Aerogarden Ultra LED blinking or strobing grow lights repair

[CapLeaker]

I am glad this thread was able to help you out!

[Cure2]

I replaced the 3 caps just like the previous poster. I am a novice at soldering but it seemed pretty straightforward. Anyway, LED lights are still strobing. I must be the only one on the Internet this hasn't worked for.

[CapLeaker]

Originally Posted by Cure2

I replaced the 3 caps just like the previous poster. I am a novice at soldering but it seemed pretty straightforward. Anyway, LED lights are still strobing. I must be the only one on the Internet this hasn't worked for.

post pictures of your supply. maybe we can see something...

[Cure2]

Here are the pictures of the PC board. I replaced CD1, CD2 and CD3 (twice each). I'm wondering whether a better plan B would be to just wire in standalone 24V 6A power supply for 20 bucks.
Thank you very much.

[stj]

replace that 10uf cap with a high temperature replacement.

[CapLeaker]

Originally Posted by Cure2

Here are the pictures of the PC board. I replaced CD1, CD2 and CD3 (twice each). I'm wondering whether a better plan B would be to just wire in standalone 24V 6A power supply for 20 bucks.
Thank you very much.

Your board is different from mine. Did you replace all 3 caps with brand name, quality, low esr, 105C temp rated caps? Cheap Chinese knockoff caps are the shits. Are you sure all the LED's are working inside the panel?

Just as an update: our Aerogarden is still working after the recap.

[humanv09]

This thread has been very helpful!

My Aerogarden (model 100744-BLK) has the same circuit board as the OP. I replaced the 3 caps (CD2a, CD2b and CD3) last year and that fixed the strobing LEDs but they've started strobing again and the caps appear to be good. It appears to me that the problem may be with L1 (an inductor), which is between caps C1 and C2 on the other half of the board. It seems to have leaked some thing on the board. Does anyone know what the spec of this should be so I can find a replacement?

Thanks in advance,

/human

[stj]

thats glue

[CapLeaker]

Originally Posted by humanv09

This thread has been very helpful!

My Aerogarden (model 100744-BLK) has the same circuit board as the OP. I replaced the 3 caps (CD2a, CD2b and CD3) last year and that fixed the strobing LEDs but they've started strobing again and the caps appear to be good. It appears to me that the problem may be with L1 (an inductor), which is between caps C1 and C2 on the other half of the board. It seems to have leaked some thing on the board. Does anyone know what the spec of this should be so I can find a replacement?

Thanks in advance,

/human

That inductor won't be your problem. Did you also change that little cap on top of the transformer? The solder joints on the red and white wire really do not look good at all.
I guess you have to put that thing back together and do measurements. What do you mean by the caps appear to be good? They may look like brand new, but still can be bad. Did you use an ESR tester? Check the transformer maybe...

[humanv09]

@stj :-) my bad

@CapLeaker, Don't have a ESR, what I meant was the caps didn't look mis-shapen and were less than a year old but point taken. Will check the cap above the transformer. I haven't unsoldered the transformer leads to test it, will do so.

I saw a suggestion earlier about using an external PSU to drive the LEDs. Can someone confirm that it's 24V DC @ 6A or higher. I could jury rig that perhaps.

Thanks,

[CapLeaker]

Update: Well a bit after 3 years of the original repair, mine started to strobe like crazy again. First it was a blink here and there, next day strobe lights. Have to get into it and see what’s going on this time around. Time will tell.

[dfbills]

Wow, I was actually surprised at the relatively low lifespans listed for many caps when I was replacing mine. Shocking that more things are blowing all the time!

Good luck and happy hunting!

[CapLeaker]

Those three 1500uF Panasonic caps I put in the last time are fine . The little 10uF 50V cap had it. Measured about 130 Ohm ESR. I never replaced that cap the last time. Replaced that lil cap and she’s going once more!

[LDK]

Hi All!
After plugging in my Aerogarden Ultra to start a seed tray (planted and filled with water/nutrients) I’ve had this same strobing issue after I plugged it in :/. A few web searches later, I came across this thread (happy there’s a solution besides having to buy a new one - albeit slightly intimidating)

Once I have the unit open and board visible to see what version I have, can someone post where I can get cap parts? Amazon seems pricier than some have mentioned so hoping somewhere local (in US) like a Hobby Lobby or something?

I’ll take pics before I purchase to confirm but that seems like the most likely culprit

[CapLeaker]

I get mine at Digi-Key, Mouser, Element14 etc.

[LDK]

Thank you!
I’ll update when I perform the dissection

[LDK]

It looks like I have the same board as the OP..

Would you be able to post the exact part numbers you ordered for all 4 capacitors? Thinking I might as well replace them all while I have it opened up (and likely the smaller one will fail like yours anyways), but I don’t want to buy the wrong size/brand

This will be my first board soldering job (I soldered wifi/zigbee cables 15 years ago for a tech company so I’m a bit rusty and will have to purchase an iron/misc) so any tips or hiccups anyone ran into is helpful

Thank you!

[CapLeaker]

The caps I’ve got aren’t available at the moment. From what is there at Digi-Key I’d go with the Rubycon ZLH series. You need:
3x Part#: 1189-2241-ND, 25v 1500uF and
1x Part#: 50ZLH10MEFC5X11-ND, 50V 10uF
That should fix you right up. Hope you’ve got a decent soldering iron, a lot of botched work is done by not having enough wattage. Make sure you remember which way the caps were installed. Other than that it will go BANG!

[LDK]

Thank you for your quick response!
What watt do you recommend?

[CapLeaker]

If you got a 25w iron, put it in the bin. Get something like 60w to 80w.