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Step 3The Power and Light Assembly
In this step we're going to extract the key components for light and power from the solar yard light. For demonstration purposes we are simply going to disconnect the solar panel and substitute the 3 cell aluminum air fuel cell as power the supply.
Be very, very gentle and do not tug on the wires. I am not going to attempt to explain the circuit here I will simply explain its function.
The light assembly contains a solar panel and a light detecting diode located on the face. When the sun is up the solar panel provides power which is used to recharge a battery located inside the head of the device. When the sun goes down the photodetector allows power to pass to the light. The light is actually driven primarily by the battery which is recharged by the solar panel
First take apart the light assembly by gently twisting off the base and then the lens. We will use the lens later to house the final light assembly. In the base where the light is located there are 3 small screws, remove these and gently pull the light assembly open ( see picture ).
I found corrosion inside the assembly ( see picture ) but when I cleaned off the leads and replaced the battery it seemed to work okay.
There are 4 leads coming off of the face, two lead to the small photodetector and two other lead to the solar cell. Generally the power leads will be red and black. Clip these leads close to the solar panel which we will not be using. Strip a short length off the end, be careful these are fine wires and its easy to pull out several strands along with the covering. Carefully cut the covering just enough so it slides easily off the wire.
On the other side you will see a small circuit board which is held in place by two plastic posts. GENTLY pop the circuit board off the posts being carefully not to pull on the wires leading to the light. The light is held in its socket by a small blob of thermoplastic glue. This can be carefully scraped off and will come off cleanly allowing the light to be easily removed from it's holder BY PUSHING DOWN ON THE TOP, NOT PULLING THE WIRES AT THE BOTTOM. If you have a hot glue gun you can also heat it up and soften the glue, allowing the light to be removed.
This technique may also allow you to easily remove the photodiode from the face. Then a battery holder from radio shack could be used to hold the batteries and a more finished assembly created.
Now we've extracted a usable charger and light circuit let's take a look at the final assembly...
Be very, very gentle and do not tug on the wires. I am not going to attempt to explain the circuit here I will simply explain its function.
The light assembly contains a solar panel and a light detecting diode located on the face. When the sun is up the solar panel provides power which is used to recharge a battery located inside the head of the device. When the sun goes down the photodetector allows power to pass to the light. The light is actually driven primarily by the battery which is recharged by the solar panel
First take apart the light assembly by gently twisting off the base and then the lens. We will use the lens later to house the final light assembly. In the base where the light is located there are 3 small screws, remove these and gently pull the light assembly open ( see picture ).
I found corrosion inside the assembly ( see picture ) but when I cleaned off the leads and replaced the battery it seemed to work okay.
There are 4 leads coming off of the face, two lead to the small photodetector and two other lead to the solar cell. Generally the power leads will be red and black. Clip these leads close to the solar panel which we will not be using. Strip a short length off the end, be careful these are fine wires and its easy to pull out several strands along with the covering. Carefully cut the covering just enough so it slides easily off the wire.
On the other side you will see a small circuit board which is held in place by two plastic posts. GENTLY pop the circuit board off the posts being carefully not to pull on the wires leading to the light. The light is held in its socket by a small blob of thermoplastic glue. This can be carefully scraped off and will come off cleanly allowing the light to be easily removed from it's holder BY PUSHING DOWN ON THE TOP, NOT PULLING THE WIRES AT THE BOTTOM. If you have a hot glue gun you can also heat it up and soften the glue, allowing the light to be removed.
This technique may also allow you to easily remove the photodiode from the face. Then a battery holder from radio shack could be used to hold the batteries and a more finished assembly created.
Now we've extracted a usable charger and light circuit let's take a look at the final assembly...
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Also zinc may work better then aluminum.