Mystery of the solar panel/lamp that should work but doesn't. Advice needed.

[Toolong]

21 hours ago, millymoopoo said:

There are batteries (as many have already said), just not obviously seen.

The big one is trying to charge a dud (dead) battery, thus the green/red LEDs during the day. But if the battery is a dud and no charge goes in during the day then no charge will be available at night.

There's usually a fix it shop in most villages, just take it there and ask if they can put a new battery in.

That's interesting. When you say 'the big one', are you referring to a battery? That's trying to charge another battery?

 

I wish I wasn't so dumb when it comes to matters like this! 

 

If you read my initial post, you'll know I didn't at that time have the remote control. Just 1 red & 4 green lights in the day time and nothing at night. So when I finally got the remote, I tried using it and the lamp lit up!

Hooray!, I thought.....but it got confusing. When I pressed the red power button on the remote the lamp flashed on but did not stay on. It just flashed every time I pressed the red button. It also did the same thing when I pressed the 'on' button (there's the red power button at top and there are 2 blue 'on' and 'off' buttons).

The only time the lamp stays on is when I press the blue 'auto' button. The lamp stays on and it does its job of giving out light. Which is fine by me....cos at least it works........but it doesn't seem to make sense. At night, I have to turn on the lamp by pressing 'auto'. Shouldn't it come on by itself? The other smaller units I have (same brand) come on by themselves.

 

This matter is not important in the wider scheme of things!!

 

So, Millymoopoo, you reckon it's all to do with dud batteries, essentially? 

 

Hope this minor mystery can be resolved! ????

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

10 minutes ago, Toolong said:

That's interesting. When you say 'the big one', are you referring to a battery? That's trying to charge another battery?

 

I wish I wasn't so dumb when it comes to matters like this! 

 

If you read my initial post, you'll know I didn't at that time have the remote control. Just 1 red & 4 green lights in the day time and nothing at night. So when I finally got the remote, I tried using it and the lamp lit up!

Hooray!, I thought.....but it got confusing. When I pressed the red power button on the remote the lamp flashed on but did not stay on. It just flashed every time I pressed the red button. It also did the same thing when I pressed the 'on' button (there's the red power button at top and there are 2 blue 'on' and 'off' buttons).

The only time the lamp stays on is when I press the blue 'auto' button. The lamp stays on and it does its job of giving out light. Which is fine by me....cos at least it works........but it doesn't seem to make sense. At night, I have to turn on the lamp by pressing 'auto'. Shouldn't it come on by itself? The other smaller units I have (same brand) come on by themselves.

 

This matter is not important in the wider scheme of things!!

 

So, Millymoopoo, you reckon it's all to do with dud batteries, essentially? 

 

Hope this minor mystery can be resolved! ????

 

 

To test the solar light during the day just cover the solar panel or put it face down.

This should replicate nighttime and the light will illuminate.

 

These lights usually have different modes , I have some that have motion detect and illuminate for 45 seconds when sensing movement ( only at nighttime ) or they can illuminate at dusk and stay illuminated as the battery allows with a couple of strength options.

 

Yours doesn’t appear to have motion detect ( usually a small white dome on the lamp itself denotes this ).

 

I should charge the battery with 8 hours of sunlight then put the solar panel face down to test what options you have with the remote.

Obviously if nothing happens then the battery could be dead, but the battery in the remote could also be !!

[Toolong]

44 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

To test the solar light during the day just cover the solar panel or put it face down.

This should replicate nighttime and the light will illuminate.

 

These lights usually have different modes , I have some that have motion detect and illuminate for 45 seconds when sensing movement ( only at nighttime ) or they can illuminate at dusk and stay illuminated as the battery allows with a couple of strength options.

 

Yours doesn’t appear to have motion detect ( usually a small white dome on the lamp itself denotes this ).

 

I should charge the battery with 8 hours of sunlight then put the solar panel face down to test what options you have with the remote.

Obviously if nothing happens then the battery could be dead, but the battery in the remote could also be !!

Thanks for your comment/advice Andrew.

Right now I don't think I need to test the light, as I can now get it working thanks to the remote (I didn't have one for a while, at first).

I guess what's essentially confusing me now is why it won't turn on at dusk by itself. Maybe this model isn't desgned to....but I doubt it. Or maybe I'm not operating the remote correctly. (Btw...remote batteries are new.)

 

Btw....your lights sound a bit more sophisticated than mine! ????

[Andrew Dwyer]

15 minutes ago, Toolong said:

Thanks for your comment/advice Andrew.

Right now I don't think I need to test the light, as I can now get it working thanks to the remote (I didn't have one for a while, at first).

I guess what's essentially confusing me now is why it won't turn on at dusk by itself. Maybe this model isn't desgned to....but I doubt it. Or maybe I'm not operating the remote correctly. (Btw...remote batteries are new.)

 

Btw....your lights sound a bit more sophisticated than mine! ????

Hence, I suggested covering the solar panel as you can test out your options via the remote at your leisure.

 

Maybe it isn’t designed to turn on automatically at dusk ??, sounds crazy yes but could possibly be that way !! After all why have a remote ?

 

My lights are far from sophisticated, Lazada/China quality costing 150 baht !! and not very powerful but they serve my purpose and are very easy to use set up, access to the battery is via a screwed in panel , also the battery is in a holder so no messing with soldering wires !.

I bought one for a test and couldn’t believe how good, for the money, it was so bought another 5!

 

Yours is no doubt a lot more powerful than mine.

 

[millymoopoo]

1 hour ago, Toolong said:

That's interesting. When you say 'the big one', are you referring to a battery? That's trying to charge another battery?

In light (no pun intended) of the extra information provided about the large lamps functionality (with or without the remote) the fact that you can get it to stay on at night suggests that the battery is OK and charging during the day.
Perhaps the issue is in the electronics, or possibly more likely it is programmed, and it has a glitch.

Yes you could reasonably expect it to come on automatically at night.

Whilst I don't know how many control functions or buttons are available on the remote you could try pressing and holding the on button for several seconds, sometimes this access any program mode it may have, then up and down buttons would scroll through the programs.

There could also be a factory reset option too, possibly accessed from the same holding of the on button for an extended period.

As you say there are no manuals it's a bit of a guessing game.

Should you get the time, why not google images LED garden light, or what ever it's called, without the brand name, look at the pictures, if you can identify your lamp and it is known by a different name search for manuals for that brand, likelihood it will be the same.

All of us are good at one thing, sometimes more than one, but not good at everything.!

Cest la vie...!

[Crossy]

Important note:- These lights flash to acknowledge that they've received an instruction from the remote.

 

Ours have an "auto" button which sets it up to come on at dusk, but it seems to need to be in "off" mode (the off button) before it will actually do the business of lighting at night.

 

So press "off" then "auto" and unplug/invert the panel and see what it does.

[Toolong]

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Hence, I suggested covering the solar panel as you can test out your options via the remote at your leisure.

 

Maybe it isn’t designed to turn on automatically at dusk ??, sounds crazy yes but could possibly be that way !! After all why have a remote ?

 

My lights are far from sophisticated, Lazada/China quality costing 150 baht !! and not very powerful but they serve my purpose and are very easy to use set up, access to the battery is via a screwed in panel , also the battery is in a holder so no messing with soldering wires !.

I bought one for a test and couldn’t believe how good, for the money, it was so bought another 5!

 

Yours is no doubt a lot more powerful than mine.

 

Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate the advice. I agree that it would be useful to do as you suggest (covering panel in order to try out remote options) but I had to chuckle cos it took me ages yesterday to securely rig it up at the unreachable end of a huge bamboo pole which is now fastened, via the most overly complex mass of knots, to the outside wall!

The thought of taking it down is way too much for my old bones right now! ????

For now, I'll wait for dusk and then start experimenting with the remote.

 

I do agree that some solar lights do seem to come surprisingly cheap, but they do the job! ????

[Andrew Dwyer]

17 minutes ago, Toolong said:

Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate the advice. I agree that it would be useful to do as you suggest (covering panel in order to try out remote options) but I had to chuckle cos it took me ages yesterday to securely rig it up at the unreachable end of a huge bamboo pole which is now fastened, via the most overly complex mass of knots, to the outside wall!

The thought of taking it down is way too much for my old bones right now! ????

For now, I'll wait for dusk and then start experimenting with the remote.

 

I do agree that some solar lights do seem to come surprisingly cheap, but they do the job! ????

Ahh okay ????

 

Hope it works out anyway ????

[Toolong]

2 hours ago, millymoopoo said:

In light (no pun intended) of the extra information provided about the large lamps functionality (with or without the remote) the fact that you can get it to stay on at night suggests that the battery is OK and charging during the day.
Perhaps the issue is in the electronics, or possibly more likely it is programmed, and it has a glitch.

Yes you could reasonably expect it to come on automatically at night.

Whilst I don't know how many control functions or buttons are available on the remote you could try pressing and holding the on button for several seconds, sometimes this access any program mode it may have, then up and down buttons would scroll through the programs.

There could also be a factory reset option too, possibly accessed from the same holding of the on button for an extended period.

As you say there are no manuals it's a bit of a guessing game.

Should you get the time, why not google images LED garden light, or what ever it's called, without the brand name, look at the pictures, if you can identify your lamp and it is known by a different name search for manuals for that brand, likelihood it will be the same.

All of us are good at one thing, sometimes more than one, but not good at everything.!

Cest la vie...!

Thanks for that very comprehensive response, Millymoopoo! ☺

 

Some very good ideas and much that I would never have considered, so thanks for the suggestions.

Holding down the on button as you suggest sounds worth a try. I'm ready to try all options!

Good idea about googling for this brand and hopefully getting some specific info about remote control use/options. I assumed being a cheapish piece of kit that searches would come up dry, but I will give it a go. 

 

"All of us are good at one thing...." , you say......and you're right enough Millymoopoo! However.......it is sadly self-evident, in my case, that DIY is not that thing!  But as you say....c'est la vie!????

[Toolong]

56 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Important note:- These lights flash to acknowledge that they've received an instruction from the remote.

 

Ours have an "auto" button which sets it up to come on at dusk, but it seems to need to be in "off" mode (the off button) before it will actually do the business of lighting at night.

 

So press "off" then "auto" and unplug/invert the panel and see what it does.

If I remember right, Crossy, your light is the same brand as mine (or at least looks very similar), so I shall definitely give your suggestion a go. Might just do the trick!

 

Thanks a lot. ????

[Crossy]

10 minutes ago, Toolong said:

If I remember right, Crossy, your light is the same brand as mine (or at least looks very similar), so I shall definitely give your suggestion a go. Might just do the trick!

 

Thanks a lot. ????

 

I also seem to remember it actually needing to be in the dark (panel unplugged/inverted) before it would go into auto mode but that might be a false memory.

[Toolong]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

 

I also seem to remember it actually needing to be in the dark (panel unplugged/inverted) before it would go into auto mode but that might be a false memory.

Ok....that's another thing I shall bear in mind and definitely check out, Crossy.

 

Never know - sometimes a possible 'false memory' about something turns out to not be false at all. 

 

Thanks for letting me know about that. ????