Boards not pulling correct power

[Hadanaccount]

Hi, bought a light, should have just built like I planned.
She is only pulling 300w from the wall. Checked all the wiring, seems solid, will attach pics for reference
Samsung LM301B diodes,dual meanwell 240s 880 diodes I think, cheap dimmer.
I see the pots vo and lo on the back of the drivers, any possibility they were not set right at factory?
Another thing might be the dimmer it goes from 0 to like 1/2 then the amps and wattage won’t go any higher and tops out at 290w. Any help would be greatly appreciated [img[/img]

[Shimbob]

Turn both internal pots fully clockwise and test again.

[Hadanaccount]

Thanks shim, I’m not so smooth with electronics, way willing to learn though, I’m gonna grab a multi meter and take down light and open her up, I’d hate to fry any diodes and such

[TEKNIK]

The dim pot may have also failed, disconnect it and tape up the wires so they can not short and check that too if no success

[Hadanaccount]

Yes, I’m thinking it’s the dimmer also, been looking at spec for the drivers all day and googling info, but honestly I have no clue what any of it means, I am gonna try to replace the pot and see if it helps
Is there a way I could just disconnect the 2 wires going to pot, also I heard you need a 50k pot if you’re trying to control more than 2 drivers, is that true?
Really struggling here

[PeteR_1]

Yes, I’m thinking it’s the dimmer also, been looking at spec for the drivers all day and googling info, but honestly I have no clue what any of it means, I am gonna try to replace the pot and see if it helps
Is there a way I could just disconnect the 2 wires going to pot, also I heard you need a 50k pot if you’re trying to control more than 2 drivers, is that true?
Really struggling here

If a 100K Ohm dimmer was used 100% Current output would still be at 1/2 turn of Pot or ~ 50K Ohm which is the recommended selection for a single Pot for multiple drivers, its 100K Ohm / N ( N = # of connected Drivers)...

Note; The LED Drivers (ELG-240-48AB) will only output 180 Watts maximum each at 100 - 180 VAC input.
If you are using 120 VAC input and the manufacturer has adjusted the Internal Pots (Io) down by ~ 10 - 15% then the Drivers are operating properly. Good luck.

[Hadanaccount]

I’m gonna start with the pot, if it’s not the pot I’m gonna try cranking the drivers up just a touch, try to at least get 350/360 watts, right now she only pulls around 280 warm, should definitely be more

[PeteR_1]

I’m gonna start with the pot, if it’s not the pot I’m gonna try cranking the drivers up just a touch, try to at least get 350/360 watts, right now she only pulls around 280 warm, should definitely be more

You should also check your Forward Volts or DC output. For the ELG series Drivers the actual operating DC Volts Output will affect (De-rate) the Maximum output Watts (Power output).
At the Rated 180 Watts with a Vf of 40 Vdc your Output is 150 Watts maximum (40 V * 3.75 A = 150 Watts) ...

[Hadanaccount]

Thank you, that means this may only be a 300w max light?, how do you tell how much power you can run thru the actual diode board, I been binging the ledgardener driver series on YouTube and am learning a lot from it but still lost when it comes to this stuff, the actual boards have some obscure writing on them , but no actual usable #s I don’t think, each board has 220 diodes x the 4 boards is 880? Can I change the drivers to get more wattage ,or do I need to change the diodes,

[Hadanaccount]

Got the multi meter coming in the mail, hooked said light up to kilowatt meter

Pretty sure I got the” to good to be true” light, it’s all good though , I’m gonna stick to my original plan and build fresh, that is what brought me to this forum originally and I got lost somewhere along the way. I need to build a light that will cover every corner of a 3x3 in flower , no C02,
Was thinking about salvaging these elg240 48’s and heat sink and just buying a board or strip setup that will work with it
You all have been a great help and inspiration, and the ledgardener videos specifically the all about driver’s series has been awesome, the numbers are a super lot to take in but slowly I will learn all about these things