Curious: Solar light on in daytime


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Old 08-03-22, 02:24 PM
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Curious: Solar light on in daytime

In 2016 I built a novelty signpost for my vacation home. For decoration I included a solar powered post top light.


Solar light on sign post.

This year I noticed that the light was not coming on at dusk so I replaced it with its original twin that had never been used. It worked as the first one did when installed in 2016--charged during the day and ran for a few hours at night. It does not get a lot of sun and is not expected to illuminate the driveway, just to look like a beacon for as long as it can. Even when not in direct sunlight during the day it does not illuminate.

On a whim I charged the battery in the first unit with a wall charger and tested how long it would light. The first night it ran for about 7 hours (normal). Then I left it in the sun to charge the next day. While in bright sun the light stayed off but when in shadow the LED illuminated. Since it was on during the day it only stayed on for a couple of hours after dark.

Description on manual cover.

Still lots of daylight but LED is lit. This picture is under a porch overhang but the same thing occurs if outside and not in direct sunlight.

I chatted with HD customer service and they were not able to explain why this occurs. Thinking that battery degradation is the cause I have tried a new battery but the problem does not resolve.

The photocell and solar panels have been cleaned.

Any ideas why a fully charged battery does not do this but a partially charged battery might allow the photocell to trigger in daylight. According to the manual the only thing a partially charged battery would do is run the light for a shorter time.


 
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Old 08-03-22, 03:36 PM
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coming on during the day would seem to indicate an issue with the darkness sensor. If clean and not obscured then it could be going bad.
Could be moisture problems in the electronics inside the unit.
 
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Old 08-04-22, 12:49 PM
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Most solar powered devices don't have a photo sensor. Takes up to much valuable power.
They rely on the sun to hit the solar charger.
When the solar charger gets down to a certain charge voltage due to low sunshine the light turns on.
 
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Old 08-04-22, 02:38 PM
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when solar charger gets down to a certain charge voltage due to low sunshine the light turns on
That makes sense and is a reasonable explanation of what I am seeing. The fixture does have a small dot at the top that looks like a photocell but could just be a small solar element to act as described. Blocking it with a finger (unlike in my other photocell-related thread) does cause the light to come on.
 
 

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