Savi Melody LED Light Failures

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L

lborne

0
Jun 29, 2009
468
Vero Beach, FL
I've had a total of 4 Savi Melody LED lights fail in about 1.5 years. I've just replaced 3 today and noted why they failed.

These LED lights are made of 2 separate housings. In the photo below, the left housing is the LED and a large aluminum heat sink. The back or right housing is the electronics.

[attachment=2:1zykl6uw]P1000733.JPG[/attachment:1zykl6uw]

All three of my recent failures were from flooding of the LED housing due to cracks in the rear of the housing near the endcap / connector end. You can see this in the following photos. All 3 were like this.

[attachment=0:1zykl6uw]P1000730.JPG[/attachment:1zykl6uw]

[attachment=1:1zykl6uw]P1000732.JPG[/attachment:1zykl6uw]

I immediately suspected high heat as the cause of the cracked housing and not installation as these lights did not show signs of failure for several months. Also, it just looked like high heat problems I've seen in the past in other devices. However, I did not realize LEDs could get so hot. But then, once I took apart the LED housing, I realized it is mostly a large solid aliminum round - which acts as a heat sink. Unfortunately, I think they underestimated the amount of heat generated.

Nexxus did send me new lights without question which I installed today. The new ones are of a different design made of one single larger housing. This puts the high heat more in the middle than at the end. Hopefully this will help solve the problem.

I'd like to hear from anyone else who has these lights and to see if you've had problems.
 

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Thank you for the report about the Savi lights. Sounds like the replacements are an updated version.

Wonder why they not noticed a heating problem before....

Anyway, keep us updated, how it works out for you.
Greets Goesta :)
 
Wow.

I just bought one of these and it's exactly the same as the model in your photo.

Did you have to show a proof of purchase or anything for the exchange of the light? I don't have one.

Are you using a Savi transformer or generic?

Thanks for the photos.
 
My pool builder was useless, so I took photos of the LEDs installed underwater which showed them half full of water. I emailed the photos to Next Step (who bought that product line and the production facility in Orlando from Nexxus) customer support, filled out their form, and sent them a copy of my final bill from the PB and final inspection as proof of purchase and date of installation. Within a week I had 3 of the new units.

I am using the PX100 transformer that they recommend. They don't make thier own.

I asked the guy in customer service if they had lots of returns and he said only a few. I have not seen anyone else having problems with these on the internet, which is good news for you. Possibly, I got a bad batch. The more I look at it, the more I am convinced the heat was incompatible with the glue that held the endcap onto the tube or the glue was just bad. Some water leaked in and then got boiled, cracking the tube and pushing the endcap out.

I suppose I will get my answer within a year if these leak, because with the new design the heatsink is now not near the endcap as everything is in one housing. However, with the new design, any leak now destroys the electronics too. I am regretting tossing my old lights because I found the LED array online for $25 and could have just redone that part in a much sturdier housing.

At any rate, I'm going to be running these lights quite a bit to see if they fail before the warranty is up.
 
Thanks for posting your experience! Question: When your lights failed did they shine red-ish mostly? That's what one of mine is doing. Also, were you required to send defective light back to manufacturer before you got the replacement, or we're they okay with the photo you took?
 
I had one go out too. They replaced it with no questions asked. The new one is the new design. I now have two of the old design that are still working but Im worried about them. The other three I have are out of the water. They are fiber drivers so i wonder if they will be okay?
 
Re: Savi Melody LED Light Failures - Update

Well, one more failed. I've yet to take it out, but I'm sure it is cracked as well and has flooded.

When they fail, it starts out with a small flicker every few seconds when on a transition setting (as opposed to a fixed color setting). Then the time between flickers increases. Now, the one light that has failed just plain does not come on at all except in 2 single color modes, and then its flickering all the time.

Very troubling since I have no confidence the replacements will work any better.
 
Hi, I'm new here, just thought I'd add my comment too :)
I have exactly the same problem as above. One light just alternated between red and off and the other went, pink, plue off!
I got nowhere with the pool install company so contacted Next Step products and they requested I return the lights for evaluation. Im hoping they'll replace them as its just two years since lights were installed..
Good to know I'm not alone with this problem.
Does anyone know it's caused by heat or would it be due to freezing in winter (as in Canadian winter:)?
 
Update.

I've had another fail. Out of 3 of the new design (v2.0), two have failed. Nextstep sent me 2 replacements. A problem I had is that I could barely get one out. It flooded and the epoxy inside absorbed water and expanded making it difficult to pull out. I had to drill into the front lens, insert a large screw and pull it out. It broke into many pieces.

The two replacements are of a newer design (v3.0). It is not significantly different from v2.0, except there is no plastic ring on the front lens as it is now built into the housing, and the LED is different. Hopefully it will produce less heat.

To answer your question, I can only assume mine all failed due to high heat. My pool never gets below 50 F so I can say that was not the problem with my lights. I just think it is a poor design. The heat sink seems adequate, but the plastic housing is not able to either tolerate the heat and/or expansion of the epoxy and aluminum heat sink when it heats up, causing the housing to crack.

A good early indication that the light is going to fail is a fogged up front lens.
 

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I had my Savi Melody Sol for 3 weeks last year when I had an issue. I lost the blue, then the green lights, now I just have the dark red. I'm hoping the pool company that installed it can produce the proof of purchase I need to get my third light in a year. But I love the light, when it's working. The rep Stephen Conner seemed like he would be able to help me. I see their are water drops in the LED now that I look at it. Will see. I miss my blue-green lighting. The pools seems dead and boring without it...especially when people are over.
 

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Crud! I just have the same problem. I did my pool opening and forgot the light was on the fritz last year. I only got two summers out of them. I believe the warranty is for two years so I'm SOL. After reading this post my quandary is do I buy the same light or change to another brand? How can you tell if you have the latest version or 3.0 as you indicate? I'm thinking of buying on-line as it seems to be a bit cheaper but they don't have the version or model#. Calling for warranty all the time seems like such a hassle. Does anyone know about a more dependable product that would fit the existing pool socket? I have two lights and one still works - for now. Do you replace both or can I use two different products? The SAVI lights are expensive at $400 a pop.

Makes no sense they are not reliable. I am already dreading having to pull the old one out. Hopefully the electrician did a good job and it will be smooth - about 75ft. It looks tight where the wire comes out of the conduit.
 
V1 is two separate housings
V2 is one single housing
V3 same as V2, but without the lens ring as it is built in. Insignificant change.

Using a fish tape to pull the wire made life easy in changing the lights. The hard part was getting that one broken one out.

I'd like to know what other options we have too.

As for now, my lights are all working, but I don't use them much and am afraid to. I don't see any signs of water inside. The newer ones are a bit different colors, but not that noticeable.
 
Mr. Broussard,
The Buddy units also get condensation build up around the LED. There are other competitors out there with similar products that may have figured out the condensation issue. We still have work to do to try to eliminate the condensation issue with our units.

this is what they are telling me now that I have replaced my lights twice..... Any recommendations for for another product that will work with the same fittings?
 
Anyone have info on the Jandy Pro Nicheless LEDs? http://www.zodiacpoolsystems.com/Products/Lighting/Nicheless-LED.aspx

I have 3 of 4 Nexxus Blancs fail this year. They were installed in summer 2010 (one failed inside a month and was replaced by builder) They have limited use up here in NJ, though this year I decided to have them lit 2 hours every night since early June. Still the MTBF is very small I will not use these again. I expected for $200+ each they would be built for the environment they are intended for.
 

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