, 2020

It does sound like the driver may be crapping out.
You could connect single boards to the driver as a test to see if the problem persists or if a single board if the culprit.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

I just connected my Kill A Watt and it's pulling 532 watts!! That seems very wrong. Initially when I tried it was pulling 240w when on max brightness, which was the spec.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

I ended up contacting the seller and they agreed to have the light shipped back, and will send out a new light. Sucks to have to wait a bit longer, but clearly something was up with that light to the point it was probably dangerous to leave running.

Airwalker16 · Apr 21, 2020

sugarleaves9999 said:
I just connected my Kill A Watt and it's pulling 532 watts!! That seems very wrong. Initially when I tried it was pulling 240w when on max brightness, which was the spec.

532watts? That's a RED FLAG. Absolutely the drivers got an issue. Do not use it any more.

sugarleaves9999 said:
I ended up contacting the seller and they agreed to have the light shipped back, and will send out a new light. Sucks to have to wait a bit longer, but clearly something was up with that light to the point it was probably dangerous to leave running.

You were able to contact King Brite through Alibaba and actually get a new driver sent out?

JimmyNuggs · Apr 21, 2020

Airwalker16 said:
532watts? That's a RED FLAG. Absolutely the drivers got an issue. Do not use it any more.

You were able to contact King Brite through Alibaba and actually get a new driver sent out?

I think i was thinking what you were thinking... 'Thats gonna be trouble'...!

I have had lights go wrong from both Aliexpress & alibaba and both time was offered dicount on more spending rather than fix units
(Aliexpress were sneakier about it though; offered me comp for poor service(i said i didnt want) and then said because i was given (equiv 10$) they wouldn't take broken unit back. I was stuck with a 3 month old light and no power to get it repaired/replaced .
Never again.

sugarleaves9999 · Apr 21, 2020

Maybe I'm just lucky. The light was delivered and I tried it the next day. After it failed within an hour, I contacted the seller and explained the problem. I was messaging the seller through Alibaba and they were very responsive. Honestly A+ on service so far (knock on wood). Apparently they have an agent in the US that I will be shipping to.

I paid via PayPal so I believe the purchase should be protected through them if the seller refused to help, but I hope I don't have to use that.

Airwalker16 said:
532watts? That's a RED FLAG. Absolutely the drivers got an issue. Do not use it any more.

You were able to contact King Brite through Alibaba and actually get a new driver sent out?

Definitely not using it. I'm sending everything back and they're sending an entire unit. Guess we'll see what happens.

Kingbright 240w with Meanwell driver flickering?

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