Alright, I don’t want to cause mass panic here, but this is a massive issue for me!! I’ve gone through 2 new timers thinking they had bent pins. After hours of frustration I upgraded to digital to eliminate that possibility. Well, it hasn’t changed at all. So now I’m looking at the lights themselves. I’m running sf1000d 100w LEDs.
Lights on, they’re EXCELLENT little lights. Timer switches off, they act as a night light. The pics say it all.
Anyone care to pitch in some advice? I need these out and replaced immediately if I can’t fix this!! I just popped seeds for a new run because I thought I had this solved 🤦
edit
for further proof it’s not a malfunctioning timer, my mars fc3000 evo is connected to the same timer, turned to 100% and you can see it is still perfectly dark in these pics while the SF100D lights are all dimly light like stars in the night sky.
Nice timer it seems like. I wonder if it uses a SSR as opposed to a mechanical relay and the off-state leakage is enough to start the driver. There could also be an RC snubber across the switch contacts that allows just enough current into the driver.
Does the timer make a mechanical sound (relay opening/closing) when it turns on and off?
Now, those hypotheses are almost irrelevant but I’d email Spider Farmer and ask if it’s normal. Maybe they have a driver issue that is known.
The next question is does it matter? I think other people have a better feel for this but outside cannabis has no issue with moonlight levels.
Yes, I get a nice satisfying CLICK when it shuts off/on. Also, just to eliminate the timer malfunctioning I just removed it from the equation. With the lights plugged only into a power strip I flipped the switch, and I get the exact same result, with the exact same LEDs lit the same dim amount.
Does it matter??? Well, considering this is the most expensive part of every grow, millions of people use them, and it is literally drawing power when none should be available…yeah, this is a massive issue if it’s an equipment malfunction. If that’s the case this is a matter for FCC. It’s a massive fire hazard if you assume something is drawing no power and it still is.
Are you handy?
This problem could be due to the neutral wire in the wall socket being loose. There are a few other reasons this could happen.
Try some reading:
The same issue happened to me with an HLG 600 Rspec. Tech support seemed aware of the issue and advised that I use a three-prong to two prong plug adapter. The issue resolved but the driver crapped out shortly after and they sent me a new light.
Seems like most people agree it’s likely faulty grounding, as the article above also mentions. So it seems that’s my avenue of investigation. Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate the help!!!
No, I haven’t contacted them yet. Since it’s a holiday week for most of the world I haven’t bothered yet.
Ground wire is your green wire. If it was loose your lights wouldn’t work at all or flicker on and off. The neutral wire is your white wire and the one I would make sure and check. Check it at the outlet and your main circuit box that controls that outlet.
P.S. If you don’t have experience with electrical don’t mess with either and get someone that does do it for you!
Sounds like a wiring issue, spider farmer is the same manufacturer as mars hydro so their warranty support should be decent too(had an issue with a faulty bar on my fce6500), they replaced it after a few emails back and forth, responses were all within a business day which is reasonable considering the time difference between the US and China. I’ve heard of similar issues using leds and digital timers too I’ve just never run into them.
These 3-prong to 2-prong adapters did the trick! I bought one for each LED so the rest of my stuff all stays grounded and the LEDs won’t be affected anymore.
This seems like something we should all know about…as in “hey, just fyi, your first time hooking an LED up in your new place, actually get in there and LOOK at your LED in the dark cycle.” I know most people don’t open their tent, etc when their lights are out. Makes me wonder how many people out there with this issue are getting herms every run and have no clue why.
Get a voltmeter and check and see if your timers are killing both hot wires! They’re probably only killing one hot wire! This can be detrimental to certain ballasts according to manufacturer manual! This is most likely what is causing your problem! I hope this helps after this long! Find 220v~250v timers that kill both hot wires and that should fix your problem! Otherwise disconnect the ballasts from each other and adjust each ballast individually! Good luck!
