Needing help from the circuit gurus

[AzteCypher]

I hope I'm putting this thread in the right place  , and mods, please feel free to remove this if you feel it does not belong here.   

I recently replaced our outdoor solar lamps because they weren't activating when they should.  I feel bad throwing them out because they still actually work.  It's the motion sensing part that didn't always cooperate.

I got the genius idea of using them in our backyard as lights that come on once it goes dark.  I did away with the PIR sensor, mistakenly thinking, that's what controlled how long it stayed on.  Of course, that was not the case.  I didn't realize that part of the circuit included some sort of timer that shuts the light off after 15 seconds of no movement.

I've been trying to read online to figure out what connection I need to bridge or what leg from which chip I need to remove but most of it going over head.

Are there any circuit gurus around here that can help guide me into how to get this working the way I want to?  Or at least let me know if it's not possible with the current circuit board.  Solar light info below along pics of circuit boards.

Thanks for any and all help.   

Lupsowiten Solar Lamp
Model - LP-SL-100D

[nate j]

This is going to be more trouble than it’s worth.  The simplest thing would probably be to replace the PIR sensor with a photocell with hysteresis, but specs are going to have to match.

While I applaud your effort to reuse vs. discard, I would toss these lights and buy some that do what you want off the shelf.

[AzteCypher]

That's what I wondered as well whether or not it would be worth the effort.

I may just re-solder the PIR sensor and 3D print a translucent cover for it, as the original one fell apart because of the elements, and use them as is but closer to the ground than they originally were.  They were originally attached to the garage roof which is sitting much higher than where I had planned to use them.

Thanks for the input! 

[Vidar]

I believe there are complete independent PIR sensors with relay and timers available and thus could just be put between power and lights. However I assume the lower left plug in the picture is from the solar panel (?) and that some charging circuit is on that board as well. External sensors likely don't have that part of it.

I had some electronics back in the day. One lab exercise was to try and fix various items. To quote the professor at the end of the day - if there isn't some part or circuit visually damaged, getting abnormally hot, or communicating with smoke signals, then consider throwing and replacing. The time spent to look further would too often cost more than the part itself and that without a guarantee of a successful outcome. Reuse has value too so it is a balance point there somewhere.

If the lights are a few years old the batteries might not be in great shape either.

[AzteCypher]

Correct, the lower left plug is for the solar panel.

And your professor has a very good  point.  I spent way too much time an energy fixing a Halloween projector spotlight one year.  For the amount of resources I spent fixing it, I could've bought two more.  The components to fix it came out to almost half of the cost of the original device. 

Did I have fun fixing it?  Sure.  Was it worth the spent resources?  No, but I did learn a thing or two.   

It's a real shame things are made to be thrown away instead of repaired. 

[Vidar]

It's a real shame things are made to be thrown away instead of repaired.

Indeed. In particular when a repairable version wouldn't cost any more, or worse, it is made unrepairable on purpose.

I just had a little CNC lathe die on me, and of course at the worst time possible. It is from 1986-87. All the mechanics are motors are fine, the controls are fine - but the CRT/ video card/ video RAM died and I have no hope of finding another like it. But the upside is that the lathe is made for maintenance and repair and is thus modular with fairly standardized parts that are still in use. So I might just be able to switch all the electronic controls and keep going with the mechanics and motors just fine. Will be a bit of project though.

[Farmer X]

It's a real shame things are made to be thrown away instead of repaired.

Unfortunately, I think that's the spot you've found yourself in here. Sure, you could conceivably modify the existing lights so they behave as desired. But time is money. These things are built so far down to a price that you'd be better off tossing them and getting something else. As Vidar says, that's especially true if the existing lights are a few years old and their batteries aren't quite cutting the mustard anymore. Good luck with this endeavor!