# Defiant LED outdoor light



## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

Worked great for about 2 months now it just flashes 2 times a second when I turn on the switch.

LUX is set at minimum
SENS is set at minimum
Time is set for 2 minutes.



Whassup?


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

Its broken !


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Wassup is that, if it's a customer supplied fixture, there's no warranty and you replace with a service call. Suggest Rab.


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

...So this LED didn't last 20,000 hours?


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Classic indications of a 'logical' problem.

Try and re-set// reboot the logic. Usually there is some pin// pin in a hole that you can press to bring it back to factory default.

As it stands, it's clocking itself off.

Just a SWAG.


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## Azspark (Jan 24, 2014)

Wouldn't install in the first place. Suggest a better brand.......


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

*LUX is set at minimum*
*SENS is set at minimum*
Time is set for 2 minutes.

https://www.manualshelf.com/manual/defiant/dfi-5936-wh/instructions-assembly-spanish/page-8.html

Read the factory instructions. ^^

Re-check the settings* bolded* above.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

telsa said:


> *LUX is set at minimum*
> *SENS is set at minimum*
> Time is set for 2 minutes.
> 
> ...


I have. What's your point?


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

LARMGUY said:


> I have. What's your point?


The factory documentation strongly implies that your adjustments make the sensor insensitive.

Likewise the Lux should not be on minimum.

I'd start off with mid range values for both. :thumbsup:

"... to increase the detection zone turn "SENS" dial toward *"+"* position."

From the link.

Minimums appear to turn the device off.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

Yes, this light was working for about 2 months. All settings were approximately centered. Then the damn thing started flashing. The ONLY way to adjust it where is doesn't flash is flip the off switch in the garage.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Flashing at 120 Hertz smells like the capacitor -- buffering the DC power -- is dead. 

The flow of current in and out of that cap runs exactly at 120 Hertz when fed by a classic diode bridge. 

Heat kills caps.

It's summertime.

It's flashing (at 120 Hz) because you're reduced to a bizarre ultra-high ripple DC power supply. 

The capacitor is in the design to steady the flow of current -- taking from the DC peaks to feed the DC dead zone.

Not only does a diode bridge commutate, since diodes won't let current pass -- even in the forward direction -- until a critical voltage threshold has been crossed -- so what you end up with is a series of DC pulses that are chopped all the way to zero -- the dead zone straddling the point of AC commutation that is feeding the diode bridge.

In the modern era, always keep capacitor failure in the back of your mind. They are -- consistently -- the single most likely circuit element to give out.

The endless flashing is also due to the DC logic being scrambled -- as the digital brain has a coma at 120 Hertz. ( could be an analog circuit -- an RC count down clock with a pot adjustment. ) [ could be a fusion of both -- the things the engineers come up with these days...]

The cap will be a discrete component -- usually pretty obvious, too.

It may have shorted out -- and then -- with the bolted short heat -- blown itself open. In which case the component should really show distress.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

telsa said:


> Flashing at 120 Hertz smells like the capacitor -- buffering the DC power -- is dead.
> 
> The flow of current in and out of that cap runs exactly at 120 Hertz when fed by a classic diode bridge.
> 
> ...


That makes the most sense of all. I make extra $ on the side replacing caps on power supplies, flatscreens, and stereo equipment.

I'll bench it this weekend if I have the time.


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

FWIW, defiant is cheap chit in everything they make!


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

papaotis said:


> FWIW, defiant is cheap chit in everything they make!


Would you please recommend an alternative?


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## triden (Jun 13, 2012)

LARMGUY said:


> Would you please recommend an alternative?


I installed Defiant door knobs/locks in a house and they are garbageeee


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

triden said:


> I installed Defiant door knobs/locks in a house and they are garbageeee


Unless I miss my guess, Defiant is a House Label for Home Depot. 

'Cause a dook knob has absolutely nothing to do with LED fixtures -- except that they are both retailed by HD. (And imported from RC) :laughing:

Second opinions, please. :whistling2:


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

i second your opinion


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

It's broken. That's really the beginning and end of the troubleshooting process. You need a new one. :thumbsup: Preferably not one OEM'd by Jeng Feng Pow Heavy Industries Electric Works.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

If your motion light doesn't come in a box labeled RAB you've already screwed up.


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## pete87 (Oct 22, 2012)

You have been felled by ... Tin Whiskers .




Pete


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## triden (Jun 13, 2012)

telsa said:


> Unless I miss my guess, Defiant is a House Label for Home Depot.
> 
> 'Cause a dook knob has absolutely nothing to do with LED fixtures -- except that they are both retailed by HD. (And imported from RC) :laughing:
> 
> Second opinions, please. :whistling2:


I thought they were the same company...selling all kinds of top quality products.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

Jlarson said:


> If your motion light doesn't come in a box labeled RAB you've already screwed up.


I don't know what that means but I really would want to see this.


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

I've installed RAB exterior dual floods for a number of years and have been very satisfied with the results with few call-backs. I'm still on the fence with LEDs and wonder if manufacturers are exaggerating claims of longevity. I'd like to know any reliable LED fixtures, interior or exterior. BTW I installed a client-supplied LED interior ceiling light from HD that was super-easy to install but only lasted a few months.


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