Re: Little Project - a 2-Level "Porch Light"

On 26/01/2025 13:21, Rich wrote:

186282@ud0s4.net <186283@ud0s4.net> wrote:

Alas this fixture is OLD - and has now trended towards "blinking" if
the temp goes below 50F.

 Likely one bad capacitor on the board that loses its ability to store
charge in low temps.  Given the 'blinking' it is most likely the
bootstrap cap. which allows the main supply regulator chip to start up
to power the "motion sensing" parts.
 

I had a TV once that needed a good slap to get the colour working.
I opened it up and found they had used EYELETS to form vias.   None of them were soldered.
I soldered a few and the colour came half back, Then the penny dropped, and I soldered every single one on both sides of the boards.
The TV was flawless until it got a direct lightning strike.
It's the same with electrolytics of a certain age, and RIFA mains filter caps. Justreplace the fucking lot.
Probably that fixes about half of all 'dead' electronics these days
--
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as foolish, and by the rulers as useful.
(Seneca the Younger, 65 AD)