DIY LED lamp repair: the causes of breakdowns, when and how you can repair it yourself

Having problems with light sources, but are you in no hurry to buy new ones and do not want to call an electrician? It’s nice to try to repair the LED lamps yourself, right? Moreover, this may not be so difficult. But you do not know where to start?

We will tell you how to find the problem and repair the problem area - the article discusses the most common causes of breakdowns. The main thing is to correctly identify the area of ​​the problem and carefully correct the malfunction with the help of specialized tools. Correctly restored product will continue its service.

To help the home foreman, we picked up photo materials and supplied the repair instructions with informative videos. With their help, even a master who does not have colossal experience in works of a similar plan can cope with the task.

Device diode device

Before proceeding with the repair of a damaged LED lamp, you need to find out what parts it consists of and where exactly to look for a malfunction.

The general arrangement of units of this type is approximately the same and includes such elements as:

• basement;
• driver;
• circuit board;
• LEDs
• radiator;
• optical elements.

Each part is very important and is responsible for a specific function. Having found the location of the problem, you can understand the level of severity of the problem and begin to eliminate it.

Purpose and variety of socles

In LED devices cap It is made of metal, ceramics or progressive high-temperature plastic, famous for its excellent heat resistance.

In products from branded manufacturers, when mounting the part into the lamp, soldering is not used. This completely eliminates the oxidation or sticking of the base element to the lamp holder.

The table shows the most common types of socles available for LED modules. The alphanumeric abbreviation describes the type of element, size and nominal purpose

Most often, LED devices designed for use in household and industry use threaded and pin bases.

Other species are considered more rare and are used in certain, specific cases. Himself the base has a good working resource and almost never fails.

LED Lamp Driver Role

The driver in the LED device plays one of the key roles. This small part acts as a common power supply, neutralizes voltage drops, and directs direct current directly to the diodes, which convert it into light visible to the human eye.

The driver has a high level of efficiency and easily functions in the temperature range from -40 to +70 degrees. But despite its good physical characteristics, it is one of the most vulnerable elements of LED products

Drivers in modern lamps are electronic or capacitor. Each species has its own specific distinguishing features and advantages. More about the types and selection of current converters for LED bulbs we talked here.

The first option is valued more expensively and is more often used in branded products of the middle and luxury segment, the second is cheap enough for manufacturers and put into the budget series products.

Circuit Board Features

The circuit board serves as a springboard for the location of LEDs and other working elements. Manufacturers use different materials to create it. The most relevant is now considered a board made of anodized aluminum alloy.

On some circuit boards, for convenience, the locations for the LEDs are numbered. This helps to disassemble the sequence of placement during disassembly and repair.

It manifests itself as efficiently as possible and absorbs up to 90% of the thermal radiation that occurs during operation.

The nuances of the device LED elements

Light flow regenerating diodes come in several forms. Most often in lamps stand SMD and COB chips. The more they are located on the board, the more powerful the device is and the more heat is generated during operation.

When diodes of a certain type are installed on the lamp board, they can only be replaced with exactly the same. If there is no analogue at hand, you will have to re-solder all the chips so that they are the same

For normal operation and long service life, it is necessary to ensure the correct heat dissipation, and the radiator mounted on the case is responsible for this.

The specifics of the radiator

Excessive heat is detrimental to the functioning of the LEDs. The lack of high-quality heat sink significantly reduces the lamp operation period and ultimately leads to its combustion.

Some manufacturers save and equip the device with several transverse or longitudinal holes, placing them throughout the entire housing.

Low-cost manufacturers supply cheap plastic, glass and composite parts. Advanced brands go further and equip their LED devices with radiators made of metal with anodized anti-corrosion coating.

Therefore, it is better to initially buy reliable lamps from the best materials. Although they will cost more, but the user will protect himself from constant damage.

Radiators mounted in the lamp housing can be spiral, solid, plate, etc. Their thickness directly depends on what power diodes are used in the lighting device

Some brands, mainly of Chinese origin, supply bulbs with ceramic radiator elements.

Such products receive high-quality cooling, but, together with it, partially lose their structural strength and become more fragile in comparison with metal counterparts.

A few words about optics

The bulk of the LED lamps must be equipped with a diffuser made of matte plastic. It helps to concentrate the light flow at a certain angle and makes it more uniform.

The main advantage of the diffuser is that it is absolutely safe. For comparison, a glass bulb, when a lamp burns out, can crack, break and injure people in the room

Some models use lenses made from various modern and practical materials instead of diffusers. No damage is observed in these elements, and they do not fall under repair.

Common causes of malfunctions

Incorrect operation and sudden voltage drops in the central power supply often lead to failure of the LED lamp. The diode elements themselves in this case remain operational, but the driver may deteriorate.

Factory marriage is a very possible malfunction. Basically, “nameless” products are subject to it, however, this can happen with branded products, although such cases are extremely rare and are usually detected at the stage of purchase

Shocks and vibrations will not cause damage to the diodes, but the driver will be affected in the most negative way. The integrity of the structure and the accuracy of the fit to the working element board may be impaired

If the lamp itself does not provide good ventilation, the driver will overheat. As a result, this will adversely affect its functioning and provoke damage.

The lamp will begin to flicker sensitively and blink, irritating the eye, when the current-limiting resistor deteriorates, and completely ceases to burn if the capacitor fails.

All these moments are unpleasant, but you should not panic. You can fix the problem without much effort at home with your own hands.

It will have a bad effect on the Led element and lead to its failure, an incorrectly organized electrical system in a house or apartment.

Plus, it will increase the load on the wiring and, possibly, create additional problems in the near future. Therefore, it is better to entrust its arrangement to professionals.

When purchasing a light bulb from a well-known brand at a low price, you should be careful. Products may turn out to be falsified and will not work out the deadline declared by the manufacturer. Repairing will require financial costs, time, and is unlikely to justify itself in such a case

During operation in the lamp, a violation of the basic crystal structure of semiconductor diodes can occur.

The reaction to an increase in the density level of the injected current from the side of the material of which the semiconductor is made provokes this problem.

When the edges are soldered poorly, the heat removal loses the necessary intensity and weakens. The conductor overheats, overload occurs in the system and a short circuit disables the lamp.

All these trifles are not fatal and are subject to repair at a time and financial cost.

Preliminary device diagnostics

The LED module usually does not light due to interruptions in the general wiring, malfunctions in the circuit breaker system, in the absence of contact in the cartridge or when there are malfunctions in the lamp itself.

To understand the issue, you need to conduct a preliminary diagnosis and understand where the problem is located.

When the lamp does not light when the switch is activated, you need to unscrew it from the cartridge and screw in another, and not necessarily a diode one.

If the situation has changed and the light has appeared, then the lamp itself is faulty. Lack of lighting means that the problem is wiring.

The next step is to use a multimeter to find out if there is voltage in the electrical circuit.

To do this, it is enough to lean the device against the cartridge part with the circuit breaker activated and look at the indicators. They must be at the level 220 V. If the numbers are different, then the fault zone is detected.

When the correct voltage is confirmed, but the lamp still does not light, check whether there is contact between the base and the antennae of the cartridge. If abnormalities occur in this area, an arc arises and carbon deposits form on the antenna elements.

With intensive use, constant overheating or insufficient initial thickness, the central and side contacts in the cartridge can become unusable and cause regular burnout of LED lamps

To remove it, it is necessary to disconnect the voltage, clean off incorrect formations, and carefully bend the antennae themselves. After all these activities, you can screw into cartridge working lamp and check the result.

If there is no voltage at the contacts of the cartridge, it must be removed and checked to see if there is a phase on the wiring itself. If it is present when the switch is activated, the cartridge must be replaced.

When it is not there, you should pay close attention to the switch and look for a problem in it.

If all the above-described elements, assemblies and parts, as a result of the verification, have confirmed their serviceability, it becomes completely clear that the problem is located in the LED lamp.

How to disassemble the LED module?

To carry out repairs, the LED lamp must be taken apart. This procedure is not very difficult, but requires accuracy, attention and some skill.

If you wish, you can shoot the entire process in a step-by-step mode on the phone so that you do not confuse the procedure later.

It is advisable to act with extreme caution. Not all internal elements of the device must be replaced, therefore it is extremely important not to cause damage to them and to preserve them intact.

This is especially true for such a vulnerable, but extremely significant detail, as a circuit board.

Method # 1 - unscrewing

LED lamp is a rather fragile device, which must be disassembled very carefully and accurately. It does not require any significant effort, and there is no need to use sharp tools where there is a chance to cope manually.

To remove the diffusing dome, it is enough to take the bulb with both hands by the edges and, with soft rotational movements, separate the upper part from the housing.

Usually this can be done easily, since the layer of fastening sealant is extremely thin and immediately reacts to movement and violation of integrity.

Trying to unscrew the dome part from the body, in no case should you apply force. The plastic is fragile and when pressed hard, it can simply burst right at your fingertips.

Then it will be necessary to solve the most difficult task - to separate the plate carrying the LEDs from the rest of the case. To do this, you will have to unscrew all the mounting bolts.

Since their heads are tiny in size, you have to use special precision screwdrivers.

In the next step, you will need to disconnect the mounting plate from the radiator device. An object with a flat sharp edge, for example, jewelry tweezers, will help to do this. They will be able to gently pry the edge of the board and carefully remove it whole.

Then you have to carefully solder the areas of contact of the power wire and finally separate the plate with diodes from related parts.

The radiator and the base will need to be separated by delicate rotational movements and lay out all the components of the lamp on the table in front of you. After that, you can proceed directly to the repair.

Method # 2 - hairdryer heating

The second option is most suitable for products with thick glass, not suitable for direct contact with a tool such as a screwdriver. Here you have to use a construction hairdryer and use it to warm up the lamp housing.

This is the only way to remove the glass fragment glued with a special composition from the cylindrical base.

The intense exposure to hot air will cause the objects to be processed to expand, and the adhesive layer that holds the glass will become elastic.

After these manipulations, the lamp will disintegrate into its component parts, even if the master does not exert any effort on this.

If the hairdryer is not at hand, you can go the other way. To do this, you need to take a solvent, an awl and a medical syringe with a needle. First, with an awl, carefully and without pressure, draw along the edge of the domed diffuser.

Then inject the solvent with a syringe and wait a bit. Just a couple of minutes will pass, the sealant will become pliable, and the dome will be able to be unscrewed without any physical effort. All further actions are no different from the method described above.

Can't you make out the lamp? There are others on our site disassembly instructions various types of light bulbs. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with them.

Self-replacement LEDs

Burned-out LEDs often cause the bulb to fail.. Usually, after disassembly, you can immediately see which elements are damaged and require replacement. But there are cases when at first glance all the diodes look normal.

Visually recognizing burnt LED elements is not difficult. As a rule, they differ from the working "brothers" in that they have noticeable black dots and burns

In this case, you will have to use a multimeter and ring each element separately to identify a faulty one. Or remove the doubts from the board and test them using wires connected to a 12-volt power supply.

When only one diode is damaged, you can simply close its outputs. If a chain connection is used in the luminaire, this moment will in no way affect the loss of function of all other elements.

Old, faulty diodes will have to be unsoldered, then turn the board over and solder new chips to the visible contact paths.

The board always indicates data such as the type and size of the LED used. It is very important to replace faulty modules with similar ones, so that the lamp will continue to work as correctly as before the repair

In some cases, you can replace the LED without using a soldering iron. For this, the board will need to be warmed up well with a construction hairdryer. The soldering area will become soft and pliable, and the diode will be able to calmly be removed using ordinary tweezers.

You will need to mount a working light source on a still-cooled place. When the board cools well, it will firmly fix and will not move anywhere.

The main thing is to clearly remember the location of the element with respect to the smaller and larger contacts and place a working one in compliance with the pole.

Solving driver problems

Malfunctions in the driver are a fairly common LED lamp problem. Most often, a resistor or capacitor burns in the driver.

It’s quite difficult to identify the level of operability of this element with the measuring instruments at hand of the home master. Therefore, it is recommended that you simply replace it with a working one with similar parameters.

The reasons why the capacitor fails can be the initial factory defect or regular overheating of the module as a result of poor heat dissipation

It is not always possible to find a suitable part in lighting stores. It’s better to immediately go to the radio market or to the place of sale of radio electronics and try to find the right thing there.

When it is purchased, you will need to dismantle the faulty unit, and put the working element in its place.

For the correct disassembly and repair of LED bulbs, complex, expensive equipment will not be needed. Minimize a set of simple tools to help you troubleshoot.

The multimeter will allow you to check the presence of voltage in the circuit, will make it possible to detect the presence of breaks and will show how efficient the remaining parts of the circuit are.

The multimeter is a universal device designed to measure the basic basic parameters of various electronic products. With it, you can find out what condition the LEDs of any LED product are in.

The heating temperature at the time of soldering should not exceed 260 °. A simple soldering iron heats up more, so on its tip you need to wind a piece of a copper core with a cross section of no more than 4 mm with a tight spiral. The stronger the sting can be lengthened, the lower will be its working temperature

A soldering device with rosin and solder will be required to repair the breaks found in the circuit and the subsequent replacement of damaged parts and elements.

Using a small screwdriver, you can carefully separate the control elements from the lamp housing, and with a thin, durable clerical knife, you can delicately disconnect the parts from the circuit board.

Also, users often encounter problems such as blinking bulbs and burning lamps when the switch is turned off. What caused these malfunctions and how to eliminate them we said in our other articles:

• Why the LED bulbs blink: troubleshooting + how to fix
• Why LED lamps light when the switch is off: reasons and solutions

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

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LED bulb - a practical source of lighting. The only negative of this product is the high price compared to other modules. True, LED devices are reliable and usually work out their full time..

And if suddenly during operation breakdowns occur, most of them can be repaired with your own hands. Any home master can find the necessary tools, and making time for repair work will also not be difficult.

Do you know how to repair LED lamps on your own and can supplement the material presented by us with valuable recommendations? Write tips in the comments to the article, add unique photos - many beginners who do not have experience in repairing lighting products will be grateful to you.