Pentair IntelliBrite 5G Defect

[ogdento]

that plate should work much better than those little gray thermal strips!! i like your solution because as you said, a bigger heat sink wouldn't work if it relied on air flow inside the housing... since your plate (still a giant heat-sink) is tied TO the housing it can dissipate heat through it. it's very cool (pun intended)

I wondered if there's an issue with bonding the light board's back plate (via your copper disc), but - and I'm no electrician - I think it's ok? I don't have one of these installed in my pool so I can't check how it worked with the thermal strips (they are conductive, not insulators)... but it looks like the strips and brass mounting posts bonded it to begin with, before your mod?

 

[AZ_MB]

I'm pretty certain the thermal pads are conductive, but I can test them to be sure. Even if they aren't, the mounting posts are touching the copper. It looks to me that this is how the board is grounded.

 

[ogdento]

Yes, absolutely right about the pads being conductive - I get about 1.5 ohms on them. I'm glad it was bonded before with those posts... your mod isn't changing the bonding at all. I look forward to hearing how this mod works out for you!

 

[AZ_MB]

I look forward to hearing how this mod works out for you!

Be patient. It's going to take a year or so to find out.

 

[ogdento]

Let's hope it takes twice that!!

 

[cazz4ever]

Let's hope it takes twice that!!

Just found out no power from transformer and my board looks ok? I may donate to science ?
Did this solution work?

 

[ogdento]

I guess it has been over a year... let's see if @AZ_MB still has a working intellibrite!

cazz... if your transformer is bad but the board is good, can you install a pool safety transformer "on land" and run new low voltage wires (12vac) to the led housing?

 

[Middy]

Hi. Please help. I’ve been reading the threads here and I’m am surely an amateur single mom trying and willing to do as much of my own work as possible, but I don’t understand all the technical talk.
I bought a home and the pool had 2 Pentair intellibrite color changing Led lights in it. One started flickering and is now completely out, the other just went to green only. I pulled one up onto the deck thinking I was going to change a bulb. I looked at it, called the pool company and they want $2,000 to replace each unit in its entirety or $1,100 to replace with white.
I’ve seen the replacement boards(maybe wrong terminology). Can someone please tell me if changing the internal board would just fix the lights. Seems too easy and wondering why the companies want to change the entire fixture if this is this simple? Thank you for any help and advice

Update: I have the light on the deck that turns on green. It is 120V and here are some pictures if this will help at all.

 

[Middy]

In addition to my post above, I would like to show you what I have found.
One is an aftermarket part than I am leery about using due to color changing not working/syncing with existing remote or panel.
The other appears to be the same exact part. Is it really as easy as just screwing the new one in and putting the light back into the pool??

 

[bdavis466]

I have had 4 of the Sunseeker retrofits in my pool for over a year now without issue. They get a moderate amount of use.

That's a good price for the intellibrite driver but those lights have an alarming failure rate...

 

[Middy]

I have had 4 of the Sunseeker retrofits in my pool for over a year now without issue. They get a moderate amount of use.

That's a good price for the intellibrite driver but those lights have an alarming failure rate...

Thank you so much. Have you had trouble syncing the color changing patterns or solid colors. I would have 2.

 

[Middy]

I have had 4 of the Sunseeker retrofits in my pool for over a year now without issue. They get a moderate amount of use.

That's a good price for the intellibrite driver but those lights have an alarming failure rate...

Is it really that easy? Just order them, screw them in and wow the lights go back on? Could there be anything else wrong with the light fixture that would prevent the new board from working? Thank you for all your help.

 

[bdavis466]

They dont screw in, there's two wires to connect with wire nuts... very easy to do.

The only other thing that can go wrong with the light is the internal transformer but I don't think I've ever heard of one failing. They aren't replaceable anyway.

 

[Middy]

They dont screw in, there's two wires to connect with wire nuts... very easy to do.

The only other thing that can go wrong with the light is the internal transformer but I don't think I've ever heard of one failing. They aren't replaceable anyway.

Do you mean those two white wire of which I have now broke one off the existing board??
I was not sure where to pull from.

 

[Middy]

They dont screw in, there's two wires to connect with wire nuts... very easy to do.

The only other thing that can go wrong with the light is the internal transformer but I don't think I've ever heard of one failing. They aren't replaceable anyway.

Is there a way of checking if the transformer is out before I spend the money for even the replacement boards?

 

[bdavis466]

You would have to pull the lens off the light and use a meter to check the voltage coming into the light driver.

If your lights are low voltage then you don't have the transformer in the light housing.

 

[bdavis466]

I think there's a video on the sunseeker site that shows the process.

 

[Middy]

I think there's a video on the sunseeker site that shows the process.

I definitely have 120V there is a label wrapped around the light itself

 

[Middy]

Hey bdavis.....did you have any trouble syncing the colors for those 4 lights you got from
sunseeker? I have a spa light on the same circuit so they all changed color patterns at the same time. Would you know if I tried one and it was great, if I could get the second one and then they would be in sync?

 

[bdavis466]

Yes, you cycle the light on and off 3 times and that resets the lights to the first color in the series. I've had to do this a few times on mine and they haven't had any trouble syncing.