50w LED floodlights that keep having failing LED drivers

[AdamJ]

I have a half dozen 50w LED floodlights.  Build quality isn't amazing although purchased from big DIY chains.   They are very typical units that look like this:  

I've had the LED drivers inside them fail in just about all of the units but in one particular location I've replaced the driver 3 or 4 times.   This has included replacing the LED itself as a precaution.       I should mention that each time I've replaced drivers I've used a different brand.

The symptoms are always the same, a slow flashing/strobing of the light that occurs instantly when you turn it on and is never rectifiable until the driver is replaced.   Sometimes once I've replaced a driver the light will work half a year before it fails again.  At worst, the latest new driver I installed in the lamp lasted only a week or two.

I wondered if this was a heat issue but the casing never feels that hot.   I also during the refurbishment added a large quantity of thermal paste behind the LED.

The location in question is at the end of an outhouse building we have connected to an ok quality looking internal wall power cable that runs along the exterior wall of the building.    I'm just wondering if this is bad luck that the same location has failed so many times or if there could be something else at play here with a bad quality power source.

Should I try earthing the lights?   Add some kind of filter to the power source ?     


My last failed driver was this model: 

 

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.   

 

[kerching]

Personally I would not repair them

i would take them back to the suppliers and wait until the place is very busy then kick up ...threaten Trading Standards, mis-selling, compensation, loss of time, anything you can think of

but that is just my 'tolerant' take on it

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Buy units with a better manufactures guarantee....  :C

Build quality isn't amazing although purchased from big DIY chains.

Big DIY chains normally = Cheepo rubbish.

Should I try earthing the lights?

Do the manufactures instructions state they are double insulated??

The majority of external metal enclosed floodlights tend not to be...

:shakehead

 

[Evans Electric]

Yes as Specs says  , they should  be earthed ,  very suprised if they are double insulated.   I can see an earth wire on that driver . 

As yet I havn't had any floods fail on me . 

 

[kerching]

My son bought a job lot of  cheap,LED floodlights for the warehouse

they were total  

He has two on the loading bay

i used all ten of them ove the course of six months

changed to a couple of Diamond units

no problems since

....and the Daimond units come with a fourth core for override

 

[Geoff1946]

What's the supply voltage measure?  Is there anything which could be putting transient spikes on it? 

I sometimes wonder about some of the cheap imported stuff.

Perhaps firstly designed for 220v;  Then "Oh it'll be OK for Europe's 230v".

My measurements around here are rarely below 240v and a place I worked prior to retirement was consistently 245v+. Cheap halogens or CFLs had a very short life.

 

[Evans Electric]

Perhaps firstly designed for 220v;  Then "Oh it'll be OK for Europe's 230v".

My measurements around here are rarely below 240v and a place I worked prior to retirement was consistently 245v+. Cheap halogens or CFLs had a very short life.

Thats a good point actually !   I bet the far eastern designers are not aware that although UK is declared at 230V      its usually 240+  round here .  

There are so many makes of LED lighting on the market now , we are having to learn the quality ,  as Kerch says ,  Diamond always seem good .   

 

[kerching]

Diamond always seem good .   

Unlike Hitech, even mini sun seem to have gone downhill

....and if anyone EVER asks you to fit one from B&Q...you know, the orange place with the pissh poor customer services and willingness to quash any warranties on their products that fail prematurely due to. being designed by a moron assisted by a cretin and made of cheap cheese...then run away quickly.  How can you sell a product that you cannot get wires into?

just saying

 

[binky]

lack of earthing may well be an issue, many electronic drivers need an earth for 'smoothing' the supply, same as your TV, PC etc etc. You also want to be fitting units with a 3/ 5 year warranty on the drivers. which are the weak point of any LED light.