Mars Hydro TS600 light leakage?

[VladimirLensky]

Hey guys

I recentely got a new Mars Hydro TS600 and added it to my growroom. The light works great but however i noticed that when the timer switches off, there is still some dim light coming from the light, so it doesn´t go all the way out. It´s just very dim, dimmer than a small candle but still ... is this normal? I have another KIND 300 but and they are on the same timer, but that one goes completely out and always has. I mean there should be 100% darkness in there while flowering. I tryied to switch timers and put the light on an analog one but still the same ... very dim ligts coming from the leds.

Would love some comments on this ... is this normal or not?

best regards
Lensky

 

[Donjonbow]

What timer do you have?

 

[revfunk]

Hey guys

I recentely got a new Mars Hydro TS600 and added it to my growroom. The light works great but however i noticed that when the timer switches off, there is still some dim light coming from the light, so it doesn´t go all the way out. It´s just very dim, dimmer than a small candle but still ... is this normal? I have another KIND 300 but and they are on the same timer, but that one goes completely out and always has. I mean there should be 100% darkness in there while flowering. I tryied to switch timers and put the light on an analog one but still the same ... very dim ligts coming from the leds.

Would love some comments on this ... is this normal or not?

best regards
Lensky

Damn man!!!! Now I need to go check my ts1000 lmao it will only be for veg, but if it doesn't fully go off I'm gonna have some words with Mars hydro. That's simply unacceptable.

 

[VladimirLensky]

What timer do you have?

 

[VladimirLensky]

Damn man!!!! Now I need to go check my ts1000 lmao it will only be for veg, but if it doesn't fully go off I'm gonna have some words with Mars hydro. That's simply unacceptable.

I knew this cant be normal ... yeah i would deffo do that, check your light ... light leakage like that can be so disasturous for the flowering

 

[revfunk]

I knew this cant be normal ... yeah i would deffo do that, check your light ... light leakage like that can be so disasturous for the flowering

Yup. Light leaks that are my fault are one thing.......but a broken light is another. Disastrous is putting it nicely my friend lol

 

[jaguarlax]

Hey guys

I recentely got a new Mars Hydro TS600 and added it to my growroom. The light works great but however i noticed that when the timer switches off, there is still some dim light coming from the light, so it doesn´t go all the way out. It´s just very dim, dimmer than a small candle but still ... is this normal? I have another KIND 300 but and they are on the same timer, but that one goes completely out and always has. I mean there should be 100% darkness in there while flowering. I tryied to switch timers and put the light on an analog one but still the same ... very dim ligts coming from the leds.

Would love some comments on this ... is this normal or not?

best regards
Lensky

The timer should cut off power to the light. I dont think there is a way that your Mars light can still be giving power to leds when there is none coming from the timer. Sometimes diodes stay warm for a bit and will glow. Other than that, it may be an indicator light on something else?

 

[VladimirLensky]

The timer should cut off power to the light. There is no way that your Mars light can still be giving power to leds when there is none coming from the timer. Sometimes diodes stay warm for a bit and will glow. Other than that, it may be an indicator light on something else.

I was thinking if it would maybe be some kind of an induction current that is bleeding through the diodes ... either that or just faulty timer or faulty Mars ... i have tried two different timers now, both analog and digital and they are both the same. My other KIND led is completely off on the same timer.

 

[VladimirLensky]

Yup. Light leaks that are my fault are one thing.......but a broken light is another. Disastrous is putting it nicely my friend lol

Please let me know buddy how your TS1000 behaves once you get around to try it.

 

[jaguarlax]

I was thinking if it would maybe be some kind of an induction current that is bleeding through the diodes ... either that or just faulty timer or faulty Mars ... i have tried two different timers now, both analog and digital and they are both the same. My other KIND led is completely off on the same timer.

Maybe a pic. Theres a chance you could have a bad circuit ... but that wouldnt make sense if the timer is off.

 

[Jimster]

Is there a chance that there is a lot of Rf or other source of hidden energy? A diode is a diode and even a LED will rectify electromagnetic energy... think of a crystal radio. If there is energy present, it's possible that the system could be picking it up and somehow exciting your LEDs. One thing to check is to totally unplug the lights from the timer when they are glowing like that. If it goes out, then you either have some electricity seeping around the switch somehow (very unlikely on two timers) or you are picking up energy from somewhere... a local radio or TV transmitter? If the light disappears when you unplug it, check the timer's outlet with a voltmeter or try to ground the disconnected LEDs and see if they light up... the timer could be acting as the ground for the lights, making a sort of circuit. It's kind of complicated if you aren't handy with electricity, but it could happen, even if the wires feeding the lights are running along other power lines, it could induce a slight current.

 

[VladimirLensky]

This is how it looks

 

[jaguarlax]

Is there a chance that there is a lot of Rf or other source of hidden energy? A diode is a diode and even a LED will rectify electromagnetic energy... think of a crystal radio. If there is energy present, it's possible that the system could be picking it up and somehow exciting your LEDs. One thing to check is to totally unplug the lights from the timer when they are glowing like that. If it goes out, then you either have some electricity seeping around the switch somehow (very unlikely on two timers) or you are picking up energy from somewhere... a local radio or TV transmitter? If the light disappears when you unplug it, check the timer's outlet with a voltmeter or try to ground the disconnected LEDs and see if they light up... the timer could be acting as the ground for the lights, making a sort of circuit. It's kind of complicated if you aren't handy with electricity, but it could happen, even if the wires feeding the lights are running along other power lines, it could induce a slight current.

That would be wild. Doesnt the FCC have guidelines on electronics for interference like that?

 

[Jimster]

That would be wild. Doesnt the FCC have guidelines on electronics for interference like that?

Sort of. Cheap chinese electronics make a hell of a RF noise, as do high efficiency and electronic ballasts for fluorescent lights and similar stuff. I take a portable AM radio and try to tune in stations... any RF will scramble the reception and make only the strongest stations able to be picked up. Induction from your home's wiring would also be a suspect, as the 60 cycle current can induce currents by magnetic induction to any nearby wires... think of a transformer or old car coil. I can't think of any other possibility, since a timer should cut both sides of a 110V circuit... unless the wiring is wrong, polarity wise. I have also see similar stuff when the ground to a house fromthe utility pole is bd, causing the electricity to find the best ground it can, which is often pipes that go into the ground. They can sometimes get saturated and have extra voltage floating around... I can't explain it but I have seen it happen... you can sometimes feel it when standing on a wet floor and touch some metal plumbing... you can feel the tingle a little.

 

[VladimirLensky]

I have located the problem i think. When i disconnect the ground wire from the chassy, the light goes completely out. Also on the two other times i tried. So the leds seem to be dragging some minimum current through the ground from the timer and outlet. So i guess the grounding of the house is not good enough or what?

 

[revfunk]

Please let me know buddy how your TS1000 behaves once you get around to try it.

Will do!

 

[VladimirLensky]

Problem solved!! The reason was the ballast was wired wrong .. flawed from the manufacture. The Blues wire which is normally the N was soldered in the L and vise versa. Caused I switched the wires and reconnected the ground and now all works perfectly. But shame on you Mars Hydro to send me a flawed light ... no my entire crop could be in danger :-(

 

[jaguarlax]

Problem solved!! The reason was the ballast was wired wrong .. flawed from the manufacture. The Blues wire which is normally the N was soldered in the L and vise versa. Caused I switched the wires and reconnected the ground and now all works perfectly. But shame on you Mars Hydro to send me a flawed light ... no my entire crop could be in danger :-(

Now I see why people get so fired up about Mars Hydro... They used to be an advertiser here, and no mas... Glad you got it figured out man.

 

[Jimster]

I have located the problem i think. When i disconnect the ground wire from the chassy, the light goes completely out. Also on the two other times i tried. So the leds seem to be dragging some minimum current through the ground from the timer and outlet. So i guess the grounding of the house is not good enough or what?

That is what they call a ground loop. It can be caused by a broken wire coming into your house (the ground wire) and is unlikely to be the result of bad house wiring unless the grounds weren't connected. A poor ground can cause the same thing, as electricity will take the easiest path to a ground. If you have a voltmeter, measure between the grounds that you were working on and see if there is any voltage between the two. Keep in mind that your wall sockets that have two holes.... only one of them is hot. Most newer electronics have polarized plugsthat can only be plugged inone way. Getting the two swapped out somehow usually allows the device to work properly, but it can become a shock hazard.
Think of your home's ground as a giant drain. All of the electricity should go down the drain (ground). If the drain doesn't drain so well (bad house ground from pole), the electricity can "back up" like drain water and try to drain off somewhere else... in this case it give's the ground a slight charge/voltge. IThe electricity then goes backwards from the ground to the ground in the circuit, causing a slight backwards voltage and lighting up your LEDs. I would hack to make sure that your house doesn't have any potential problems... it happens easily outside.

 

[ducciok]

Bought a ts1000 recently. I plugged the first time and when the timer went off I found I had the same problem.

Plugged the timer in the plug upsidedown and solved the problem.