Arlec LED floodlight autopsy after failure

Around three years ago there was a spate of thefts from backyards in my suburb. In an attempt to counter this for my backyard I mounted a 50 watt Arlec LED Floodlight (FLO55) from Bunnings on a pole facing the backyard.

In the end - I rarely used it. The backyard was lit like an atomic detonation.

Probably never used it longer that 5 hrs total.

But I tried it last night. Dead.

Thought it may be the lead - but no.

It was completely exposed to the elements but I thought IP65 covered this?

I took it down and with no receipt (I expected to die before it did) and performed an autopsy.

No loose leads/wiring. No water damage and very well sealed. In fact it was difficult to pull apart!

I was gobsmacked with the amount of electronics involved. Is this the problem with LED lights?

Spoke with a Bunnings staff member online - she suggested avoid Arlec and go with HPM or Brilliant.

Didn't Arlec use to make powered tools for Kmart, decades ago - badly?

Members thoughts?

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Comments

MitchellMc

The circuit board and driver are pretty standard on most LED lights @Noyade. That circuitry and driver supply the globe with enough current to light it at the required brightness whilst also limiting the current to prevent damage. Compared to halogen/incandescent globes, there is a whole heap more going on that can potentially fail. Take, for instance, the Livermore Centennial light globe. It's been burning since 1901 and is rarely turned off.

IP65 is suitable for most exterior applications and should resist direct sprays of water and rain. However, you can occasionally find moisture/condensation build-up inside the unit, leading to early degradation of components.

Mitchell

Walter

Hey @Noyade ,

from the picture, I can't see any component that has blown.

I assume that's a might big heatsink that it's connected on.

I'm not a fan of messing with 240v, but if you make sure it's not connected, `i'd run a multimeter across it and make sure there's connectivity.

My best guess is the LED's got too hot and something unobvious blew, even though they look fine.

I'd be inclined to send it to Dave Jones (eevblog.com) in Sydney. It might get a `'teardown`' and circuit video.

He often analyses broken electrical stuff on his youtube video channel.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/19402#Comment_19402

Thanks gents. Mitchell, I think Livermore would have been ashamed of my Arlec's performance.

Nevertheless, I hobbled into Bunnings yesterday to replace it and budget wise I couldn't go past Arlec again. A lot of the competitors products were outta stock. Villains are on the increase?

I went with the Arlec FL 355.

Interestingly, the box comes with a statement saying the floodlight can be hardwired. There are screws on the back plate, but once removed I believe the front is still firmly attached by silicon required for waterproofing. There is nothing mentioned in the instruction sheet regards hard wiring.

So I rang Arlec and no one there knew anything about it. One person there thought it meant simply cutting the plug off and wiring from there. All very odd.

So I kept the plug. Kept the receipt. Now I shall count the hours. 🙂

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/72405#Comment_72405

I'll be keen to hear your results @Noyade.

I suspect that in most circumstances if a qualified electrician was to hardwire the unit and there were no internal terminals, I believe they'd likely use the existing lead and connect it into a mains line via a suitably water-proofed junction box.

Let me mention @MikeTNZ to see if he has any thoughts.

Mitchell

MikeTNZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/99575#Comment_99575

Hi @MitchellMc , @Noyade,

Some LED light fittings can be a bit "funny" at times, a lot of the time there is often a small fuse or two on the circuit board where the mains comes onto the board.

Having one or both of these "blow" will render the fitting inoperative, this could be because there was a voltage spike on the circuit it was plugged into or it could be because there was a poor quality fuse link fitted during manufacture.

I'm not saying that this is the likely cause of why this fitting no longer works, but it seems very strange how none of the internal components look damaged.

I'm very hesitant to suggest that people should open fittings up and start replacing parts inside them when they've failed.

Arlec used to be a very good name in electrical equipment, it used to be sold here in NZ as well, I for years had an Arlec worklight that I used in many many roof spaces as an electrician and only stopped doing this after it got stolen by a plumber.

However, the brand is not what it used to be, unfortunately.

With respect to hard wiring something like this, I wouldn't personally bother, as long as you have a correctly installed IP-rated socket-outlet fed via an RCD protected circuit (you do have to have this, as it is outside), this is then electrically safe.

And it also means if the light fitting should fail, you don't need an electrician to come and disconnect it.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/116647#Comment_116647

Hi Mike.

"I'm very hesitant to suggest that people should open fittings up and start replacing parts inside them when they've failed."

Agreed. Once I reached for the ladder to remove this - I knew it was destined for the bin. I just like to look inside some things to determine cause of death - if possible.

ThePredator

'Gobsmacked at the amount of electronics in it " LOL ! Do you mean you expected a lot more for the price you paid ??

I haven't pulled one of these apart but if you still have it check the electrolytics.

I have an Arlec 40W worklight with a LED grid array and it does get very hot after an hour.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/19869#Comment_19869

Morning Predator!

"Do you mean you expected a lot more for the price you paid ??"

No - I was amazed there was electronics at all!

Dumb as I am I thought the 240V would go straight to the 'LEDS.'

I was thinking before opening - it maybe just a loose wire. 🤔

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/72615#Comment_72615

Autopsy No.2

Sunbeam mixmaster that died in my wife's hands today.

The right mixy thingy kept falling out.

A quick autopsy with the assistance of my new Bunnings HART knife revealed a shattered plastic shaft that held the locking cir-clips.

Now in the bin.

Poor plastic design?

MikeTNZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/99719#Comment_99719

Hi @Noyade,

Personally if that were me, I would have just glued the beaters into the mixer.

I don't think I've ever removed the beaters from my mixer, I just wash them in a bowl of hot water and detergent and dry them with a tea-towel.

Don't take this personally, but I really hate some of the things that just get thrown into landfill and yes it's not economical to repair things these days.

I used to repair appliances as a sideline to my day job as an electrician, it just got too difficult and people wanted things fixed cheap as.

I still do fix them for friends and family, I find it quite therapeutic bringing broken stuff back to life, without the inherent time/cost demands.

Cheers,

Mike T.

Adam_W

@Noyade it seems to be an unfortunate problem with LED now.
The whole idea was they would be more energy efficient than incandescent & have crazy-long operating hour life-spans. Problem is they don't live up to their promised life-spans, we've only had LED for probably over 10-years now and man those globes were expensive back then.

I have had a lot fail, flagship brands & cheapies, after nowhere near their claimed operating hours and of course... who keeps receipts & information about operating hours for all their light globes, right?
And then the biggest problem... these things aren't just some glass & aluminium etc. They are e-waste.
I'm pretty big on recycling & sustainability & I'll admit... I have no idea what you are supposed to do with a dead LED globe.

There's a fantastic documentary which you may find interesting - The Light Bulb Conspiracy - if you can find it.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/116690#Comment_116690

Afternoon Mike!

"I would have just glued the beaters into the mixer."

Never thought of that at the time. 😮

I told my my wife a clever individual on this site suggested this and would she be happy if the blades were a permanent fixture.

She said 'yes.'

I turned the bin outside upside down and retrieved the parts.

Was gunna reach for glue (not entirely sure what would stick stainless steel to plastic, under stress) but I thought I would insert the blade to see how loose it was. To my disappointment, when moving the shaft about I noticed a fissure in the plastic. My concern now was under pressure the glue would leach out to the outer gap...

Crack Crack

Then I decided to put both blades in and with the bottom chassis off and 240 V applied - to my 'coroner horror', those white geared teeth (hard to see the teeth properly in the photo) are stripped presumably by the metal worm gear - mixing thick baking ingredients perhaps? Dunno why Breville would make them outta plastic? The blade on the right only moves randomly...

"but I really hate some of the things that just get thrown into landfill"

Yes, I feel the same way Mike - but I'm not gonna take it outta the bin again.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/126441#Comment_126441

"There's a fantastic documentary which you may find interesting - The Light Bulb Conspiracy - if you can find it.'

Thanks Adam - I will look for this. I've tossed out many LED lights - well before the advertised "20,000 hours."

MikeTNZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/126441#Comment_126441

Gidday @Noyade,

There is a couple of reasons why they use teflon gears in appliances like this, the first being that the nylon will "lubricate" the worm drive as this turns with a lot of force on it.

Secondly, if you used metallic gears and happened (for whatever reason) to get your fingers jammed between the spinning beaters, this is not going to end well, however, with the teflon gears, it will merely shear the teeth off the gears and save your fingers.........hopefully.

That's a pretty good call on your part though, you need to know where to draw the line with fixing things like this, no-one wants bits of plastic or God knows what else falling into their food as it's being mixed up.

Cheers,

Mike T.

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/132931#Comment_132931

Another failure - after about 20 hrs of use. Arlec? Not sure. Purchased from Bunnings - but couldn't locate it in the store the other day.

Turned on.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/137261#Comment_137261

It doesn't look like you're having much luck with those Arlec floodlights @Noyade. It might be an idea to switch out the Brilliant panel floodlights.

I'll pass your feedback on to Arlec. Let me know if you need a hand returning the faulty unit.

Mitchell

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/139885#Comment_139885

Hi again @MitchellMc

"It might be an idea to switch out the Brilliant panel floodlights."

Brilliant idea! 😁

In fact I did - but I dispensed with the floodlight idea.

A Brilliant product - can't remember the name ($26?) - and I thought I had to supply the bulb, but it's already fitted with a 500 lumen LED.

See how we go with this one.

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