Advice on changing 9 pin connector on lighting fixure...

[WetWilly]

Hi,

I have an aquarium light.

It is unfortunately out of warranty, and needs repair (it cost £699 new).

It has 4 sets of lights (blue, white, 2x coloured) that operate independently...the light then plugs into an electronic controller using a 9 pin connector. This operates the lights to a set pattern.

It is the 9 pin connector on the light side that is at fault (I have two of these lights and have confirmed the controller connection is fine).

Is it as simple as dewiring the current 9 pin connector and soldering (or using a solder-less connector) to a new 9 pin connector?

This is the controller and connector:

This is the type of connector I am looking at: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DB9-Fema...091408?hash=item363148d7d0:g:AY0AAOSw5NJak3kc

This is currently what is on there: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-D-SU...564479&hash=item3630c2cd86:g:lSsAAOSwL7VWlL1y

THANKS!

 

[baldykev]

HI
You have a male connector the one you are looking at is female ,you need a nine pin male connector then you need to make sure that you wire it up to the correct pins on the connector.

 

[WetWilly]

Whoops!

Yes of course.

When rewiring, are all 9 pin connectors the same in terms of pin layout? ie, just do like for like?

 

[bernardgreen]

If you buy a 9 pin D type connector with solder bucket terminals then you should be able to use the existing screwed together back shell.

The "solderless" connector is a bit of a bodger's way to get a quick fix. A heavy weight on the back of a D type connector is not a good idea.

The connectors in your E-Bay link are folded metal pins which are far less reliable than pins made from solid metal.

 

[WetWilly]

Thank you for the advice.

Can you recommend a connector with solid metal pins? I've just had a search, but nothing coming up on eBay.

Thanks.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

WW - have you opened up the existing plug to see if all it needs is a re-soldering repair?

Because if it does, that would probably be the best way to proceed.

And if it doesn't, a new plug will probably not fix the problem.

 

[WetWilly]

I did open it up. I could not see anything overly wrong, but that is with an untrained eye of course.

I'm assuming it is the connector for a couple of reasons.

1. I have the another identical light fixture, and this works fine in the same same controller.

2. If I pivot the 9 pin connector in certain directions I can get full functionality out of 1 channel of LEDs. If I pivot the connector in another direction, I get full functionality from the other 3 channels of LEDs. All four channels won't work together due to the connector needing to be pivoted different ways.

Am I right based on this that it would be the connector at fault? I cannot see any issues with the pins or the wiring when opened up.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Could be a dry joint not visible to the naked eye.

Could quite likely be a fault inside the cable near to the plug.

 

[bernardgreen]

Solid pin connector

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solder-d-sub-connectors/5443733/

You would have to buy pack of 5 at £0.93 each plus VAT

These are quality items built to a standard and not cheap items built to the lowest possible price

 

[WetWilly]

Could be a dry joint not visible to the naked eye.

Could quite likely be a fault inside the cable near to the plug.

Could this be solved by cutting back the cable and rewiring from there??

Perhaps best thing is to try the new connector first and see if it does fix?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[bernardgreen]

If I pivot the 9 pin connector in certain directions I can get full functionality

First of all the connector should be firmly attached to the controller by the two small screws making povoting impossible.

When the connector is pivoted the pins are subjected to squeezing pressures. Folded metal pins can be deformed by this squeezing leading to them becoming a loose fit in the socket.

 

[WetWilly]

First of all the connector should be firmly attached to the controller by the two small screws making povoting impossible.

When the connector is pivoted the pins are subjected to squeezing pressures. Folded metal pins can be deformed by this squeezing leading to them becoming a loose fit in the socket.

Yes, when the connector is firmly attached using the pins, I do not get full functionality. One channel simply does not work. It only works when pivoted. I don't know why this became faulty as it was working and hadn't been moved in any way.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What happens if you screw the plug in tight, and waggle the cable about?

 

[WetWilly]

What happens if you screw the plug in tight, and waggle the cable about?

3 of the LED channels work, 1 doesn't. Nothing different happens when you waggle the cable.

The only way to get the channel that isn't working to work, is to connect the connector in such a way that one side is plugged in and one side is effectively plugged out (meaning the other 3 channels don't work). That's what I meant by 'pivot' on an angle.

It's also possible with a bit of luck, to get all four channels working at the same time, but 1 of the channels (the one that doesn't fully doesn't work when the plug is in tight) is very dimmed, and doesn't operate at full brightness. For this to happen the connector has to be really loose, and barely connected. It is all bizarre to me.

 

[securespark]

So moving the wire makes no difference, but moving the connector in the socket does?