Black box drivers

Foneman02

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I know this question has been asked before but when I read the posts no one ever gets an answer. I have a Chinese black box 165w dimmable that has no blue leds lighting up. I switched the drivers and got the blues to light. I need a replacement driver. Has anyone ever gotten a replacement or know who to contact to get one. Thanks
 

jda

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These are generally made to just be tossed when broken, but there are some DIY LED gurus in the lighting forum that might be able to help. They will not see this post here, most likely, so start it again in that forum.
 
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Foneman02

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Thanks for replying. As you will see there is no model number or serial numbers on the driver. Plain black housing. In popped off the bottom of the housing and took a picture of the internal board.
 

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blecki

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I've got one where just the blues turn on, no whites. Send me your driver and I'll have a whole working unit again...
 

shwareefer

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Do you know who made your BB's? Probably best to try contacting them. These are ones from Mars Hydro and they look almost but not quite identicle.

marshydro_ic.jpeg
 
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Foneman02

Foneman02

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Do you know who made your BB's? Probably best to try contacting them. These are ones from Mars Hydro and they look almost but not quite identicle.

marshydro_ic.jpeg
I looked up mars hydro they have a warehouse location right here in nj. I sent them an email to their customer service dept. i received an email back from them asking for receipt and order info. I don’t have any of that since these boxes are at least 5 years old. I asked them if they have any drivers that could be used in place of the defective drivers i have now. Waiting for a reply will update when I hear from them.
 
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Foneman02

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Heres the latest on drivers for the black boxes. I text a woman Betty at Aqua Hydro and asked her if her company had a compatible driver for the black boxes. She said her tech dept told her they didn’t have anything that would work. Im pretty sure her company is affiliated with mars aqua. She didn’t give me a website for mars aqua even though i asked. I wouldn’t purchase anymore black boxes since there is no support for the product.
 
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Foneman02

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If your going to buy blackboxes go with Viparspectra at least they have a website and tech support.
 

Lbrdsoxfan

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I looked up mars hydro they have a warehouse location right here in nj. I sent them an email to their customer service dept. i received an email back from them asking for receipt and order info. I don’t have any of that since these boxes are at least 5 years old. I asked them if they have any drivers that could be used in place of the defective drivers i have now. Waiting for a reply will update when I hear from them.
I gotta put this out there, but your asking about drivers for black boxes that are over 5 years old and aren't happy about customer service for what's going to be a beyond discontinued product. Those lights prolly shouldn't of lasted 2 years, let alone 5. You outlived many of name brand light fixture in terms of longevity, it's time to plop some coin for more black box fixtures (or something else if you want 'customer service').
 
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Foneman02

Foneman02

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I gotta put this out there, but your asking about drivers for black boxes that are over 5 years old and aren't happy about customer service for what's going to be a beyond discontinued product. Those lights prolly shouldn't of lasted 2 years, let alone 5. You outlived many of name brand light fixture in terms of longevity, it's time to plop some coin for more black box fixtures (or something else if you want 'customer service').
Your right i will at some time spring for new lights. I can’t afford $600 radons. So it will have to be viparspectra they do have customer support as if now.
 

augiedoggy

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For anyone having a failure issue with these drivers I suggest replacing the 2 220uf 35v capacitors at location ce 51 and ce53. they have failed on 2 of my drivers over the last 12 years or so with the most recent one being yesterday. This is like a 2 dollar repair if you can solder or know someone who can solder.

I posted a pic here of the 2 cap as did another. sometimes you will see they have bloated on top when they fail. you can often get the caps to work when they fail if you preheat them with a hair dryer or heat gun before attempting to power on. this will help prove its the issue but they wont work once cooled off unless you replace them.
 

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