Introduction: Easy IKEA SUNNAN Hack (non Destructive)

By Technisch Speelgoed
About: I'm a social-worker, working with 12 - 23 year-olds. I used to be a printer. In 2018 I opened a small makerspace (www.imdib.nl) in my house, where I have lasercutters, 3d-printers, Arduino's, Mindstorms and ot…
Easy IKEA SUNNAN hack (non destructive)

I always have a lot of stuff moving in the shop-window of my toy shop. To make it a bit lighter on battery consumption and better for the environment  I use the IKEA SUNNAN to make toys solar-powerd. The SUNNAN costs about 15,- euros in Holland and has a great solar battery charger with the batteries included.

This Hack is easy and non destructive to both toys and SUNNAN.

Step 1: You Will Need

Materials:
  • Some double wire
  • 2 or 4 flat ANP-connectors
  • Ikea SUNNAN LED-lamp
  • An electrical toy

Tools:
  • Crimper
  • Wire stripper

Step 2: Make the Cable

To make the cable:
  • Strip the last 5 mm from your wire. (if you have thin wire, then fold it double)
  • Put the stripped wire in the flat ANP-connector (The most common flat connectors will fit. The color will depend on the thickness of the wire you use)
  • Crimp the connector on the wire with the crimper
  • Do the same for all four wire-ends (two wires * two ends)
You will end up with a cable with two connectors on each side.

Step 3: The Solar Module

The solar module
  • Get your Sunnan lamp
  • Push the solar module out off the lamp (just push from the bottom, you won't need any tools)
  • Turn the module upside down
  • Put the connectors from one side of the cable in the slots in the bottom of the module (they should fit nicely)

Step 4: Connect a Toy

Select the toy
This module won't work on all toys. There are 3 batteries inside from 1.2 volts each. That will give you 3.6 volts in total. Toys with electronics inside might need more or less. Be careful not to blow anything up.
I used it on toy motors and that works great.
In the past I used it on 4.5 volts LEGO motors and a 3 volt marble machine. Both worked fine. The marble machine never had any problems in two years running for 8 hours a week.
Now I use it to power an Eitech crane with three 6 volt motors.

Connect the toy
  • Open the battery compartment
  • Find the begin and end connectors in the battery compartment (this are the connectors that are not connected to the battery next to it)
  • Connect the cable to these connectors (In this case it was easy and could I just stick them in. Sometimes you will need to make a stick in the length of a battery from a chopstick or something to put your cable in between the stick and the connector.)
  • Charge the solar module by putting it in the sun.
  • Play!

Step 5: Still a Lamp

You didn't change anything on your SUNNAN, so when you need your LED-light to give light again, just pull the cable out of the solar-module and put it back in the lamp.

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