Philips streetlight "ledgine" fault and repair

This is an unusual one. It's the very hefty LED module out of a streetlight, that has failed prematurely.
The failure mode is odd. The high open circuit voltage from the universal Xitanium driver has resulted in tracking on the aluminium core PCB, that has progressively burned along a thin copper track, eating right through to the aluminium layer to sustain the tracking current.

Tracking is when the carbon created from a burning connection or current leakage causes the formation of a conductive path.

After the unofficial repair I tested for voltage on the heatsink plate with reference to the positive and negative LED supply. There was no significant voltage, so the tracking has purely been using the aluminium as a current path as it nibbled its way along the thin track.

In this case the LED might have fluctuated a bit before failing, but the current regulated supply with high open circuit voltage (300V minus combined LED voltage) would have maintained the illumination via the fault until it finally burned clear.

My fix involved heating the whole module up to facilitate soldering on the heatsinked PCB, removing LEDs on damaged pads, and then linking that section out with a thin wire (thin copper tape could have worked too). The current automatically regulated to the remaining LEDs, so the result is a working, very slightly dimmer streetlight. (about 6% dimmer)

It's firmly in the category of an emergency repair for using the panel in less critical applications. The fact one LED has failed suggests others may follow suit.

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Видео Philips streetlight "ledgine" fault and repair канала bigclivedotcom