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Lights Went Out

928 views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  PhaneSoul 
#1 ·
The lights in my RSM 130 hood went out about two weeks ago. They were working fine one day, and then poof, nothing. No main lights, moon lights, or fans. The only reason I knew that power was even being supplied was that the fans were twitching (but not spinning).

I contact Red Sea support and they told me I should replace the LED driver. I got the driver today and replaced the old one and now the moonlights work fine. But the main T5 lights and fans still don't work and the fans are still twitching. I think its either the ballast or timer but don't want to have to order both. Any guesses as to which?
 
#2 ·
That is a major drag, I am surprised they cant be a little more supportive with effort to trouble shoot. I remember back when Icecap VHO ballasts wee state f the are, if a ballast went bad you called and gave them a serial number and who sold it, they would ship a new one out in a box with Return Authorization so you could send the defective one back. If it was a covered issue( liberal policy) you kept the new one, if it was user error they charged your CC the difference and you got repaired original back or kept the new one. I guess none of the importer do that any more :(
 
#4 ·
They've been good to me before. I got a 50% on a tank a few years ago after the glass on mine exploded. Not sure why they're not being very helpful. They didn't even offer to send out a replacement LED driver. Looks like I'll be dropping another $50 to get the timer and ballast.
 
#6 ·
I am literally about to freak out. Replaced the replaced the fans, replaced the LED driver, and just replaced the ballast. And guess what? Nothing works. I have no clue what it could be. Connections are all secure and wiring is as it is supposed to be (cross checked with working hood of my other RSM 130 tank). And these guesses on the part of RSM customer service have now put me out over $100. I have no clue what I'm going to do. The only corals in the tank are some kenya trees and they're holding on with phyto doses and some cheap room lamp. But I cannot afford to buy a whole new lighting fixture at this point. You would think RSM would at least have the decency to give me a discount on an entirely new hood. Instead they are advising me to replace every part of the hood one piece at a time.
 
#11 ·
Hey James do you have a multimeter? If so I can give you my number and we can go over a couple of things. I may be able to help I may not. But if you be my eyes and ears I might be able to help. Granted I don't know anything about the RSM hoods, or how they work. But If you could start supplying pictures there is a large chance I could understand everything there is to know about this.

So, when troubleshooting I like to have people start from the beginning. Maybe take a couple deep breaths and know it's OK that you don't know what's wrong YET. That's where I can come in.

I get off work at 5 and have to feed the dogs and let them outside as soon as I get home, but after that I can run through some things with you. Do you have any manuals for the hood? Or specs? Anything like that?
 
#12 ·
By the way I'm an electronic engineer. I troubleshoot stuff for a living. I have taken a personal interest in LEDs. So, I am somewhat qualified ;) and willing to help. Half of the time I help people I know nothing but the electronic theory behind the components in the device. And yet I still manage to figure their issue or give them a solution on where to go, or what to do next. I may not be able to help you solve this, but let's give it a try! I am a problem solver. Not a parts changer. I don't change parts to see if it works unless that's the only alternative. I verify something is working before I go down the line.... I can teach you how to do stuff like use a meter, but I am not going to type it all out. Lol.
 
#14 ·
I have Maxspec Razors, and one day just like you said boom, all the blues went out, next day the blues came back on but only very dim and wouldn't go any higher. They sent me a new driver board, and that didn't fix it either. I have 2 lights side by side and I noticed that just 1 of the blue LED's on the bad light was completely out and the rest just dimmed. So I ordered a new led panel and boom, they were all back on. A couple of months later the same thing happened to the middle panel, ordered another one and once again it fixed it. Its like they are wired like old Christmas tree lights, if one goes out, then they all do. So much for LED's lasting for 10 years.
 
#15 ·
Sorry all for the delayed reply, I've been very busy the past few days.

So I just got the new timer and relay today. Installed them both and voila. You guessed it! Still no power. So here's me, about the take a sledgehammer to this thing. I'm madly checking every single connection and screw and whatever in the hood. Last two connections to check are the fan connections. I unplug the fans, and voila, the lights go on.

So after all this, it looks like one of the fans was faulty and killing the rest of the circuit. The LED driver came before the relay which was why the LED's worked. But the main lights and fans were hooked up to the same relay, and the faulty fan must have either been drawing too much current or breaking the current flow.

I really don't know if the fan was the only problem, but I guess the hood should be fine forever now since it is basically brand new. I have a new fan coming soon, so the hood will be 100% operational in a few days.

Thanks for all the help. And 90Reef, thanks for the offer. Sorry I never got back to you, as I said, I've been really busy. But I appreciate it.
 
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