How to repair an energy-saving lamp with a burnt bulb. How to disassemble and repair an energy-saving lamp? Repair of system components

Energy-efficient modern lamps not only save energy consumption, but also make it possible to choose a device with the most comfortable color spectrum.

Repair energy saving lamps Doing it yourself can cause difficulties if you lack experience, but it is quite accessible even to the average consumer.

Basic design features such modern sources light provide significant advantages during operation. In addition to saving electrical energy and reducing the load on the household network, energy-saving lamps have a long service life, emit a small amount of thermal energy, and produce a uniform and comfortable glow for the eyes.

Depending on the design of the bulb, all energy-saving compact lamps are presented in the following options:

• “U” – barrel type;
• “W” – barrel type with a special design;
• “S” – spiral type;
• “R” – reflex type;
• “C” – with a protective cap of the “Candle” type;
• "SH" - construction type"Ball".
• “M” – small-sized type;
• “P” – with a “Shirt” type body;
• “F” – with a special spiral type design.

Light bulb device

The design of any modern energy-saving lamp of domestic and foreign production is the same, and is presented:

• a gas-discharge tube designed to emit a light flux;
• a housing with an electronic start-up and power supply circuit, or the so-called electronic ballast.

In the base part of the lighting device, the main elements are represented by contacts for power supply and a standard thread for installation in a socket. A tubular flask sealed on both sides has electrodes at the ends. The inside of the flask is coated with a special layer of phosphor, and inside the cylinder contains a mixture based on inert gas and mercury vapor. As a result of the process of ionization of the mixture, the switched-on lamp glows.

It should be noted that the design energy efficient lamp, regardless of type, is not intended for installation in lighting fixtures equipped with light level controllers or dimmers.

How to disassemble an energy-saving lamp

The absence of glow from an energy-saving lamp does not always mean its disposal. The difference from traditional incandescent lamps is the maintainability of such a light source, but to eliminate the malfunction, the device must first be properly disassembled:

• Using a thin screwdriver, carefully pry off the lamp cover in areas marked with special arrows;
• if the latches stop working, you can measure the diameter of the case with a caliper, and use a small disk cutter to make small cuts on the outside of the case every 15 mm, then use a thin screwdriver to release the latches.

Disassembled lamp

The use of a cutter makes it easy to cope even with long-used lamps, the housing of which is made of shriveled plastic.

The lamp, opened using a cutter, after carrying out all the necessary repair work, you can easily put it back together using for this purpose any glue suitable for fixing plastic or regular silicone sealant.

Determining the degree of damage to the lamp

The disassembled structure should be subjected to a thorough visual inspection. At the first stage, the board must be inspected on both sides, and then other elements, which will identify damaged parts that need to be replaced.

Determining faulty elements on the board

To release the base part, you will need to unwind the wire located on the base rod, after which the filaments are untied and the board itself is released. The main causes of failure of energy-saving lamps are most often represented by combustion of the main elements electronic circuit and burnout of the glow plug.

Checking lamp operation

Fuse

The primary task is to check the functionality of the fuse, one end of which is soldered to the central contact of the base part of the energy-saving lamp, and the other to the board.

It is quite easy to determine the serviceability of the installed fuse yourself using a standard multimeter in the mode of measuring the resistance level at “continuity” or “200”.

The probes of the device are applied to the central base contact and the resistor solder spot on the board.

When the fuse is working, the readings of the measuring device should be at the level of 10 ohms, and “one” signals a break. The failed fuse needs to be cut off next to the resistor body, which will make it easy to solder a new element.

Flask

The filaments, or rather their resistance indicators, which should be the same, will also require special attention and careful checking. To check, one pin is soldered on each side. When a burnt filament is detected, a resistor with similar resistance parameters is soldered in a parallel direction.

Diodes and Zener diode

Any semiconductors represented by diodes and a zener diode are quite difficult to withstand overload and short circuits, so they often fail in the absence of a stable voltage in the household electrical network.

To check, the diodes and zener diode need to be dialed directly on the board. The forward resistance of the p/n junction of the diodes should not exceed 750 Ohms, and the reverse resistance should be infinity or one. Operable two-anode zener diodes, when tested in any direction, should show a resistance of “one”.

Transistors

The transition part of the transistors, as well as their base-emitter, are shunted using a low-resistance transformer winding, so to check they should be very carefully desoldered. The test is carried out using a standard voltage test.

If so, you need to know how to properly dispose of it, because there is a certain amount of mercury inside it.

You will find tips on choosing LED lamps for your home.

Do you know what a dimmer for LED lamps is? Let's tell you what the device is.

Resistors and capacitors

The resistance of capacitors and resistors is also carried out using a conventional multimeter. The correct rated resistance values ​​are usually indicated by the manufacturer on the body of the lighting fixture. Any deviation from the specified correct parameters is a reason to replace the element.

It should be noted that capacitor failure can often be determined even by a simple visual inspection. Most often, such an element is deformed, swells, or the appearance of characteristic streaks is observed. Capacitors installed in cheap Chinese energy-saving lamps break down especially often.

Repair

In this section we will look at how to repair an energy-saving lamp with your own hands.

Budget models of energy-saving lamps are often assembled without soldering, using special latches.

The result of such an assembly is natural burning or oxidation of the contacts during operation of the lighting device. In this case, the conductors are stripped and carefully soldered.

Also, depending on the type of breakdown, the following repair measures can be carried out independently:

• Soldering out faulty elements and soldering new SMD resistors in this place. Using a soldering iron, both sides are heated at the same time, and the resistor is moved with a small screwdriver. This work should be done as quickly as possible, which will prevent other conductors from moving away from the surface of the board. If there is excess solder on the board, it must be removed.
• Soldering out faulty ones and soldering in new transistors. The leads of the old element are carefully cut off, and the contacts of the new transistor are soldered in their place. When replacing such an element during ballast repair, you must remember that the nominal values ​​of the transistor directly depend on the power level of the lighting device.
• Unsoldering the faulty one and soldering in a new fuse-resistor. The terminal of the cut element must correspond to the length of the new one, after which it is soldered to the terminal in the base part, and a standard piece of heat-shrinkable tubing is put on the connection point. The free resistor lead is soldered onto the board.
• Lamps with burnt filaments may take a long time to turn on or flicker heavily. Repair of energy-saving lamps with a burnt-out spiral is carried out as follows - such a common malfunction must be eliminated by standardly replacing the ignition filament with a filament suitable in terms of resistance.

If you have a working bulb, it is certainly possible to make the simplest and easiest replacement of the ballast circuit removed from the lamp with a faulty bulb. However, such situations arise extremely rarely, so standard repairs most often involve performing all of the above manipulations.

As practice shows, you can significantly extend the service life of the filaments of a light source installed in an energy-efficient light bulb with a removed type of thermister by making ventilation holes in the device body that soften temperature regime during operation.

Assembly

Before you begin assembling the housing, you need to check the functionality of the assembled lighting device.

For this purpose, all the wires are connected, and the energy-saving lamp itself is inserted into the socket with the base part.

Final assembly involves placing the board in place and joining the two parts of the case together by snapping or gluing.

Conclusion

Experts advise making a small, simple modernization of budget models of energy-saving lamps, as a result of which it is possible to significantly extend the life of the lighting device. For this purpose, it is necessary to install a standard NTC thermistor in the break with the filaments, which limits the inrush current and eliminates the risk of burning out the filaments.

Video on the topic

More and more incandescent lamps are being replaced by energy-saving lamps. The reason for this is not only their efficiency, but also the ban on the production of conventional lamps, which in the future will lead to its complete cessation.

LED lamps are not affordable for everyone, so compact fluorescent lamps (abbreviated as CFLs) have firmly occupied their price range. However, prices are different there too. CFL manufacturers are different: some, while maintaining their reputation, care about the quality and durability of their products, others try to reduce the cost of production as much as possible. The advantage of the latter over buyers is obvious: many are in no hurry to overpay for a light bulb from a well-known company, preferring to try to save as much as possible: buy cheaper, and then reap the benefits of low electricity consumption for a long time.

But usually it doesn't work out that way. Cheap lamps often do not work as expected, breaking down prematurely.

Another factor influencing the rate of CFL failure is non-compliance with operating rules. Energy-saving lamps do not tolerate frequent switching on and off; they do not tolerate work in sealed lamps and in wet areas.

And finally, well-promoted brands also have quality mistakes. Even expensive lamps from well-known companies are not immune to failure.

What to do if an energy-saving lamp fails without having time to help save energy? You can buy a new one, wondering if it will last the thousands of hours stated by the manufacturer. Or you can try to learn how to repair energy-saving lamps with your own hands. Especially if you own a soldering iron and have at least basic knowledge of electronics. If it works out, then such tricks of fate will not be scary for you in the future.

Operating principle of an energy-saving lamp

The design and principle of operation of a CFL is no different from a conventional fluorescent lamp, except that a semiconductor control circuit is used to start and maintain its mode.

The CFL bulb is folded in space several times to reduce the dimensions of the product. Along the edges of the glass there are filament electrodes, two on each side. When starting, the control circuit passes through the filaments a current that heats the filaments. Charge carriers - electrons - are released from them, preparing the ground for the occurrence of a discharge.

At the second stage, the control circuit breaks the filament circuits and generates a pulse at the ends of the lamp high voltage. The gas in the lamp is ionized, a discharge appears in it, releasing radiation in the ultraviolet spectrum. When ultraviolet light hits the phosphor-coated tube walls, it causes the phosphor to glow in the visible spectrum.

Checking and repairing glow circuits

The most common cause of CFL failure is the burnout of one of the filaments. An indirect, but not unambiguous sign of it is blackening from the inside of the glass near the burnt-out spiral.

A lamp with one burnt-out filament can be repaired by eliminating the faulty element from the circuit. In this case, the lamp will start up a little worse and shine dimmer. This is due to the fact that at the moment of launch, the electrons will be on only one side of the bulb, and the current will flow through its space in pulses. The lamp will become an analogue of a vacuum diode. If a discharge occurs due to the appearance of positively charged ions in the tube, the situation will improve a little, but not completely.

It is impossible to repair a light bulb with two burnt-out filaments, since the charge carriers will be completely absent and startup will not occur. Such a lamp is only suitable for spare parts; its board with the control circuit must be saved for repairing other CFLs.

The faulty lamp must be disassembled by disconnecting its body, which consists of two halves. A base is attached to one of them, and a tube to the other. Between them there is a board with a control circuit. Carefully inserting a flat-head screwdriver into the groove and using it as a lever, we disconnect the halves, which are held together by latches. The main thing is not to break the body.

Immediately after disassembly, it is recommended to inspect the printed circuit board for breaks or burnt out tracks. Also pay attention to the quality of soldering - often the lamp does not work due to loss of contact due to poor soldering of parts to the board.

We find on the board the connection points for the lamp leads, two on each side of the tube, unsolder them and test them with a multimeter for integrity. The resistance of a working CFL filament is about 10 ohms.

If a faulty thread is detected, it is shunted with a resistor with a resistance of 10 Ohms and a power of 1 W.

Checking the fuse or limiting resistor

The control circuit is powered through a fuse located between one of the terminals of the base and the board. It protects the network from short circuits in the lamp. Sometimes its functions are transferred to a limiting resistor located in the same area. Its main task is to limit the charging current of the power filter capacitor when applying voltage to the lamp. Since its resistance does not exceed 10 Ohms, with correctly selected power and design, this resistor will burn out in the event of a short circuit.

The serviceability of these elements is checked first of all by measuring their resistance with a multimeter. But if they are faulty, simply replacing them with functional ones will not help. Most likely, their failure is caused by another malfunction that has yet to be found.

Checking rectifier diodes

The purpose of the four diodes on the control board is to convert alternating current from the network to direct current. This is necessary because the electronic components do not work on alternating current. The diodes are connected using a bridge rectification circuit.

To properly check the diodes, one of the terminals of each of them must be unsoldered from the board. Then their resistance is measured in the forward and reverse directions, changing the polarity of connecting the multimeter leads. With one polarity, the resistance will be on the order of hundreds of Ohms, and if it changes, the device will show an open circuit. To measure resistance in the reverse direction, use the highest limit on the multimeter. If it shows any value other than infinity, the diode must be replaced. The same thing applies if in the forward direction the resistance is zero or very high.

You can replace the diodes with exactly the same ones or any others that match the characteristics: maximum forward current and maximum reverse voltage. Their meanings can be found in reference books or on the Internet.

Checking the electrolytic filter capacitor

This detail is not difficult to find out. There is only one on the board electrolytic capacitor, moreover, also designed for a voltage of 400 V. Its purpose is to smooth out voltage ripples after rectifier diodes. By the way, the insufficient capacity of this capacitor leads to the appearance of a pulsating glow from the lamp, sometimes not noticeable to the eye. However, these pulsations have a negative effect on vision and the condition of the body as a whole.

The capacitor is connected in parallel with the rectified voltage, and to further reduce the ripple factor, a small inductor is connected in series with the diode load. Together with a capacitor, they form an LC filter that copes with ripple more effectively.

Checking the throttle involves measuring its resistance. It is not regulated, but in any case the multimeter should not show a break.

Checking the capacitor also involves measuring its resistance, but it must first be discharged, for which its terminals must be briefly short-circuited. Then a multimeter is connected to it, set to the highest resistance measurement limit. The connection is made in accordance with the polarity marked on the capacitor body. At the first moment of time, a jump in resistance should be observed to a value close to zero, then the readings will gradually increase until the device shows infinity. This is from an internal source direct current The multimeter charges the capacitor. If such a picture is not observed, and the device always shows a break or any non-changing resistance value, the element is faulty.

The best way to check the health of a capacitor is to replace it with a working one. The fact is that in this way it is impossible to measure the capacitance of an element, and also to find out how it will behave at operating voltage. The multimeter battery voltage is only 1.5 V, and the amplitude value on the capacitor is 310 V.

If the capacitor housing is swollen or damaged, no inspection is required - the part definitely needs to be replaced.

Checking the remaining circuit elements

The most common faults are listed above. If you do not find them, the test continues, checking the serviceability of the remaining parts on the board. Here are some tips:

• The resistance of the dinistor in both directions should be equal to infinity.
• Transistors are tested like two diodes, with a common point at its base.
• Resistor values ​​are checked by measuring their resistance with a multimeter.
• The measured resistance of the remaining capacitors should be infinity.
• The best way to test any capacitor or transistor is to replace it with the same or an analogue.
• Integrated circuits are checked only by replacement, but after there is confidence in the serviceability of all other electronics.

Before we undertake the repair of energy-saving lamps, let's consider some philosophical issues.

Do I need to undertake repairs to an energy-saving lamp?

First of all, you need to honestly answer this question for yourself, calculate everything (money and time), and only then move on to the technical side of the issue. I hope my article will help you make the right choice.

So, let’s take the price of a normal new energy-saving device to be 150 rubles. What does it mean? If a lamp breaks after a year of operation, I think there is no point in repairing it. First of all, because the price necessary details- about 50 rubles, plus the cost of repairs is about 100 rubles. By repair cost I mean the cost of effort and time spent.

And most importantly, the resource and quality of the lamp’s operation steadily decreases over time, and this primarily applies to the luminescent bulb. It darkens at the edges, the overall brightness decreases every hour. As in the photo below.

Compact flask fluorescent lamp darkens around the edges. On the right is an incandescent lamp, it burns without problems. Photo from the article.

The efficiency of such a lamp decreases - it heats up more, but shines less. Another unpleasant effect appears - the lamp “thinks” before turning on. And it turns on after a second or two, and does not flare up immediately, but after a minute or two.

This sometimes infuriates me when I’m in a hurry and have to wander around in the dark.

Conclusion - if an energy-saving lamp breaks after a year of operation, repairing the lamp is not economically viable. Perhaps some of it will be used for spare parts, more on that later.

Moreover, now that good LED bulbs can be purchased for 90-120 rubles, there is no point in repairing CFLs at all.

Well, this article is for the brave and desperate.

Terminology and operating principle

Let's expand our consciousness.

Luminescent, compact, energy-saving, with electronic ballast, with an inverter - all the same, the essence is the same. Moreover, such lamps have absolutely different designs. For example, there may be a G9 base, like a halogen lamp, or a regular one - E14, E27, E40.

The lamp may be separate and inserted through sockets, and electronic ballast- separately. This applies primarily to linear or tubular lamps. An example of such a design is Armstrong-type lamps for office premises.

That is, there are different designs, but the essence is the same.

It has recently become fashionable to call all these lamps “energy-saving”, but the essence is the same. Why do they call it that - because at the same brightness they consume about 5 times less electricity. According to the sellers, one can argue with this.

By the way, there is often confusion between the concepts “ lamp" And " lamp“. In this case, I separate these two concepts like this. Lamp- This is a flask with a spiral filled with gas. A lamp– this is a lamp plus a circuit that ensures ignition and combustion of the lamp. This circuit can also be called - electronic ballast, electronic ballast, inverter, power supply, generator, etc.

Electronic ballast electronic ballast. Four more lamps - and there will be an Armstrong type lamp

We won't go into details. But the operating principle is the same.

There is a rectifier that produces from 220V 50Hz constant pressure 300…315 Volts. Next, a generator of high (compared to the input) frequency (about 10...15 kHz) operates at this voltage. The generator produces voltage that powers a tube filled with gas and coated with a special compound. You can go deeper, but this is also on other sites.

In the meantime, it is only important to know that an energy-saving lamp fundamentally consists of two parts - electronic unit And glass part(tubes or flasks).

Previously, instead of electronic ballast (electronic ballast, electronic ballast), a throttle and a starter were installed, but this is a completely old story.

Causes of breakdowns of energy-saving lamps

The reasons for CFL failure are commonplace, as in any electronic equipment, namely:

• Overheating for various reasons,
• Poor quality components,
• Frequent on/off
• Problems with the supply voltage (low/high, low).

But here’s another reason that doesn’t seem obvious the first time; my regular reader Vladimir sent me a description of this problem:

What's new in the VK group? SamElectric.ru ?

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Quite unexpectedly, CFLs turned out to be very sensitive to the quality of connecting elements and cartridges. This is partly understandable contacting elements were developed for incandescent lamps with their high current consumption, and switching to CFL could result in an unstable connection. The fact is that any element that provides mechanical switching of an electrical signal, for example, a relay, has two characteristics - “maximum” and “minimum” current.

The first is clear, it is determined by the area and shape of the contact, and the second parameter is less common and less known. It is laid down when designing the type of coating of contacting surfaces. If nothing special is done, an oxide film forms on the surface of the contacts, which increases the resistance in the on state, up to an “unstable connection”. Subsequently, “carbon deposits” form at this place, which leads to an increase in the defect.

A poor-quality connection leads to surges in the charge current of the smoothing capacitor of the electronic ballast of the CFL, which reduces its service life and abruptly changes the operating mode of the entire CFL, and this can lead to worse consequences - combustion of the electronics or destruction of the filament circuits in the bulb. And these are not just words, I myself encountered the manifestation of this defect. In one room I have a lamp with five arms for E14 (“minion”) lamps. A fluorescent lamp burned out in one of them, I noted “it happens” and forgot. But a month later, in the same socket, a completely new lamp became unusable. This seemed strange, but there was no desire to figure it out, and the lamp was simply replaced.

Alas, about a month later the story repeated itself again, which was extremely strange, because exactly the same lamps were installed in the neighboring horns and no complaints were made against them. The only thing that could cause a problem was the cartridge of the ill-fated horn. An ordinary carbolite cartridge, one of three that were on the lamp (the original ones were destroyed by exploding incandescent lamps, which prompted the transition to CFLs). A thorough external inspection did not reveal any defects, the wire connection is reliable, the contacting surfaces under the lamp are clean and without any traces of carbon deposits. However, so many lamps burned out in this cartridge for unknown reasons, which cannot be ignored.

Well, I degreased the contacting surfaces, and then sanded them with fine sandpaper. After preventative maintenance, the defect did not manifest itself; at the moment, the lamp in this horn has been working for more than a year. I'll try to assume that the culprit was a thin layer of fat on the contact surface, which led to an unstable connection. If there had been an incandescent lamp in this place, then everything would have functioned normally - a fairly large current from the lamp would break through the oxide layer and a reliable connection would be established.

The problem emerged specifically with CFLs, in which the current consumption is much less, and the current itself is not constant over time. I would also like to emphasize - pay special attention to the quality of connecting elements and sockets when using lamps with low current consumption, especially if the operating life of these lamps is suspiciously short. Not everything is determined by the quality of the CFL; the source of the problem may lie outside it.

What breaks in energy-saving lamps

In this section I will describe how what needs to be analyzed before how to fix an energy saving lamp.

1. Open the lamp.

As a rule, the place of opening is where the inscription with the name and technical parameters of the lamp is applied. The ends are also located there. glass flask, if the flask has several kinks.

How to disassemble a CFL. At the opening point, pry it off with a flat screwdriver.

After opening the lamp we see its structure:

2. Flask.

If there is noticeable darkening at the ends, then the flask can be safely thrown away. Also, the flask can be considered unusable if it has worked in the lamp for more than 2 years.

3. Filaments

If the condition of the bulb is normal, we test its filaments with an ohmmeter. The resistance should be several ohms. The more power, the less resistance.

Energy-saving lamps also have filaments; they are needed for initial ignition. Marketers don’t like to mention this fact.

4. Electronic ballast.

The spiral and bulb are normal, good luck! R Repairing an energy-saving lamp may make sense.

We inspect the electronic ballast board. As a rule, if something is burned there, it is immediately visible. Especially burnt resistors. Although, resistors can fail without visible consequences. As a rule, resistors in the emitter and base circuits, as well as transistors, burn out. If something else has burned out, I don’t recommend taking on repairs. Or you’ll just have to change everything on the board, spending a lot of time.

Electronic ballasts from compact fluorescent lamps. Some parts have already been pulled out...

5. Filter capacitor.

This is the same capacitor that smoothes out the ripples of the rectified voltage. When, some say that this particular capacitor is “to blame”. If it is swollen, it must be changed. It is better to choose a capacity one step larger. For example, it was 4.7 uF - set it to 6.8. But this is not important. The operating voltage of the capacitor is the same as the old one, or more if it fits into the case.

6. Installation.

And of course check the fuse, installation integrity, soldering, mechanical damage. Of course, it is better to do this first, immediately after opening.

Now we need to make a decision. I only took on repairs when I had a lot of the same type of burnt-out lamps on hand, so the repairs are much more fun.

Lots of broken lamps. The renovation makes sense.

As practice shows, out of 10 lamps broken due to natural reasons, the normal output is 3-4 pieces.

Energy saving lamp circuit

Before undertaking repairs, you need to consider the fundamental electrical circuits energy-saving (compact fluorescent) lamps, which are listed in a separate article. To be aware of how the lamp works.

Repair of energy saving lamp

What do we see in these diagrams? If there is one lamp in the lamp, then there are at least 2 transistors. So they burn out and pull the resistors with them.

To repair a lamp, you must first determine which resistors have burned out. As a rule, now it is used to indicate the resistor value color coding, without this there is no way to repair.

For example, the last circuit, number 17. The 1 Ohm and 20 Ohm resistors burn out there, for a total of 4 resistors.

With transistors it's a little more complicated. The power of the entire lamp (lamp) depends on the power of the transistor. Transistors are used high-voltage, type MJE or analogues. Here is an approximate table of correspondence between the transistor model and lamp power:

• MJE13001 (power up to 7 W)
• MJE13002 (power up to 10 W)
• MJE13003 (power up to 15 W)
• MJE13004 (power up to 20 W)
• MJE13005 (power up to 40 W)
• MJE13006 (power up to 75 W)
• MJE13007 (power up to 100 W)
• MJE13008 (power up to 120 W)
• MJE13009 (power up to 150 W)

The capacities are approximate, of course it is better to take with a reserve.

Datasheets for transistors and what else I dug up on the topic, as usual, I post below. If anyone needs it, I can publish a method for testing transistors. And also - at different manufacturers The same transistors can have different pinouts; you need to check them before soldering.

Now for the prices of parts. 4 low-resistance resistors with a power of 0.25 W will cost at least 8 rubles. We take retail prices. Popular transistor MJE13003 – 25 rubles, retail again. Total - 33 rubles for parts to repair a lamp with a power of up to 15 W.

But it will only make sense if this business is put on stream, and if the lamps for repair are free. For example, in an enterprise where, for example, 100 lamps can be used in one workshop.

An example of a refurbished lamp.

On occasion, I recently dismantled the CFL I repaired back in 2010.

More precisely, I couldn’t figure it out, but she “figured it out” herself - the latches of the case popped out, and the bulb hung on the wires:

Here's what we have inside:

It can be seen that resistors and transistors have been replaced (judging by the soldering).

In this case, the resistors, due to the lack of the necessary values, are selected so that instead of one 10 Ohm resistor in parallel there are 2 x 22 Ohms, and instead of 51 Ohms - two x 110:

Let me remind you that absolutely the same applies to electronic ballasts for lamps with replaceable lamps.

Well, if the lamp does not light up after replacing resistors and transistors, throw out the electronic ballast. Although, after a test switch-on, I will question the integrity of the new soldered parts.

But one of the options for using electronic ballast from a compact fluorescent lamp is to illuminate an ordinary linear (tubular) lamp.

Elevate it and you will get a wonderful lamp.

Download reference data for transistors for fluorescent lamps

Now – I’m posting files on the topic, as usual, everything can be downloaded for free and freely.

Energy-saving lamps actually consume significantly less electricity than their filament counterparts, but they cost several times more than the latter. And, as practice shows, they fail more often. It’s doubly offensive when this happens two or three months after purchase. In such cases, you should not throw them in the trash for two reasons. First, these lighting products contain mercury, so they require disposal. Secondly, with a high degree of probability the lamp can be restored. Let's tell you how this can be done.

Design Features

Before you begin repairs, you need to understand the design of the lighting fixture. The main design elements are presented in Figure 1.

Rice. 1. Installation of an energy-saving lamp

Designations:

• A – Spiral-shaped flask. Essentially, it is a sealed tube containing an inert gas (usually argon) and mercury vapor inside it. Two electrodes are fused at each edge, with a filament stretched between them. The inside of the tube is coated with phosphor.
• B – The upper part of the body to which the bulb is attached. We immediately warn you that it is unrealistic to remove the flask without damaging the integrity of the body, so it is better to perceive them as a single structure.
• C is a ballast mounted on a printed circuit board; it is also called electronic ballast or simply ballast. As you understand, when it fails, the lighting device turns into a disposal item. The ballast diagram will be given in the corresponding section.
• D – Fuse, as a rule, its role is played by low resistance.
• E – Lower part of the hull, ballast is installed in it, fastening with top part secured using latches.
• F – base. In everyday life, the more common types are E14 (minion) and E27. The lower part of the case with the plinth also represents a single, non-separable structure. On the outer part of the housing there is a marking of the lighting device, which indicates its main characteristics.

Main stages of repair

A systematic approach to any problem provides the optimal way to solve it, so we will proceed according to the following algorithm:

1. Preparing the necessary tools.
2. Dismantling the structure.
3. Troubleshooting.
4. Assembly of the structure.

Now about each stage in detail.

Required Tools

In the process we will need:

• flat screwdriver;
• digital multimeter;
• soldering iron with a power of 25-30 W and everything necessary for soldering.

Dismantling

We carry out all actions carefully, trying not to damage the body, and even more so the bulb of the lamp, which contains mercury vapor, which poses a danger to the human body.

As mentioned above, the upper and lower parts of the case are connected to each other by latches. To separate them, you need to insert a screwdriver into the slot (shown in Figure 2) and turn it slightly. We recommend starting from the place where the markings are applied; as a rule, one of the latches is located there.

Rice. 2. Groove between the top and bottom of the body

Now we need to disconnect the wires connecting the lamp filament and the board. There are four of them in total. In most designs, the wires are not soldered to the board, but wound on special pins.

After this stage, you can proceed to troubleshooting.

troubleshooting

The lighting device may not work due to a malfunction of the bulb (one or both filaments have burned out) or due to a failure of the ballast. Let's start checking with the flask.

For this purpose we will need a multimeter. We switch it to low-resistance measurement mode and ring each pair of terminals. As a rule, their resistance does not exceed 15 ohms. There may be a slight discrepancy in the readings for each pair, but this is most likely an instrument error.

After taking measurements, you can form initial conclusions:

• If a broken filament is detected, then the ballast is most likely operational. The bulb must be recycled, and the electronic ballast can be put aside until better times, for example, if you need to replace it on a lighting device of the same type. Note that with one burnt-out filament, the lamp can be restored. How to do this will be described in the section on the ballast.
• In the case when everything is in order with the bulb, it is possible to state the failure of the ballast. Like most electronic devices, it can be repaired.

Ballast repair

First of all, it is necessary to carry out a visual inspection. In most cases, it can be used to identify burnt components, for example, swollen containers, damaged transistor housings, traces of burning, etc. Note that replacing such elements may not produce results; in this case, the entire circuit will need to be checked.

If no problems are found, you need to check the basic elements. To do this, it is advisable to have a ballast circuit.

Ballast circuit

The above diagram is typical; it is used in almost all ballasts with minor modifications.

Figure 5. Electronic ballast circuit

Designations:

• Resistances: R1 – from 1 to 30 Ohms (plays the role of a fuse); R2 and R3 – from 220 kOhm to 510 kOhm; R4 and R5 – from 1 to 2.7 Ohms; R6 and R7 – from 8.2 to 20 Ohms.
• Capacitances: C1 – 0.1 µF; C2 – from 1.5 µF to 10 µF 400V; C3 – 0.01 µF; C4 – from 0.033 mF to 0.1 μF 400V; C5 – from 1800 pF to 3900 pF 650V.
• Diodes: VD1-VD5 – 1N4005; VD6 and VD7 – 1N4148.
• Dinistor VS1 – DB3 (may not be used in low-power lighting devices).
• Transistors: VT1, VT2 – 13003 (other analogues are quite possible).

Coil L1, together with capacitance C1, plays the role of an interference filter; in many inexpensive Chinese devices, a jumper is soldered in place of it.

Coil L2 can have from 250 to 350 turns, which are wound with Ø 0.2 mm wire on an W-shaped ferrite core. By appearance resembles a small transformer.

Transformer T1 in each winding from 3 to 9 turns, as a rule, wire Ø 0.3 mm is used. A ferrite ring is used as a magnetic core.

Fuse: FU1 – 0.5 A. Most products made in China do not install it. In such cases, the low-resistance resistance R1 plays the role of a fuse. This is what burns out first. As a rule, replacement does not work, since its failure is a consequence of the malfunction, and not the cause.

Ballast Troubleshooting

The algorithm of actions will be as follows:

• After replacement, we begin searching for faulty components. In the above diagram, containers most often fail; it is with them that the check must begin. To do this, arm yourself with a soldering iron and solder capacitors C3-C5 (see diagram in Fig. 5). After that, we check them with a multimeter (how to check various electronic components can be found on our website).

Please note that in cases where the lighting device is out of order, but a slight glow of the bulb is observed in the area of ​​the filaments, we can say with confidence that capacitance C5 needs to be replaced. As can be seen from the diagram, it is part of the oscillatory circuit necessary to generate a high-voltage pulse to cause a discharge. When the capacitance is burned out, the voltage for the discharge is insufficient; as a result, the lamp cannot enter the operating mode phase, but power is supplied to the coils. This manifests itself in the form of a slight glow.

Accordingly, if an external examination reveals swelling of C2, there is a high probability of failure of one or more bridge diodes.

• If the parts listed are in working order, then you should check the transistors. It will be a problem to solder them, since the strapping will not allow accurate measurements. As practice shows, during the testing stages described above, the malfunction will be detected.
• Having discovered a malfunction, it is necessary to test the operation of the lighting device by applying power to the base. This must be done carefully, since there is high voltage on the board elements.

After the lamp lights up, turn it off and begin assembly. As a rule, there are no problems with it.

Repairing a lamp with a burnt-out filament

It is necessary to immediately warn that such repairs will lead to the ballast operating abnormally. As a result of overload, the ballast will fail. As a rule, it operates in this mode for no more than a year, the duration depends on the elements involved in the circuit and their condition.

If only one filament has burned out, it must be bridged with a resistance, as this is shown in the figure.

As a shunt resistance R Ш, it is theoretically necessary to install a resistor with a value corresponding to the resistance of the second (whole) filament. But, as practice shows, this is not entirely true, because we measure the resistance of a “cold” thread. As a result of such repairs, the device will fail within 10-15 minutes, “burning” most active components. Therefore, we recommend using a 22 Ohm resistor with a power of at least 1 Watt.

Energy-saving lamps help save on utility bills, in addition, you can choose the most comfortable color spectrum, which does not tire your eyes during work, which can relieve tension in the recreation area, and each type of ESL will allow you to choose exactly the lighting option that is suitable for a specific indoor zones. Their declared service life can exceed 10 thousand hours, which is ten times longer than the life of a conventional incandescent lamp. But. Sometimes ESLs stop working, so paying five dollars for a new one is not very pleasant.

Typical lamp malfunctions

That is why, before disposing of the lamp, you can try to restore it. Only repairing energy-saving lamps with your own hands is possible when their design and characteristic faults are known. We will consider this issue right now.

There are no difficulties in repairing ESL if you confidently hold a soldering iron in your hands and have basic skills in reading circuit diagrams. But it may not even get to the point of repairs and circuits, since very often lamps from manufacturers in the mid-price category may simply have manufacturing defects. This is expressed simply - the lamp blinks when turned on or goes out for no reason.

ESL repair and circuits

But first, briefly about the design and architecture of the lamp. Each ESL has a spiral or U-shaped flask, an electronic control unit and a base. The ends of the flask are connected to the spirals on the board of the electronic unit, and its composition includes:

medium power transistors;

chokes;

• high voltage capacitors;

  high frequency transformer.

The most vulnerable elements of the circuit may be the heating coils, and their overheating can lead to failure of other board elements.

Ballast repair and diagnostics

ESLs of the lowest and mid-price categories can be assembled without the use of soldering, and the wires are secured using latches. Naturally, after some time the contacts burn out or oxidize, and to repair such lamps it is enough to either solder the conductors where they are attached to the base, or simply clean them of carbon deposits or oxide due to corrosion.

In addition to this reason, there may be another malfunction that leads to the blinking of the lamp - a burnt out filament. A lamp with a burnt filament may not turn on for a long time and may blink. To eliminate the malfunction, you will have to open the case and separate it from the base with a knife or a sharp screwdriver. After gaining access to the board, you need to check the integrity of the ignition coil. Its resistance should be within 10-15 Ohms, but if the thread does not ring with the tester, it has burned out.

Possible problems with the lamp

You don’t even have to check the filaments with a tester; if the glass of the bulb is burnt near the base, you can safely change them, but they will be suitable in terms of resistance. In cases where the lamp simply blinks when turned on, the capacitor may fail. The largest capacitor in the circuit, 400 V, may swell, which means that it has failed. Naturally, you need to replace it with a similar one at nominal value.

A failed capacitor can, in turn, lead to burning of the contacts on the transistors; sometimes they can explode, and this is immediately noticeable when the lamp is opened. In these cases, the transistors are also replaced with new ones (as a rule, these are 13003 transistors). Here are some more common problems with ESL:

breakdown of the capacitor, which is installed between the filaments, it is replaced with the corresponding nominal value (3.3Nf, 2kV);

ESLs of poor quality may blink or not turn on at an air temperature of about 3-5 degrees below zero, or above +40-45⁰С;

the lamp may lose its glow intensity over time, so a low-quality phosphor may show only 50% efficiency at the end of its service life.

When replacing transistors or repairing ballast, it is necessary to take into account that the rating of the transistor depends on the power of the lamp. The table shows the dependence of the names of the transistors used on the ESL power.

ESL modernization

For lamps of poor quality, it is recommended to carry out some upgrades that will help extend the life of the lamp. To do this, an NTC thermistor is installed in the gap with the filaments. It will help limit the amount of inrush current and, as a result, eliminate the possibility of burning out the filaments. There is one important point - the thermistor will heat up, so it cannot be placed directly near the ballast.

Finally, it would be a good idea to make several ventilation holes in the plastic case. This will improve air circulation and will also help maintain a normal board temperature. True, lamps with holes can no longer be installed in damp rooms. We hope that these tips will help extend the life of an energy-saving lamp and save a couple of hundred on the purchase of a new lamp. Productive work!